Rijkaard: Final won't be pretty

Wed 30 Apr, 12:30 AM

Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard has applauded English football for its first Champions League final - but he does not expect a classic showdown.Paul Scholes' goal at Old Trafford on Tuesday gave Manchester United a 1-0 victory over the two legs against Barca to set up a final in Moscow with either Liverpool or Chelsea.

Despite calls for him to resign in the immediate aftermath of the defeat, Rijkaard intends to remain in his job, at least until the end of the season.

The former Holland star was magnanimous enough to say English clubs deserve their success but Rijkaard, tipped as a potential successor to Chelsea coach Avram Grant, is not a great lover of the way they play.

"The level of English teams is high," he said.

"It is very difficult to beat them because they are very strong. They are very organised and all get behind the ball. It is very tough to beat an English team.

"The type of football they play is only in the Premier League. They defend as though their lives depend on it. And they are very successful.

"If they didn't play each other, they could easily have had four English teams in the semi-finals.
"But I do feel English teams have a lot more to give. I just feel it is a great pity it is not the most beautiful kind of football to watch."

Rijkaard claimed he was happy with his side's performance, bemoaning only their failure to score over the two legs.

And, rather than attack his players for their failure, he feels they should be backed by ultra-critical supporters as they bid to at least secure an automatic path to next year's competition.
"We did everything but score," he said.

"We gave everything and had the better of the play but the rules of the game are that the team who scores goes through - and they scored.

"It is a difficult defeat to stomach, a tough one to take. But the players require help and support and they need to show character and courage."

Rijkaard insists he will stay at the club, even though it seems certain his tenure at the Nou Camp will end this summer.

"Leaving has not entered my head. I have no intention of leaving," he said.

"It would be a different thing if the players were saying it's time for me to go but that's not the case.

"Barcelona is a massive club with plenty of people capable of making decisions at the end of the season if decisions need to be taken.

"It will be time to draw conclusions at the end of the season. but it would be overplaying it to say the season has been a failure."

Champions League - Scholes sends United into final

Eurosport - Tue, 29 Apr 22:54:00 2008

Paul Scholes's stunning first-half strike earned Manchester United a nervy 1-0 win over Barcelona at Old Trafford that sent them through to the Champions League final.

Scholes put United ahead with a superb long-range effort after a quarter of an hour before Ji-sung Park, Nani and Carlos Tevez all went close.

Lionel Messi proved a constant threat with his daring running from deep, but as in the goalless first leg he was unable to provide the spark Barcelona needed.

Instead United held firm in a frantic last 10 minutes of constant Barcelona attacks to secure a place in the final in Moscow on May 21 and ensure that the winner of the 2007-2008 Champions League will definitely be an English side.

United had been dealt a sizeable blow prior to kick-off when it emerged that Nemanja Vidic and Wayne Rooney would not be able to feature due to the injuries they sustained in the 2-1 defeat at Chelsea at the weekend, so Wes Brown continued to deputise for the Serbian at centre-half, with Owen Hargreaves starting at right-back and Nani coming into the side in place of Rooney.

The home side got off to an edgy start, with Scholes conceding a free-kick right on the edge of the penalty area for a trip on Messi inside the first minute and Samuel Eto'o having a low cross cleared after Edwin van der Sar had sliced a clearance straight to him.

Barcelona settled quickly by comparison and looked typically comfortable in possession until a loose pass from Gianluca Zambrotta gave Scholes the chance to test his shooting boots from 25 yards, and he made no mistake with an unstoppable right-footed effort that soared into the top-right corner.

Visiting keeper Victor Valdes then spilled a free-kick from Nani as the home side, emboldened by the roars of the crowd, threatened to over-run them, before Messi reminded them of the unique danger he poses with a run and shot that forced van der Sar into a save.

The shackles of the first leg cast off, chances were exchanged by both sides, with Park slotting narrowly wide from Cristiano Ronaldo's lay-off and Deco twice going close from the edge of the United penalty area.

As the first half drew to a close United found themselves increasingly penned back, and they were lucky to escape when van der Sar dropped Messi's cross right in front of Eto'o, only for Patrice Evra to intervene at the vital moment.

Nani flashed a header wide of Valdes's left-hand post minutes before the break and United went close again just before the hour when Tevez stung the Barca keeper's palms with a rising left-footed effort after a lovely exchange of passes with Ronaldo.

Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard responded to the growing need for a goal by introducing Thierry Henry with half an hour to go, and the Frenchman put a header straight at van der Sar with just over 10 minutes remaining.

United's defenders came to the fore in the game's dramatic closing stages, with Brown first tackling substitute Bojan Krkic as he prepared to shoot before sliding in to cut out Carles Puyol's centre from the left.

A head injury to Evra - who had to be replaced by Mikael Silvestre - prompted six minutes of added time, but with Ferguson anxiously checking his watch referee Herbert Fandel blew his whistle to send United through to a showdown with either Liverpool or Chelsea that will be the first all-English final in the competition's history.

Double Dutch for Bayliss

Eurosport - Mon, 28 Apr 12:39:00 2008

Troy Bayliss secured a double race win at Assen to stretch his World Superbike championship lead to 70 points.

The Australian had put his Xerox Ducati on pole position and also took both race wins in the Netherlands as he continued to dominate his final series before retirement.

Bayliss took his points total to 178 as Spaniard Carlos Checa moved up to second in the standings after two podium finishes at Assen on the HANNspree Ten Kate Honda.

Bayliss was delighted with his perfect weekend which saw him add his second double race win of the season to pole position.

"It's been an incredible weekend, taking pole and two race wins is a great way to finish it off," he said.

Bayliss won the first race after Japanese rider Yukio Kagayama made a mistake while leading at one third distance.

Bayliss took over at the front and from that point was able to control the race to take the victory.
Checa waited patiently before easing past Kagayama's Alstare Suzuki team-mate Max Neukirchner to take the runner-up spot, with Kagayama back in fourth ahead of Troy Corser on the Yamaha Motor Italia machine.

A relieved Bayliss, who saw the condition of his tyres deteriorate late in the race, said: "I'm very happy with the way it turned out.

"I made a really good start but it's a long time to be out there [in the lead] by yourself.

"I was looking around more than normal but I wanted to see where Carlos was."

Checa had taken out Neukirchner at the previous round in Valencia with a desperate late pass and did not want a repeat at Assen.

"I have thought about what happened in Valencia," the Spaniard said. "My front tyre was not so good but when I saw a place where I could pass Max I went past him."

Race two was a four-way battle at the front with Bayliss leading Japan's Nori Haga on the Yamaha Motor Italia machine, German Neukirchner and the Sterilgarda Ducati of Ruben Xaus.

Bayliss and Haga broke away and it was the Australian who held off his rival to complete his double race win.

Xaus had got the better of Neukirchner but his hopes of a podium spot were dashed in the closing stages as Checa closed in and grabbed third place.

In the Supersport class, Briton Jonathan Rea missed out on victory by just one hundredth of a second as Ten Kate Honda team-mate Andrew Pitt claimed a narrow victory.

Parkalgar Honda's Craig Jones led the race briefly before fading, and had to settle for a ninth-place finish.

