Stoner targeting strong set-up and Hayden eyeing podium

With three wins from the four previous rounds Casey Stoner is a rider in form and the Ducati Team rider will be aiming to deliver the Bologna factory it’s first MotoGP win at the Estoril circuit in this weekend’s Grande Premio de Portugal.

Stoner finished second in last year’s race – Ducati’s best premier class result at Estoril to date – and comes into Round 17 off the back of a dominant victory in his home GP at Phillip Island last time out.

“I have had a mixture of different results at Estoril - some good like my first 250cc win in 2005 and a podium in 2007, some not so good like when we had a problem with the on-board camera in 2008. Then we were back on the podium again in 2009,” said the 25 year-old. “I was fast there last year but Jorge (Lorenzo) was a little faster. He is very strong at this circuit and I think we can expect him to be so again next Sunday.”

Stoner continued: “We just have to focus on the job of setting the bike up. We know that there are a lot of bumps here and our bike usually reacts quite aggressively over bumps, so we will have to see if we can adapt the set up. The GP10 has worked well in all kinds of conditions over the last few races so we're pretty confident.”

Across the garage team-mate Nicky Hayden was on the pace all weekend at Phillip Island and missed out on a podium place by less than four-tenths of a second. The American is hopeful that he can mark the end of his 2010 campaign with a strong finish and improve on his Championship position of seventh in the last two rounds.

“The end of the season is on the horizon but we have two races left to do well in so it's now or never as far as this season is concerned,” he said. “Estoril is pretty normal, there's nothing really special about the track apart from a very fast section onto the back straight and then towards the end of the lap there's a chicane which I think is the slowest in MotoGP. The track is very tight, which makes it demanding, and given that the circuit is close to the ocean, like Phillip Island, you usually get wind and changeable weather. In any case we are ready for any conditions and looking to finish the season in a positive way."

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Checa confirmed for last two rounds with Pramac

Pramac Racing today (Monday, October 25th) confirmed that Carlos Checa will ride for them in the final two rounds of the 2010 MotoGP World Championship at Estoril and Valencia. The 38 year-old Spaniard replaces Finnish rider Mika Kallio, who decided following the previous round in Australia to end his partnership with the team early as he continues to recover from a shoulder injury.

Checa, who last rode in the World Championship in the 2007 Valencia GP and who finished third in this year’s WSBK championship on a Ducati 1098R, told motogp.com of his excitement at his participation in the upcoming two races.

“I’ll take it as an opportunity. I want to use this to gain experience and enjoy it too. My sole aim is to adapt as quickly as I can,” said Checa, who tested the Desmosedici GP10 at Mugello a fortnight ago. “It’s a great challenge. I’ve only been able to do a small test at Mugello and the people I will be up against in these two races will have had 16 races this season. They’ll know the tyres, which I won’t, and obviously the bikes they’re riding.”

Comparing his previous experience in MotoGP to the development of the current 800cc machines, Checa said of the GP10: “The bike has great power, the tyres have improved greatly especially the rear ones. And of course the electronics now play a bigger role. It’s very rewarding to be able to ride one of the best bikes in the World Championship after riding one of the best in superbikes this season.”

He continued: “I don’t know what level I’ll be at or what I’ll find. I just want to feel like I’ve given my maximum whatever happens. But we will take as much as possible from it and I’m sure we’ll take something good.”

Team Manager Paolo Campinoti added: “After Mika Kallio’s decision to not take part in the last two races we decided to call on a rider with experience and talent that could give us a good end to the season. Thanks also to consultations with Ducati, we decided on Carlos Checa. Of course it will be important for him to get as much time as possible on the Estoril track during the free practice sessions so that he can improve his feeling with the bike. We know about his undoubted talent and potential, and this is why we expect a good result in both races.”

Checa will ride with the number 71 on his livery for the remaining rounds of the campaign.

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Davydenko beaten, Sick Youzhny pulls out

Moscow - The Kremlin Cup suffered a double blow on Wednesday when top seed Nikolay Davydenko was beaten in his opening match while champion Mikhail Youzhny was forced to pull out with a virus infection.

"I had made a decision to withdraw after losing my doubles match," Youzhny, seeded second, told reporters.

"I don`t feel well at all and I don`t think I would have been able to play the singles in such condition.