Superbike Race one results
1. Troy Bayliss (Aus) Ducati 36:50.907;
2. Carlos Checa (Esp) Honda 36:53.039;
3. Max Neukirchner (Ger) Suzuki 36:53.086;
4. Yukio Kagayama (Jpn) Suzuki 37:01.826;
5. Troy Corser (Aus) Yamaha 37:01.958;
6. Jakub Smrz (Cze) Ducati 37:02.886;
7. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Jpn) Honda 37:06.091;
8. Makoto Tamada (Jpn) Kawasaki 37:09.302;
9. Gregorio Lavilla (Esp) Honda 37:09.541;
10. Max Biaggi (Ita) Ducati 37:11.606;
11. Regis Laconi (Fra) Kawasaki 37:16.666;
12. Kenan Sofuoglu (Tur) Honda 37:16.971

Race two results
1. Troy Bayliss (Aus) Ducati 36:46.238;
2. Noriyuki Haga (Jpn) Yamaha 36:46.320;
3. Carlos Checa (Esp) Honda 36:52.574;
4. Ruben Xaus (Esp) Ducati 36:53.813;
5. Max Neukirchner (Ger) Suzuki 36:54.249;
6. Yukio Kagayama (Jpn) Suzuki 37:00.237;
7. Gregorio Lavilla (Esp) Honda 37:01.453;
8. Jakub Smrz (Cze) Ducati 37:02.614;
9. Makoto Tamada (Jpn) Kawasaki 37:03.507;
10. Troy Corser (Aus) Yamaha 37:04.618;
11. Fonsi Nieto (Esp) Suzuki 37:05.164;
12. Max Biaggi (Ita) Ducati 37:07.690

Championship standings
1. Troy Bayliss (Aus) Ducati 178pts;
2. Carlos Checa (Esp) Honda 108;
3. Troy Corser (Aus) Yamaha 89;
4. Fonsi Nieto (Esp) Suzuki 85;
5. Ruben Xaus (Esp) Ducati 81;
6. Noriyuki Haga (Jpn) Yamaha 67;
7. Max Neukirchner (Ger) Suzuki 66;
8. Max Biaggi (Ita) Ducati 54;

Premier League - Ballack strikes for Chelsea

Eurosport - Sun, 27 Apr 08:39:00 2008

A controversial late Michael Ballack penalty moved Chelsea level on points with Manchester United following a 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge.

The German nervelessly despatched an 86th-minute spot-kick after the assistant referee flagged for a handball by Michael Carrick.

So often a maligned figure for Chelsea, Ballack supplied both goals in a pulsating encounter, heading the home side in front late in the first half.

Wayne Rooney equalised after a blunder by Ricardo Carvalho but was later taken off injured.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Darren Fletcher both had potential equalisers cleared off the line in a frantic climax to the game.

Having trailed the champions by eight points, Chelsea now join them on 81 points with two matches to go. However, a goal difference advantage of 16 means that United will retain their title with wins over West Ham and Wigan.

However, with no wins out of three in a traumatic week, that is far from a foregone conclusion.
Life has been no less difficult for Chelsea, whose key midfielder Frank Lampard sat out the game following the death of his mother.

The players paid tribute after the opening goal, before Ballack stepped effortlessly into Lampard's penalty-taking shoes to drill home the winner.

Sir Alex Ferguson complained on Friday that United were victims of a fixture list that saw the match sandwiched between two games against Barcelona - all within six days.

With an eye on Tuesday's Champions League return leg at Old Trafford, he left RonaldoCarlos Tevez and Owen Hargreaves on the bench, while Patrice Evra and Paul Scholes were omitted from the squad altogether.

If United were unconvincing in the Camp Nou on Wednesday, they were much worse in the first half at Stamford Bridge as a powerful and determined Chelsea side overran them.

Salomon Kalou and Michael Essien started especially strongly, running with the ball at their feet against a remarkably timid visiting defence.

Within a minute Wes Brown played Edwin van der Sar into trouble with a poor back header, although Essien's eventual shot flew over.

Mikael Silvestre looked unsteady at left-back and things got worse when the increasingly injury-prone Nemanja Vidic was taken off, looking groggy, after sustaining a bloody mouth.

On 21 minutes Joe Cole surged untracked through the centre but, fatally, delayed his killer pass to Essien too long and appeared to have lost out.

However, Brown's clearance hit a team-mate and fell to Cole, whose snapshot rattled back off the right angle of post and bar.

But it was only a matter of time until the goal came, and it arrived in first-half stoppage time.

The hitherto quiet Didier Drogba teased a right-foot cross to the edge of the six yard box, where Ballack arrived to power his header past the helpless Van der Sar.

United were much brighter after the break, stringing passes together and creating crossing opportunities for Nani, most of which were spurned.

But few could imagine the equaliser would come from such a reliable player as Carvalho.

Chelsea took a free-kick just inside their own half and, under no pressure, Carvalho appeared to panic and tread on the ball.

Rooney seized possession and sprinted goalwards, one-on-one with John Terry in his wake. His lack of decisiveness in such situations has brought criticism from England manager Fabio Capello, but he steeled himself and drilled a low shot in off the left-hand post for his first goal against Chelsea.

United looked comfortable as Avram Grant threw Nicolas Anelka and Andriy Shevchenko into the fray.

Everything changed when Carrick handled an Essien cross and the linesman raised his flag. Ballack had earlier argued with Drogba over a free-kick, but there was no doubt over the penalty taker.

The midfielder powered his shot into the left corner, but the game was not over yet.
Ronaldo hit a left-foot shot that Ashley Cole scuffed clear, before Fletcher had what looked a certain leveller cleared by the unlikely figure of Shevchenko.

- Chelsea groundstaff and Manchester United players were involved in a bizarre fracas on the pitch after the match between the two teams.

None of the United players who played in the match were involved but Patrice Evra, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Gerard Pique and John O'Shea were all warming down when an argument began with the groundstaff tending the pitch.

Stewards quickly moved in to separate those involved but after the situation quietened down the row flared up again, although no punches were thrown.

Motorsport Power Rankings

Eurosport - Mon, 28 Apr 14:38:00 2008

There is a new pacesetter at the top of the Motorsport Power Rankings as Troy Bayliss continues to dominate the World Superbike championship.

The Power Rankings are our attempt to establish who is the best driver or rider across the wide world of motorsports.

We rate competitors from 13 different events - seven cars, six bikes - and pit them against each other based on their results.

See below for a full explanation of the system.

A fantastic World Superbike double in Assen has seen Troy Bayliss take a commanding lead at the top of the pile.

Sebastien Loeb is off the top and plummets to seventh after his retirement from the Rally of Jordan.

Kimi Raikkonen moves into second after a dominant performance in Barcelona, easing well clear of F1 rivals Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton.

WRC championship leader Mikko Hirvonen is a new entry at 10, while Andrew Pitt and Dan Wheldon also make their first appearance.

Chris Atkinson, Jari-Matti Latvala and IRL contender Graham Rahal drop out of the top 20.

MOTORSPORT POWER RANKINGS
1 (2) Troy Bayliss (World SBK) - 7.8
2 (7=) Kimi Raikkonen (F1) - 6.5
3= (3=) Shane Byrne (BSB) - 6.4
3= (3=) Cal Crutchlow (BSB) - 6.4
5= (5=) Jorge Lorenzo (MotoGP) - 6.3
5= (5=) Dani Pedrosa (MotoGP) - 6.3
7 (1) Sebastien Loeb (WRC) - 6
8 (7=) Simone Corsi (125cc) - 5.3
9 (11) Rickard Rydell (WTCC) - 4.5
10 (-) Mikko Hirvonen (WRC) - 4.4
11= (12=) Mika Kallio (250cc) - 4.3
11= (12=) Mattia Pasini (250cc) - 4.3
13= (9=) Scott Dixon (IRL) - 4
13= (-) Andrew Pitt (WSS) - 4
13= (17=) Felipe Massa (F1) - 4
16 (12=) Joan Lascorz (WSS) - 3.8
17 (16) Fabrizio Giovanardi (BTCC) - 3.5
18 (17=) Casey Stoner (MotoGP) - 3.3
19= (17=) Lewis Hamilton (F1) - 3.3
19= (20=) Gabriele Tarquini (WTCC) - 3.3
19= (20=) Tiago Monteiro (WTCC) - 3.3
19= (-) Dan Wheldon (IRL) - 3.3

HOW IT WORKS

Drivers and riders can only score points by finishing on the podium.

Win = 10pts
Second = 6pts
Third = 3pts

Points are then divided by the number of races to leave an average score.
For Tier 1 events, the average is the final score.
For Tier 2 events, the average is multiplied by 0.8 to find the final score.
TIER 1 EVENTS: Formula 1, WRC, WTCC, Nascar, IRL, MotoGP, World Superbikes.
TIER 2 EVENTS: IRC, BTCC, 250cc, 125cc, World Supersport, British Superbikes.

Example: Jorge Lorenzo
1 x win, 1 x second, 1 x third = 10 + 6 + 3 = 19 points.
19/3 races = 6.3 average.Alex Chick / Eurosport

Kimi Raikkonen leads Spanish Grand Prix

BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) - Reigning champion Kimi Raikkonen led the Spanish Grand Prix in his Ferrari on Sunday at the halfway stage which also saw compatriot Heikki Kovalainen exit in a spectacular crash.

Raikkonen was leading on lap 33 of 66 ahead of stablemate Felipe Massa while British pilot Lewis Hamilton - team-mate of Kovalainen - was in third and the 132,000 mainly Spanish crowd's hopes of a home victory ended with 32 laps remaining as two-time champion Fernando Alonso had to pull out when in fifth place.

Kovalainen was the most spectacular of the casualties as something appeared to come off his McLaren and he drove straight onto the gravel and into the protective tyre barrier.
The safety cart came out but more worryingly the medical car also came onto the track to attend to the Finnish driver.

Thankfully Kovalainen, who is in his first season at this level, was seen being stretchered away but was able to give a thumbs up sign to register that he was alright.
McLaren said that he was conscious and stable.

The first lap was marred when German driver Sebastien Vettel in his Torro Rosso exited with his third collision of the season - which also involved David Coulthard and Adrian Suttil - leaving him still to complete a Grand Prix on four outings.

Nelson Piquet Junior, son of the former world champion, was moving smoothly in 10th when he made an error and went off but managed to regain the circuit having lost several places.
Piquet Junior never recovered from that error and stopped after just five laps of the race having baulked French driver Sebastien Bourdais, who had to come into the pits for serious repairs and also had to eventually call it a day.

Ramon takes maiden MX1 win at rain hit Bellpuig-Van Dijk wins Veterans

BELLPUIG (SPAIN), 20 April 2008

Today the Spanish Grand Prix was one of the toughest races ever seen by the Motocross circus; it started to rain in the middle of the night and it carried on during the entire day, making the competition even tougher than it would have been.

On a very wet and muddy course, Steve Ramon took his first career MX1 class victory while Davide Guarneri sealed his second MX2 GP win. A strong Toine van Dijk won the opening round of the FIM Veterans Motocross World Cup.

MX1

Defending MX1 World Champion Steve Ramon of Teka Suzuki WMX1 took his maiden MX1 overall win at the end of an extremely hard first moto; the second moto was cancelled after the Event Management’s decision due to the weather conditions. Yamaha Monster Motocross’ David Philippaerts was second on today’s podium, stepping on the rostrum for the first time since he mounted on the factory Yamaha machine. The podium was completed by current series leader Ken de Dycker of Teka Suzuki WMX1, while Yamaha Motocross’ Josh Coppins and Kawasaki Racing’s Tanel Leok completed the top five.

Top five overall: 1. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 25 points; 2. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 22 p.; 3. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Suzuki), 20 p.; 4. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), 18 p.; 5. Tanel Leok (EST, Kawasaki), 16 p.

MX1 RACE 1

Home rider Jonathan Barragan took the lead in the opening laps, then was passed by Ramon with the Belgian pulling away from the rest of the field. A solid Philippaerts crashed out in the early stages but rejoined the race very quick to climb up to an eventual second; also third placed De Dycker crashed twice, once at the start and once again before the end of the opening lap. Though the Belgian giant worked his way up from the back of the pack to collect a positive top three finish. Coppins was a solid third when he stalled the bike on a jump and eventually dropped down to fourth ahead of Estonian Tanel Leok. Marc de Reuver was disqualified as he started outside of his gate position.

Top five: 1. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 40:49.290; ; 2. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:35.461; 3. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Suzuki), +0:49.535; 4. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), +1:22.141; 5. Tanel Leok (EST, Kawasaki), +2:03.530

MX2

Ricci Racing Yamaha’s Davide Guarneri proved an incredibly strong competitor today, by winning his second Grand Prix despite a broken ligament in his right collarbone. The Italian was followed by countryman and Yamaha fellow rider Manuel Monni of 3C Racing, with the latter collecting his second career podium after his first appearance in Gaildorf 2005. Molson Kawasaki Racing’s Stephen Sword was another rider coming back to the podium in third after he spent most of the 2006 and 2007 seasons off racing due to injuries. Reigning MX2 Champion Tony Cairoli of Yamaha Red Bull De Carli and current series leader Tyla Rattray of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing completed the top five.

Top five overall: 1. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), 45 points; 2. Manuel Monni (ITA, Yamaha), 37 p.; 3. Stephen Sword (GBR, Kawasaki), 32 p.; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), 32 p.; 5. Tyla Rattray (RSA, KTM), 29 p.

MX2 RACE 1

Rattray rode a perfect heat, taking victory with a dominant gate to flag performance. A solid Steven Frossard was a comfortable second until he had a problem with his brakes, dropping down to twelfth. Cairoli took an eventual second place after a difficult start, as he was in the middle of the pack in turn one, while Guarneri ended an unexpected third; the latter was actually doubtful for this Grand Prix after last week’s collarbone injury. Marvin Musquin was quick in the early stages, holding a promising third before dropping down to eighth after a mistake. Fourth placed Sword rode a solid heat, coming back up from the bottom of the top ten, while Jeremy Tarroux completed the top five ahead of Monni.

Top five: 1. Tyla Rattray (RSA, KTM), 41:43.976; ; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), +1:03.972; 3. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), +1:11.984; 4. Stephen Sword (GBR, Kawasaki), +1:16.976; 5. Jeremy Tarroux (FRA, KTM), +1:26.602

MX2 RACE 2

Holeshotter Tommy Searle crashed in the first corner to hand Nicolas Aubin the lead. The latter crashed as well and Guarneri found himself leading the MX2 group. Despite the slippery conditions and his injury, Guarneri kept a decent pace until the race was stopped. Winning the final heat, the Italian took also the overall ahead of Monni, who finished a distant second in the moto. 2007 EMX2 European Champion Gautier Paulin ended a positive third ahead of Rui Goncalves, while Joel Roelants completed the top five. Cairoli brought home a hard fought eleventh while Rattray ended seventeenth.

Top five: 1. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), 31:35.087; ; 2. Manuel Monni (ITA, Yamaha), +2:32.695; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +2:41.294; 4. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), +3:40.695; 5. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), -1 lap(s)

IN THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS

Ken de Dycker still holds the red plate with team mate Ramon following in second, just seven points behind. David Philippaerts has moved up to third ahead of team mate Josh Coppins. Billy Mackenzie dropped down to fifth.

Top five: 1. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Suzuki), 70 points; 2. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 63 p.; 3. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 55 p.; 4. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), 47 p.; 5. Billy Mackenzie (GBR, Honda), 46 p.

In the MX2 class Tyla Rattray keeps the leadership but Cairoli has shortened up the gap which is now three points. Guarneri jumped up to third courtesy of today’s victory while team mates Tommy Searle and Rui Goncalves round off the top five.

Top five: 1. Tyla Rattray (RSA, KTM), 79 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), 76 p.; 3. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), 61 p.; 4. Tommy Searle (GBR, KTM), 60 p.; 5. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 51 p.

FIM VETERANS MOTOCROSS WORLD CUP

Courtesy of his win in the second heat, Dutchman Toine van Dijk took the overall victory of this first round of the 2008 FIM Veterans Motocross World Cup. Ending a disappointing tenth in heat one, Van Dijk went out for revenge in the second moto, leaving 2007 World Cup winner Dave Thorpe behind in second.

Second on the podium was British Scott Eastwood, who ended second in heat one and sixth in heat two, to collect his first podium finish in the series.

2006 World Cup winner Thierry Godfroid made a stunning comeback to racing after he injured himself at Donington Park last year. After several months off the bike, the Belgian came back to action ending the moto’s in sixth and fourth.

Poleman Peter Iven ended fourth overall while first moto winner and sole CCM rider Greg Hanson ended right behind in fifth, as his second moto was compromised when another rider hit him.

Dave Thorpe was ninth after a difficult opening moto; he was second behind Iven when the latter crashed and Thorpe could not avoid him.
Ending 20th, former GP winner Charles Sun had a tough debut on a difficult track where he never rode before while 2007 World Cup winner Cooksley ended 25th.

Top five overall: 1. Toine van Dijk (NED, Suzuki), 36 points; 2. Scott Eastwood (GBR, Honda), 35 p.; 3. Thierry Godfroid (BEL, Kawasaki), 33 p.; 4. Peter Iven (BEL, Kawasaki), 32 p.; 5. Greg Hanson (GBR, CCM), 31 p.