"I will now have to take a break from training for a few days and see how I feel," added the world number nine, still with a chance to qualify for the World Tour Finals in London next month.

"I`m scheduled to play next week in St Petersburg but right now I`m not sure if I`ll be able to be there. I`ll have to make a decision by the end of the week."

Davydenko, who like his Russian compatriot Youzhny had a bye in the first round, lost his opening match for the second week in a row, going down to Uruguay`s Pablo Cuevas 7-6 7-6.

Davydenko has recently struggled to find the kind of form that helped him to win the season-ending World Tour Finals in London last year.

Wednesday`s double setback has added to the disappointments of the home crowd and local organisers of the annual ATP and WTA tournament that had been decimated by the withdrawals of high-profile players, particularly on the women`s side.

Russians Vera Zvonareva, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Maria Sharapova and 2009 champion Francesca Schiavone all pulled out. Serbia`s eighth seed Janko Tipsarevic, who lost to Youzhny in last year`s final, was bundled out in the first round on Wednesday by Horacio Zeballos 4-6 6-4 6-3.

On the women`s side, second seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus beat Germany`s Andrea Petkovic 6-4 2-6 6-1 and eighth-seeded Spaniard Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez saw off Ukraine`s Alona Bondarenko 6-4 1-6 6-1 to reach the last eight. (A008/F005/S026)

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Kang Clinches Inaugural Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia Title

Kuala Lumpur - South Korean professional, Kang Jimin clinched the inaugural Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia title at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club in Bukit Kiara, on Sunday.

In today's final round of the tournament, the 30-year-old birdied the par-four 18th hole for a six-under-par-65 and finished on a three-day total of nine-under-par-204.

She received the coveted championship trophy from Sime Darby chairman Tun Musa Hitam.

For her feat, Kang pocketed USD270,000 (RM840,000). The tournament offered total prize money of USD1.8 million (RM5.6 million).

It was her second LPGA tour title since the LPGA Corning Classic in 2005.

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Italian Wins Climbathon, But Spaniard Takes Home World Series Title

Kundasang (Sabah) -- Spain's Tofol Castaner took home the men's title of the 2010 Skyrunners World Series after he amassed 347 points overall when the final leg of the series, the 24th Mount Kinabalu International Climbathon, concluded here today. Despite finishing third in the race up and down Mount Kinabalu, Castaner's 347 points was enough to bring home the trophy.

Italy's Marco De Gasperi won the race in a time of two hours 33 minutes and 56 seconds, setting a new Climbathon Men's Open record after beating the old record he himself had set in 2003 (2'36.59s).

Castaner clocked 2'58.09s, while Nepal's Sudip Kulung, who made his debut this year, finished second in 2'46.14s.

Spain's Jessed Hernandez finished second overall in the series with 324 points, ahead of fellow countryman Sebastian Sanchez Saez with 303 points.

Meanwhile, Malaysia's Safrey Sumping finished fifth clocking 3'02.47s, but hoped he had done better as last year he had clocked 3'00.22s to finish the race in ninth place.

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Car Tracking Systems Sales Manager Job in Tanzania

Our client is a leading car tracking company based in Tanzania, the duty station of the manager will be in Tanzania Dar es salaam

Responsible for developing and maintaining sales and marketing strategies to meet organizational objectives. Evaluates customer research, market conditions, competitor data and implement sales and marketing plan changes as needed. Oversees all marketing, sales, advertising and promotional staff and activities.