AT THE END OF THE DAY

At the end of this second of fifteen rounds of the FIM Motocross World Championship, FIM/CMS President Dr. Wolfgang Srb said: “The situation was very difficult, everyone tried their utmost to run this event but what we finally learnt is that the nature is always stronger, there is nothing we can do against it. We have done all we could, everyone has worked extremely hard to make it happen but the nature was stronger than all our efforts. The decision taken by the event management was good, the riders’ safety always comes first.”

Youthstream President Mr. Giuseppe Luongo stated: “This was a wise decision; we have all the experts on the race track, such as the track designer, the race director, the clerk of the course and so on. It was very difficult out there and it was right to take this decision.”

Premier League - United trio agree new deals

Eurosport - Fri, 18 Apr 12:58:00 2008

Manchester United defenders Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown, along with midfielder Michael Carrick, have agreed new contracts with the club.

The 29-year-old Ferdinand is enjoying the form of his life at United, his central defensive partnership with Nemanja Vidic galvanising a miserly defence that has conceded just 18 Premier League goals all season

Fellow England defender Brown, who has started 41 games in all competitions this season, could have left the Old Trafford club on a free transfer when his current deal ends in June.

The Manchester-born Brown made his United breakthrough as a right-back in the club's 1998-1999 Treble-winning season, and was quickly rewarded with a call-up to the England squad.

Naturally a centre-half, he has been deployed at right-back this season in place of the injured Gary Neville, and it is at full-back that he started England coach Fabio Capello's first two games in charge.

Michael Carrick arrived at Old Trafford from Tottenham Hotspur in 2006, and has become an intergral part of the United midfield.

Lakers beat Kings, win conference title

Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau… AP - Apr 16, 12:02 am EDT

LOS ANGELES (AP)—The Los Angeles Lakers began the season in chaos 5 1/2 months ago. They finished it as the Western Conference champions.

Pau Gasol had 22 points, leading MVP candidate Kobe Bryant added 20, and the Lakers beat the short-handed Sacramento Kings 124-101 Tuesday night to clinch the No. 1 seed in the West and home-court advantage throughout the conference playoffs.

“I told the guys to celebrate, have a good time for two days,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “We’re back to business Thursday.”

The Lakers (57-25) begin the playoffs this weekend—most likely Sunday— against Denver or Dallas. It will be the Nuggets unless they beat Memphis and Dallas loses to No. 2 seed New Orleans on Wednesday night. If the Hornets win, they’ll have the same record as the Lakers, but Los Angeles wins the tiebreaker because of a better conference record.

The Lakers enter the playoffs having gone 8-1 to finish the regular season.

“It’s all about momentum,” Bryant said. “You want to be playing your best basketball going into the playoffs, and we feel like we’re doing that so we ended the season exactly where we wanted to.”

The Lakers were 3-0 against Denver this season and 3-1 against Dallas.

“Whoever we face, we’re going to have our hands full,” said Bryant, mindful of the strength and depth in the West, where as many as eight teams could finish with at least 50 victories. “No matter who you match up with in the West, it’s going to be tough.”

Gasol shot 9-of-11 before coming out of the game for good with 2:38 left in the third quarter, and Bryant joined him on the bench moments later after having shot just 3-of-13. But he went 13-of-14 from the foul line.

Lamar Odom added 15 points and 12 rebounds, Vladimir Radmanovic scored 14 points, Jordan Farmar added 13, and Ronny Turiaf had 10 points and six assists for the Lakers, who went strictly with reserves in the fourth quarter.

Quincy Douby led the Kings (38-44) with a career-high 32 points. Beno Udrih scored 22 points, Francisco Garcia added 15 and Shelden Williams had 12 points and a season-high 11 rebounds.

The Kings played their final game of the season without their top three scorers: Kevin Martin, Ron Artest and Brad Miller. Artest, who has a sprained left thumb, missed the final two games after scoring 22 points in a 94-91 victory over New Orleans on Saturday night, a triumph that opened the door for the Lakers to win the West.

“We fought through a lot of adversity, a lot of injuries,” Kings coach Reggie Theus said. “(The Lakers) definitely understood that this was a team that had come in here once before and beat them. This was a game they really needed, and they played like they should have. They are a great basketball team. It will be interesting to see what will happen in the playoffs. They have the potential in that locker room to do it all.”

The Lakers overcame injuries to up-and-coming center Andrew Bynum and backup forward Trevor Ariza to win the West after a 9-8 start. Bynum (left knee) hasn’t played since Jan. 13, and Ariza (right foot) has been sidelined since being injured a week later. There’s no timetable on their return.

The acquisition of Gasol from Memphis on Feb. 1 has paid huge dividends. The Lakers are 22-5 with the 7-footer in their lineup. Gasol returned earlier this month after missing nine games because of a sprained ankle.

Reserves Farmar, Turiaf and Sasha Vujacic showed significant improvement between last season and this one.

Gasol has never played on a team that has won a playoff game, much less a series.

“I’m not really looking, thinking about the past, just focusing on what we’ve got here, an opportunity to do something great,” he said. “It doesn’t stop here.”

Bryant, regarded as one of the NBA’s best players for several years but without an MVP award in 11 previous seasons, called the Lakers’ front office a mess and demanded a trade last spring in the wake of the team’s failure to win a playoff series for the third straight year.

After things calmed down, team owner Dr. Jerry Buss said during training camp he was listening to offers, angering Bryant again. Trade talk was a constant for the first weeks of the season, but Bryant said recently this has been his most satisfying year because of the relationship he’s had with his teammates.

Bryant said he didn’t believe the Lakers could win the West last summer, but added: “We talked about it in training camp, our goal was to win the championship. It’s been a great turnaround. We all feel very good about it. We’re excited about it. We’re all very proud of each other. There’s still a lot of work to be done.”

Odom scored five points during a 12-4 run that gave the Lakers a 76-57 lead early in the third quarter, and a 22-7 spurt to end the period made it 101-72. The Lakers led by as many as 30 points in the fourth quarter.

Garcia sat out the last 8 1/2 minutes of the second quarter with three fouls, and teammate Spencer Hawes soon picked up his third and went to the bench. The Lakers led 62-48 at halftime thanks to a 3-pointer by Farmar at the buzzer. Douby, averaging 4.4 points, had 15 in the half to match his previous season high.

The Lakers, who never trailed for the 15th time this season, made their first four shots for an 8-0 lead, and led 34-27 entering the second quarter.

Notes

Since the NBA went to the conference format in 1970, the Lakers have held the No. 1 seed in the West 14 times. … The Lakers won the season series with Sacramento 3-1 for the second straight year. The Kings beat them 114-113 last month at Staples Center. … Martin, Artest and Miller averaged 57.6 points between them this season. … Bryant had two of his five assists in the first quarter to him 4,000 in his career, becoming the 16th player in NBA history with 21,000 points and 4,000 assists. He is the third player in franchise history to reach 4,000 assists, joining Magic Johnson and Jerry West.

Lorenzo wins maiden GP in Portugal

Eurosport - Sun, 13 Apr 17:56:00 2008

Rookie Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo won the Portuguese GP at Estoril from Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa. It was a maiden victory for the 20-year-old whose team-mate Valentino Rossi was third.

Briton James Toseland finished down in seventh as Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden crashed out ahead of him.

Toseland's Yamaha Tech 3 team-mate Colin Edwards took fourth spot from John Hopkins on the Kawasaki, while reigning world champion Casey Stoner fought back from early problems to finish sixth.

Lorenzo had taken three pole positions in the opening three races of the season, yet finished second and third in each respectively.

However the Spaniard, the youngest rider in the entire field, looked comfortable after exchanging the lead with Rossi in the opening laps.

Dovizioso looked determined to show what he could do by rising immediately to fourth, from seventh on the grid, while Rossi went to the head of the field.

Stoner had problems and dropped to 10th when Toseland passed him after six laps and soon after Randy de Puniet helped himself to another place at the Australian's expense.

With Edwards fifth behind Dozizioso, Pedrosa put a move on Lorenzo to go second - only for the rookie to reverse their position on the next lap.

He did not stop there, next taking on Rossi. He did not surrender the lead again for the remaining 16 laps.

Dozizioso went off with 13 laps left, followed two laps later by Hayden - which put Toseland sixth.

Stoner had worked his way through the field and passed the Sheffield native, who immediately stuck himself back on Stoner's wheel. He did not get a chance to pass him though and lost pace, allowing De Puniet to pass him too.

However then De Puniet leaned over too far and crashed, recovering to trail in 15th for a solitary championship point.

The gaps between the front three had widened steadily and Stoner had little chance of catching Hopkins either.

Lorenzo coasted home for a tremendous victory, signalling his championship credentials with Pedrosa and Rossi completing the podium.

United end Arsenal title bid

Eurosport - Sun, 13 Apr 18:56:00 2008

Manchester United came from behind to earn a 2-1 Premier League win over Arsenal at Old Trafford.

Emmanuel Adebayor put the Gunners ahead early in the second half but a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty and Owen Hargreaves free-kick secured a vital win for United, who established a six-point lead over Chelsea at the top of the table.

The defeat effectively rules Arsene Wenger's side out of the title race as they are now nine points off the lead with four games remaining.

Arsenal were impressive in the first 45 minutes and Adebayor was guilty of no less than five misses when put in good shooting positions.

The first was on 18 minutes when he shot tamely at Edwin van der Sar following a one-two with Robin van Persie, and the second was an identikit back-pass after brilliant work by Alexander Hleb on 35 minutes.

Gilberto Silva then found his shot blocked by team-mate Alex Song after United failed to clear a corner, while Cesc Fabregas fired wide from a good position.

The hosts had their chances too. Most of their attacking threat came from Wayne Rooney, who forced one good save from Jens Lehmann after an impudent flick by Ronaldo who bamboozled Song on the United left.

Lehmann was standing-in for the injured Manuel Almunia and the veteran German produced a superb save from Rooney, who had stroked the ball towards the bottom right corner after leading a counter attack. Lehmann somehow stuck his left boot out to divert the ball behind for a corner and the sides went in level at the break.

Arsenal took the lead when Adebayor exploited hesitancy between Van der Sar and Rio Ferdinand after a quickly-taken free-kick allowed Van Persie to cross into the six yard box.

Ferdinand stopped and the Togo striker nicked ahead of the Dutchman to flick the ball home with what appeared to be his hand. United's protests were waved away and Arsenal had a lead that threatened to derail Sir Alex Ferguson's title hopes.

But, as has often happened recently, Arsenal conceded almost immediately.

They had been agonisingly close to doubling their lead when Ferdinand's attempted clearance was spectacularly saved by Van der Sar.

Ferdinand then hooked the loose ball away and United countered. Michael Carrick played the ball into the box and William Gallas handballed to gift United a penalty. Ronaldo converted twice, the first strike disallowed after Park Ji-Sung encroached and the second drilled low to Lehmann's right.

The match was blown wide open, and substitute Carlos Tevez almost netted with a long-range effort, while Wes Brown deflected a Gael Clichy cross towards goal that Van der Sar did very well to tip onto the post.

United's second goal came on 71 minutes - and from two unlikely sources. Left back Patrice Evra got forward, playing through Rooney and winning a free-kick off Gilberto on the edge of the box after the England striker's shot was blocked.

Hargreaves stepped up and asked Ronaldo to move aside. The former Bayern Munich midfielder then unleashed an immaculate shot that dipped over the wall and curled away from Lehmann into the bottom left for his second goal of the season, a carbon copy of his first strike against Fulham.

The stuffing was knocked out of the Gunners, although they attacked with intent late on and sub Nicklas Bendtner should have made Van der Sar work harder to save his far-post header after he was found by Fabregas.

United held on at the end and now lead Chelsea by six points at the top of the Premier League.

Alonso: McLaren are not winners

Eurosport - Sat, 12 Apr 19:05:00 2008

Fernando Alonso has claimed that he did not leave McLaren-Mercedes at the end of the 2007 campaign because of his public fall-outs with both team-mate Lewis Hamilton and team principal Ron Dennis, but rather because he deemed the highly successful British outfit to be 'not a winning team'.

The Spaniard cut short his three-year McLaren contract to return to Renault - with whom he claimed both his world drivers' championship successes in 2005 and 2006 - and even if his current R28 mount has proven to be a distinct disappointment in terms of its pace and potential, he argued he believed there was more chance of winning with the Régie in the years to come than had he stayed at Woking.

"McLaren seem like a winning team, but they are not," he is quoted as having said by Dutch website f1today.nl. "Some teams are able to produce good cars [and] seem like winners, but in fact they are not, like McLaren.

"They haven't won any titles in years, so I would rather be with Renault, who in the same period collected two drivers' and two constructors' championships."

Whilst there have been a good many rumours linking the 26-year-old to a switch across to Ferrari in 2009, Alonso also stressed that Renault was the right place to be for him at the moment - though he would only remain there beyond the end of the current season, he added, should he be given a winning car next year.

"I could have gone to a couple of other teams," he acknowledged, "but ultimately Renault seemed like the right ones, with the experience, to make a good car and win races.

"Next year I want to be with a team that can win. At the moment I think it will be Renault, because by the end of the season we will have made up a lot of our deficiencies and then we can make a small further step for next season."

Tevez eases United through

Eurosport - Wed, 09 Apr 22:36:00 2008

Carlos Tevez's second-half header gave Manchester United a 1-0 victory over Roma at Old Trafford that sealed their progress to the last four of the Champions League with a 3-0 aggregate victory.

After making a strong start to the game United nearly went behind when Roma were awarded a penalty after half an hour, but Daniele de Rossi blasted a wretched spot-kick well over the crossbar.

Roma continued to put United under pressure in the opening stages of the second period, before Tevez's header from the superb Owen Hargreaves's inch-perfect cross finally put the tie beyond the Italian side.

United went into the game leading 2-0 on aggregate after a convincing first leg performance in Rome, but manager Alex Ferguson betrayed his anxiety with a conservative 4-5-1 formation that saw Tevez starting up front on his own, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney on the bench.

Rio Ferdinand returned at centre-half after being forced off in the 2-2 draw at Middlesbrough, and he was partnered by young Spaniard Gerard Pique, with Mikael Silvestre starting at left-back in place of compatriot Patrice Evra.

United started in purposeful fashion, and Park Ji-Sung flashed a shot across goal before Wes Brown directed a free header over the bar from Ryan Giggs's left-wing corner.

Giggs almost created an opener moments later when his pass set Hargreaves scampering into the visitors' box, but the England man's shot was turned away by Doni.

Mirko Vucinic tested Edwin van der Sar with a shot from a tight angle after 15 minutes, but United were soon back on the attack and Giggs extended Doni with a half-volley from Hargreaves's zipped right-wing cross.

Hargreaves was finding plenty of room down the United right in the game's opening stages, and it took a joint effort from Juan and Marco Cassetti to deny him after he was set free once again by Giggs.

The home side were cruising, but with half an hour gone the stadium fell into stunned silence when referee Tom Ovrebo adjudged Brown's challenge on Mancini illegal and pointed to the penalty spot.

Midfielder De Rossi - who scored a spot-kick in Italy's 2006 World Cup final shootout triumph over France - stepped up, but lifted his penalty high into the stands.

Roma went close again shortly after the break when Van der Sar spilled Vucinic's long-range effort but Cassetti just could not get to the rebound.

Rodrigo Taddei was then denied by a tremendous block from Silvestre as Roma continued to threaten, before Hargreaves and Tevez combined to put the result beyond their opponents with 20 minutes remaining.

Tevez found Hargreaves rampaging down the right wing, and the Argentine was perfectly placed to meet the ensuing cross with a deft near post header that gave Doni no chance.

With United's progress secure Ferguson took the opportunity to give Gary Neville his first action of the season after a lengthy spell on the sidelines with an ankle injury, and his every touch drew huge cheers from the home fans.

The result represents a record 11th consecutive home win in the Champions League for United, for whom Barcelona await in the semi-finals.

Chelsea set up Liverpool semi

Eurosport - Wed, 09 Apr 00:43:00 2008

Chelsea will face Liverpool in the Champions League semi-finals for the third time in four years after goals from Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard saw them past Fenerbahce at Stamford Bridge.