Generic Job Profile
Demonstrates technical sales and marketing skills and product knowledge
Develops annual sales and marketing plan in conjunction with sales department, which details activities to follow during the fiscal year, which will focus on meeting organizational objectives.
To manage the Sales and Marketing Department Budget. Delivery of all marketing activity within agreed budget. Direction of marketing/ sales staff where budgets are devolved.
Managing the entire product line life cycle from strategic planning to tactical activities.
Specifying market requirements for current and future products by conducting market research supported by on-going visits to customers and non-customers.
Driving a solution set across sales and marketing teams through market requirements, product contract, and positioning.
Developing and implementing a company-wide go-to-market plan, working with all departments to execute.
Analyzing potential partner relationships for company product lines.
Extensive experience in all aspects of developing and maintaining marketing strategies to meet organizational objectives.
Strong understanding of customer and market dynamics and requirements.
Willingness to coach and develop sales professionals.
Proven ability to oversee all marketing, advertising, sales and promotional staff and activities
Key Performance Indicators
Increase in sales volume and market share
Develop sound relations with customer base and business partners.
Executing innovative sales and marketing strategies
Implementing sound processes and systems
Build trust, value others, communicate effectively, drive execution, foster innovation, focus on the customer, collaborate with others, solve problems creatively and demonstrate high integrity.
Maintain professional internal and external relationships that meet company core values.
Proactively establish and maintain effective working team relationships with all support departments.
Key Competence
Customer Management, Negotiation and influential, Execution of business plans, Sales Analysis,
Developing and leading people, Planning and organization, Innovative and Proactive, Self Starter
Qualification and Experience
Degree in a Business Related Field with a concentration on marketing
5 years sales and marketing experience including field based exposure in vehicle tracking and fleet Management Industry.
Previous working experience in car tracking in Kenya will be a straight advantage.
Remuneration
Gross salary, House, transport, medical
Qualified candidates should send detailed C.V to mycv@myjobseye.com quoting your current salary.

Please indicate position applied for on your Email subject line.

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Ronaldo fires unbeaten Real top

Madrid - Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain both scored braces as Real Madrid made it ten goals in two games with a 4-1 win at Malaga on Saturday to move top of the Spanish first division.

Portuguese star Ronaldo moved to the top of the goalscoring charts on six following his double and Jose Mourinho`s Real have the best attack and defence in the league lying a point ahead of Barcelona and Valencia at the summit.

Real are now the only unbeaten side in the league after champions Barcelona inflicted a first league defeat of the season on Valencia coming from behind to win 2-1 at Camp Nou.

Barca fell behind to a Pablo Hernandez goal on 37 minutes but turned the game around with a mesmerising second half thanks to goals from Spanish World Cup winners Andres Iniesta and Carles Puyol.

"In the first half we didn`t have the ball and that was the key factor, however, equalising just after the interval was so important and really helped us," said goalscorer Iniesta.
Real responded by going a point above Barcelona and Valencia following up the 6-1 thrashing of Deportivo La Coruna with a 4-1 rout of Malaga.

Madrid hit the woodwork twice through Higuain and Sami Khedira before Higuain broke the deadlock on the half hour mark side-footing in a terrific cross-field ball from Ronaldo.

Ronaldo then got himself on the score-sheet with Mesut Ozil putting the ball on a plate for an easy tap-in.

Five minutes after the break Ozil was needlessly fouled in the penalty area and Ronaldo smashed home the resulting spot-kick for his sixth goal of the campaign.

Higuain grabbed his second and fifth of the season on 65 minutes and it could have been more as Real sent a warning to AC Milan who they host in the Champions League on Tuesday.

For Malaga it was another miserable home performance and they have lost all four of their home games so far.

Barcelona have been indifferent at home this season dropping five points in their first three matches, however, they got back on track with a crucial 2-1 home triumph over rivals Valencia.

Pablo Hernandez shot Valencia into a 37th minute lead but Barcelona produced a second half masterclass to turn the game around.

Two minutes after the break Iniesta surged forward before feeding Xavi who returned the ball to his team-mate who finished brilliantly.

Barca were a different side thereafter and David Villa had a header acrobatically saved
by Cesar Sanchez on the hour mark.

But two minutes later Carles Puyol met Xavi`s cross with a bullet header to put Barca ahead with what proved the winning goal.

Villa could have had a hat-trick against his old club -- where he spent five years before joining Barca for 40 million euros in the summer -- but found 39-year-old goalkeeper Cesar in great form.

"We had two clear chances in the first half but they levelled early in the second and that was a real handicap for us," said Valencia coach Unai Emery.

"Barca pushed us back after that even though we had the desire to attack and try and win the game."

Valencia hope to bounce back from this defeat with a Champions League group match at Scottish side Rangers on Wednesday while Barcelona host FC Copenhagen in their group game on the same day.

On Monday fourth-placed Villarreal can nudge Real Madrid, currently two points ahead, off the top providing they can beat promoted Hercules.

Earlier Atletico Madrid moved to within three points of the leading duo with a 2-0 win over derby rivals Getafe at the Vicente Calderon on Saturday.

An unfortunate own goal from goalkeeper Jordi Codina on 37 minutes and a Diego Costa strike on 72 minutes helped Atletico move fifth. (Uu.SYS/A008/R009)

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