Trailing 2-1 from the first-leg, Avram's Grant's side started with real purpose and took just three minutes to level the tie on aggregate when Ballack rose to head home Joe Cole's right-wing cross.

Despite dominating possession and creating enough chances to end the contest before half-time, the home side were forced to endure a nervous final quarter before Lampard blasted home in the 87th minute to ensure their progress.

Fenerbahce will look to a superb double-save from Chelsea's substitute goalkeeper Hilario as their best chance to steal an undeserved victory.

With 10 minutes remaining the Portuguese got down to deny substitute Ugur's deflected shot before tipping Colin Kazim-Richards's powerful 25-yard drive over the bar. It was the closest the visitors came to a goal.

Fenerbahce were strangely subdued in the first half and failed to muster a single shot on target. They had come to defend; yet after conceding they appeared unable to adapt their approach. The Turkish side were fortunate to go in at the break just one goal behind.

Minutes after Ballack's towering leap, Chelsea came within inches of a second when Salomon Kalou's near-post cross found Joe Cole. The England midfielder cut across his marker to engineer an opening, but stabbed his shot against the upright.

Soon after Carlo Cudicini was forced to withdraw. With Petr Cech sidelined after a training ground injury, third-choice goalkeeper Hilario took the field.

Chelsea were unquestionably in the ascendancy, but there were worrying signs of defensive fallibility. Diego Lugano and Deivid both found themselves unmarked in the box, but each headed harmlessly wide.

Striker Deivid appeared Fenerbahce's most likely - but even he was reduced to shooting from fully 40 yards as the visitors struggled to penetrate.

As a disjointed second half unfolded, neither side appeared capable of holding possession. Chelsea made and spurned a host of chances, while the Turks were limited to long-range speculative efforts.

After Hilario's crucial intervention, Chelsea finally sealed the tie with three minutes remaining.
Michael Essien broke down the right and teed up Lampard from five yards to bring a welcome sense of relief to the frustrated home support.

After picking up a needless yellow card for throwing the ball away, however, Essien will miss the first leg of their all-English semi-final.

Chelsea will be seeking to defeat Liverpool at the penultimate stage of the Champions League at the third attempt - having lost semi-finals to their Premier League rivals in 2005 and 2007.

Champions League - Liverpool dump Arsenal in thriller

Eurosport - Wed, 09 Apr 00:22:00 2008

Liverpool reached the semi-finals of the Champions League with a dramatic 4-2 victory over Arsenal at Anfield to go through 5-3 on aggregate.

A contentious penalty decision allowed Steven Gerrard to put Liverpool on course with four minutes remaining only three after Emmanuel Adebayor's goal seemed set to send the Gunners through on away goals.

Ryan Babel made it four in injury-time on the break as Arsenal attacked. However the away side's fluid midfield had initially taken the game to Liverpool and they were rewarded on 13 minutes when Abou Diaby fired inside the near post.

The faltering home team earned a lifeline after half an hour when Sami Hyypia headed home a Gerrard corner from the penalty spot in-off the post and Fernando Torres dipped a stunning shot into the far-post top corner in the second period to put them ahead.

Substitute Theo Walcott's thrilling run from deep to the by-line and pull-back for Togo striker Adebayor could have settled the match, had Swedish referee Peter Frojdfeldt opted not to point to the spot when Kolo Toure chased down another sub Ryan Babel at the other end moments later.

The match was frenetic from the start, Arsenal the more likely as Adebayor strayed offside on a couple of occasions.

They had the breakthrough when Cesc Fabregas found the lanky striker. His effort from close by the post came back past the Spaniard yet Alexander Hleb was behind him to lay on Diaby, and the wide man finished clinically past Jose Reina.

Reina just got to a near-post Gael Clichy> cross as Adebayor lurked, denying Arsenal a two-goal cushion and they were pegged back when Gerrard's swinging set-piece was thumped towards goal by long-serving defender Hyypia. Fabregas lunged on the line to deflect clear with his own head, but was inches from contact with the ball.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was forced to bring on Gilberto Silva when Mathieu Flamini picked up a knock in an innocuous collision with Gerrard before the half. Anfield waited to see whether penalty kicks would be the order of the day once more in Europe after their triumph last season against Chelsea.

Crouch, again starting a rare match after his goal at The Emirates in the league at the weekend, was unfortunate when a Dennis Bergkamp-esque flick ran just past the post yet his lethal strike partner Torres put paid to expectations that at least extra-time would be required.

As the game settled into a nervous rhythm largely devoid of chances, the hit-man fed off a Crouch flick-on in the area, turned Philippe Senderos and stuck the ball into the far top corner with aplomb.

Robin van Persie and Walcott appeared as Arsenal went in search of the goal that would put them through on away goals. 10 minutes after their introduction for Diaby and Emmanuel Eboue, Walcott led a counter-attack to lodge Liverpool hearts in mouths.

Skipping past challenges from several Reds players on his way from one end of the pitch to the other, he pulled back to the waiting Adebayor - and the ball was promptly dispatched into the net to give Arsenal a sight of the semis.

However a cruel twist snatched it away from them, Babel - himself recently on as a sub for Crouch - bursting into the penalty area and bundled down under a minimal challenge from the chasing Kolo Toure.

In the first leg in London Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt had seemingly gotten away with a far more obvious tug on the shirt of Hleb, yet Wenger's men were not afforded the same leniency and paid for it with their place in the competition.

Gerrard smashed the kick into the top corner and Babel made it four in the final seconds, fighting off Fabregas shoulder to shoulder before scoring inside the near post to set Anfield dreaming of another famous European triumph.

Lanzi and Haga claim wins

Eurosport - Mon, 07 Apr 12:40:00 2008

Lorenzo Lanzi and Noriyuki Haga claimed victory in the two World Superbike races at Valencia, while Troy Bayliss consolidated his position as championship leader with a pair of second-place finishes.

RACE ONE

Lanzi (pictured) inherited an extraordinary victory after the front two riders crashed on the final corner.

Suzuki's Max Neukirchner had led the entire race after starting on pole, but was taken out as Ten Kate Honda man Carlos Checa attempted a heroic last-gasp overtaking manoeuvre.

The move failed and both men ended in the gravel, handing victory to the disbelieving Lanzi, who led home fellow Ducati Troy Bayliss and Yamaha's Troy Corser.

Checa remounted to claim fifth place, sandwiched between Fonsi Nieto and Karl Muggeridge.

The German Neukirchner appeared destined for an easy win after building a commanding lead, but was reeled in by Checa, who was roared on by a partisan Spanish crowd.

The track claimed a large number of victims, with Haga, Ruben Xaus, Yukio Kagayama and Sebastien Gimbert, heavily, among those crashing out, while Max Biaggi's hopes were ended after running wide.

Ducati have been threatened with a weight penalty if their dominance of the series continues, and the Italian manufacturer somehow managed a one-two despite being outclassed for most of the race.

1 - Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati)
2 - Troy Bayliss (Ducati) +2.987
3 - Troy Corser (Yamaha) +7.287
4 - Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki) +11.992
5 - Carlos Checa (Honda) +12.824
6 - Karl Muggeridge (Honda) +13.125
7 - Gregorio Lavilla (Honda) +13.191
8 - Regis Laconi (Kawasaki) +13.906
9 - Makoto Tamada (Kawasaki) +17.254
10 - Roberto Rolfo (Honda) +18.606

RACE TWO

Having fallen earlier, Haga finally kicked his 2008 season into gear with a pulsating win in the second race.

The Japanese Yamaha rider was expected to contend for the title but managed no better than ninth in the first five races of the year.

However, he finally showed his pedigree, holding off Bayliss, while Checa made partial amends for his earlier indiscretion by finishing third. Neukirchner, however, did not even make the grid for race two.

Ryuichi Kiyonari, Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama completed the top six, while Ruben Xaus managed to hold off Max Biaggi in an entertaining battle for seventh.

Although the veteran Australian Bayliss was unable to add to his tally of three wins from the first four races of the season, he extended his championship lead to 48 points over Nieto.

1 - Noriyuki Haga (Honda)
2 - Troy Bayliss (Ducati) +1.551
3 - Carlos Checa (Honda) +2.903
4 - Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +7.277
5 - Troy Corser (Yamaha) +8.051
6 - Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) +9.223
7 - Ruben Xaus (Ducati) +10.164
8 - Max Biaggi (Ducati) +10.614
9 - Regis Laconi (Kawasaki) +17.234
10 - Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki) +18.100

Massa leads Ferrari one-two in Bahrain

MANAMA (Reuters) - Brazilian Felipe Massa led Ferrari to a one-two victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday, with team mate Kimi Raikkonen seizing the championship lead from McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.

Massa's sixth career win brought him his first points of the Formula One season and came at the same Sakhir desert circuit where he fired up his title challenge last year with a pole-to-flag victory.

"Finally, after a start to the championship under dark clouds, I can see the sunshine again," he said.

World champion Raikkonen collected the 50th podium finish of his grand prix career and the Finn took over at the top with 19 points, three clear of BMW Sauber's German Nick Heidfeld, after three races.

Hamilton was 13th, the lowest placing of his career, and lapped by the Ferraris after making a rare mistake at the start and then running into the back of former team mate Fernando Alonso's Renault.

That second lap collision, passed off as a racing incident, forced the Briton to pit for a new front wing and left him struggling in 17th place with a damaged car.

"It was a very poor performance. I sort of let the team down today," said the downcast Briton, now level with team mate Heikki Kovalainen and Poland's Robert Kubica on 14 points.

"As a professional when you start off badly, you need to pick the pieces up and at least deliver some points, but I didn't do any of that for the team."

BMW TOP

McLaren were leapfrogged at the top of the constructors' standings by BMW Sauber, the only team to have finished all three races on the podium.

Kubica came third, after becoming the first BMW Sauber driver to start a grand prix from pole position, with Heidfeld a close fourth. BMW Sauber have 30 points to Ferrari's 29 and McLaren's 28.

Kovalainen was fifth, ahead of Toyota's Italian Jarno Trulli and Australian Mark Webber in a Red Bull. Germany's Nico Rosberg took the final point for Williams.

Massa made a faster getaway from the front row than Kubica while Hamilton was engulfed by the field, and took the chequered flag 3.3 seconds ahead of Raikkonen.

"The race was really difficult at the beginning, there was a lot of oil on the track," said the Brazilian. "Then during the race the car was just very good and I didn't push to the limit.

"I had a not very easy few weeks, but that's life," he added in a reference to the pressure on him after retiring in Australia and Malaysia.

"It's not the first time and it won't be the last. I had a two bad days in the first two races but I always knew that we were quick."

"I wanted to win but we've been a bit off the pace all weekend," said Raikkonen. "But I'm leading the championship so if we can score second places on the bad weekends, I'm not too disappointed."

Kubica said he had been hampered by wheelspin at the start and then struggled with the oil on the track, with Raikkonen barging past on lap two.

"It's very good to be on the podium for the second race in a row but without the problems on the second lap, I might have been able to fight with Kimi," said the Pole.

In a relatively incident-free race, Britons Jenson Button and David Coulthard collided on lap 18 while Germany's Sebastian Vettel was shunted out at the start.

Near-perfect Bayliss wants better

Eurosport - Wed, 02 Apr 13:17:00 2008
Troy Bayliss has sounded an ominous warning ahead of the Valencia GP on Sunday, saying he is now fully fit and ready to improve on his record of three wins in four races.

The Australian secured a double at his native Phillip Island after opening the season with a victory in Qatar, but said he should have had a clean sweep and is only likely to improve.

"I've won three races so far this year, but I should have won four. It's been a good start, but I had a bit of a front tyre problem at the second race in Qatar, so I feel like I was robbed," he told MCN.

"Now I'm looking forward to going to Valencia and getting a couple of good results there."

Bayliss has opened up a commanding championship lead and is well on course to regain the world title he won in 2006, especially now he is free of injury.

"I've been training my arse off and I feel that I've come a long way since damaging my elbow at Phillip Island.

"I had a really bad case of tennis elbow for a while with a big lump, but it's finally gone down.

"Now that my collarbone is also sorted, I've been able to do proper gym sessions so everything is good."

Eurosport is the only place to come for motorcycle racing this season, with LIVE coverage of MotoGP, World Superbikes and British Superbikes.

Testing brings Jerez action to close

Eurosport - Wed, 02 Apr 10:32:00 2008
Five consecutive days of MotoGP track action at Jerez - three during the Spanish Grand Prix weekend then two days of testing - have come to a close, with only four riders tinkering with their bikes.

Whereas 16 of the 18 top riders tested the day before, only Repsol Honda representatives Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa, plus Rizla Suzuki's Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen returned on Tuesday.

They were joined by Kawasaki test rider Olivier Jacque and Michelin test rider William Costes.
Sunday's race winner Pedrosa and team-mate Hayden, fourth in the GP, had worked on testing basic machine set-up options during the opening day of the test, with the final day then dedicated almost exclusively to tyre testing for Michelin.

Both riders evaluated different 16.5-inch rear tyres, while world championship leader Pedrosa also tried wider profile Michelin fronts, which he had been unable to evaluate before due to his pre-season hand injury. Pedrosa has been racing with a standard profile front tyre so far this season.

The young Spaniard was pleased with the results; however he was forced to call a halt to his programme early due to the increasing amount of sand blown onto the circuit.

"Today we worked on tyres with our Michelin technicians and it was a very useful day," stated the 2008 world championship leader.

"We focused mainly on the front tyre, testing different fronts because so far I've only used Michelin's standard profile. We found some interesting solutions.

"We also tested some rears that Michelin brought here for testing. I didn't use qualifying tyres.
"These two days have been very important in getting us more familiar with the bike and helping us work some more on set-up."

Team-mate Hayden completed a full day of testing and set the fastest lap of the day on this 86th and final circulation, using qualifying tyres.

The 2006 world champion's best time 1:38.940 was a fraction under his best qualifying lap at the GP - which had placed him fourth on the grid - but 0.261s behind the best lap time on day one of testing, set by Jorge Lorenzo.

Hayden left Jerez happy with his chassis set-up, although engine power remains a concern. Repsol Honda is still using the '07 spring valve engine, while development continues on the '08 spec pneumatic-valve powerplant - which HRC's factory team is due to test after Estoril.

"Everything went real smooth," said Nicky. "We did a lot a work with Michelin, tried to check a few tyres' durability, and I was able to string together a few high 39s on race tyres, which we were pretty happy with.

"We also tuned the bike a little bit, tuned the rider too, worked on a few things, and overall it's been a real positive day.

"We've got the chassis working good- now we need to work on the engine because we're coming up to some tracks with big long straightaways."

Third behind the Repsol riders was Vermeulen. The Australian, who was caught out by a tyre gamble during the GP, recorded a best lap time of 1:40.184, placing him 1.244s behind Hayden but 0.592s in front of team-mate Capirossi, who snatched a daring fifth at the final turn of the weekend grand prix.

Former MotoGP rider Jacque was one second slower than Capirossi on the lone ZX-RR present during day two of testing, while Costes was 0.7secs behind the Frenchman.

Practice for the Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril, round three of the 2008 MotoGP World Championship, begins on Friday April 11.

Raikkonen out to break Bahrain jinx

Eurosport - Wed, 02 Apr 14:47:00 2008
Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen, the pre-race favourite at the Bahrain Grand Prix after dominating in Malaysia, has revealed his determination to conquer the Sakhir circuit next weekend.The Finn does not have a particularly good record at the Hermann Tilke-designed track, situated in a desert, finishing third in his last three grands prix there and retiring from the inaugural event in 2004.
"Time and again something has gone wrong there," Raikkonen said.

"Sakhir is one of those circuits where I really want to win finally.

"We should have speed enough to fight for the top place in Bahrain, too. I have a good touch with that circuit and Ferrari has traditionally been strong there.

"It is not easy to find the good set-up in that tricky track, but at least we had a very encouraging test down there in early February.

"I really like the Sakhir circuit, because it differs from the others. While going there, you feel like playing in the sandbox. It really feels like a gigantic sandbox.

"Where ever you watch, you see just sand. And you feel it, too - in your hair.

"It is very early season still. Nobody knows exactly how their cars are. Obviously, our test in February does not harm us.

"But of course now it is different weather, a different circuit and, obviously, our car is different, too.

"We have improved our car after the Bahrain test, so it should be better there. But the competitors are not far behind. All the teams know the place."

Raikkonen's Malaysian win and his fortunate single point from Australia has moved him joint second in the championship battle with 11 points, three behind Melbourne winner Lewis Hamilton.

Schumacher backs Massa

Eurosport - Wed, 02 Apr 18:43:00 2008
Former world champion Michael Schumacher believes Ferrari's Felipe Massa can turn around his poor start to the Formula One season but the Brazilian has played all his "jokers".

"He (Massa) has zero points for the season, so it is not the best of starts ... he has played his jokers so far, and doesn't really have any more jokers to play," Schumacher said.

"But things will turn around very quickly I think in his favour. He is certainly still very capable of winning the championship this year."

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton leads the standings with 14 points, three clear of Ferrari's world champion Kimi Raikkonen and BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld. Massa has yet to score.

"Massa is very focused, knows what is going on and what he has to do. Pressure is normal in our world and I am certain he knows how to deal with it," Schumacher said.

The seven-time world champion said Massa -- fourth in the 2007 drivers' championship -- can get back to winning ways this weekend in Bahrain where he won with a dominant drive last year.

The 26-year-old retired from the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and then spun into the gravel after starting on pole position at the last round in Malaysia.

"He was quickest in Malaysia, and you must be very good to do this and he was a little unfortunate later on," Schumacher said.

"He was very strong in Bahrain last time, so there is no reason why he cannot do it again and win impressively."

Massa's slow start to the season has increased speculation about his future with the Italian team, despite still having two years left on his contract.

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo this week refuted suggestions that Renault's double world champion Fernando Alonso was being lined up to replace Massa alongside Raikkonen.

"We have two great drivers, the best available in terms of the package," Schumacher said.

"If Massa wins the championship at the end of the year, nobody will care or remember about the start of the season."

United and Barca move towards semi-final clash

By Zoran Milosavljevic
BELGRADE, April 1 (Reuters) - Manchester United beat Roma 2-0 away and Barcelona won 1-0 at Schalke in their Champions League quarter-final, first-leg matches on Tuesday to take big steps towards a semi-final showdown.

Goals by Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney either side of halftime gave United victory at the Stadio Olimpico as the English champions continued to torment Roma.

Alex Ferguson’s side have beaten their Italian rivals in three of their last four matches and appear set to send them packing from Europe’s premier club competition again after an 8-3 aggregate drubbing at the same stage last season.

United won the second leg of that contest 7-1 and only an unlikely slip-up in the second leg at Old Trafford will prevent them from reaching their second successive semi-final.

If they do meet Barcelona it would renew an old rivalry for United who beat the Catalan side 2-1 in the 1991 European Cup Winners’ Cup final and fought out two enthralling 3-3 draws in the group stage of their 1999 Champions League triumph.

Ronaldo headed United into a 39th minute-lead at the Stadio Olimpico on Tuesday with his 36th goal of the season in all competitions and Rooney sealed the win midway through the second half when he scrambled home a loose ball from close range.

United weathered an early second half onslaught but could have won by a bigger margin after Ronaldo shaved the post and Michael Carrick came close with a curling low drive.
Ferguson, though, said the victory was far from comfortable.

“It’s a very good team we played against of course. We had to defend really well at times,” he told ITV.

Ronaldo added: “It’s a very good performance. Everyone knows it’s a tough game. Roma played very well but we created a few chances. I think we deserved this win.”

SECOND-YOUNGEST

Barca striker Bojan Krkic scored his first Champions League goal and became the second-youngest scorer in the competition at the age of 17 years and just over seven months to put the Catalans in the driving seat of their tie against Schalke.

He diverted the ball into the roof of the net after Thierry Henry’s initial shot was blocked at the near post and kept his composure to square it back for the teenager to pounce.

Barcelona were more comfortable in possession throughout and held off Schalke’s attempts at a comeback with some ease despite missing injured trio Deco, Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho.

Having reached the last eight of the European Cup for the first time since the 1958-59 season, the German side never looked capable of upsetting the 2006 winners, whose victory took some of the pressure off coach Frank Rijkaard.

Rijkaard, under fire after Barca’s 3-2 Spanish league defeat to Real Betis at the weekend, praised his team for holding on in the closing stages when Schalke produced a flurry of shots.

“It’s a good result and you have to congratulate the team for their hard work,” Rijkaard said. “In the second half we just got sucked into their aerial game a bit.”

On Wednesday, Arsenal are at home to last year’s finalists Liverpool in an all-English clash while Turkish champions Fenerbahce entertain Chelsea in the other quarter-final.

Chelsea stunned as Deivid goes from zero to hero

ISTANBUL (AFP) - Fenerbahce midfielder Deivid went from zero to hero as his side came from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 in Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final, first leg.

Deivid had looked like the villain of the peace when he gifted Chelsea the lead with an early own goal at the Sukru Saracoglu stadium.

But the Turkish champions snatched an equaliser through Colin Kazim-Kazim midway through the second half and Deivid made amends for his earlier blunder with a breath-taking winner nine minutes from full-time.

How Chelsea left Istanbul empty-handed only they will know. They were in complete control and should have been further in front before Kazim-Kazim struck.

Avram Grant's side will still believe they can overturn the deficit in the return at Stamford Bridge next week but the task is far harder than it should have been.

Grant told Sky TV afterwards: "This is football. A game supposed to be 3-0 or 4-0 for us ends 2-1 against us.

"We dominated the game, we created chances. At 1-1 Michael Ballack was in front of the goal. But this is football. Sometimes you don't pay attention, you sleep and we lost the game.

"Normally, it's a good result to lose 2-1 away from home but because we played the better football it's disappointing. Now they are coming to our home, we need to win the game."

His Fenerbahce counterpart Zico said that they had turned things round at half-time.

"At the break we told the players that we had to take risks, that without taking them we would end up with nothing," said the former Brazil playing legend.

"If we show the same attitude in England then I believe that we will get the result that sends us through to the semi-finals."

Fenerbahce had never been this far in the competition before and Chelsea's visit was billed as the biggest match in their history.

As the club's volatile fans crammed into the stadium hours before kick-off, whipping the atmosphere to fever pitch, it was easy to see why they were unbeaten in the last 11 home European matches.

In such a seething cauldron of noise, Grant needed Chelsea's stars to show their greater experience at this rarified level.

Every touch by a Chelsea player was greeted with an ear-splitting barrage of whistles, but Grant's side have survived equally hostile environments many times before.

They made an assured start and scored with their first serious attack in the 13th minute.

Frank Lampard cleverly dummied Ashley Cole's pass, allowing Florent Malouda to find space on the left side of the penalty area.

He drove a low cross towards Didier Drogba and Deivid tried to clear but only succeeded in deflecting the ball past by wrong-footed keeper Volkan Demirel into his own net.

Confidence now flowing, Michael Essien almost doubled Chelsea's lead moments later with a swerving 25-yard strike that skimmed the crossbar.

Drogba's muscular presence unsettled Zico's team time and again. He easily turned Gokcek Vederson to fire in a powerful shot that Demirel pushed away.

With the hosts in disarray, Michael Ballack had yards of space to produce a majestic defence-splitting pass to Drogba. The Ivorian striker was only denied a goal by Demirel's charge from his line to hack clear.

The hosts could only improve after half-time and finally put together an attack of note when Alex glanced a header wide from Onder Turaci's cross.

Kazim-Kazim was an unlikely savour for Fenerbahce. He was called Kazim-Richards when he was bought by Brighton with a transfer fee donated by a fan who won a League Cup competition but changed his name after moving to Turkey last year.

He certainly added some fizz to his side and Mateja Kezman responded with an overhead kick which Carlo Cudicini blocked at his near post.

Ballack's long-range effort drew a fine save from Demirel as Chelsea responded. Then out of nowhere Fenerbahce equalised as Grant's side were caught sleeping at the back in the 65th minute.

Mehmet Aurelio's pass cut out Chelsea's centre-backs and Kazim-Kazim timed his run perfectly before lashing it past Cudicini.

"I can't believe it!" beamed Kazim-Kazim.

"To score the goal with my left foot for the first time ever, and against Chelsea is unbelievable!"
Ballack should have restored Chelsea's lead moments later but Demirel saved well to frustrate the German again. How Chelsea would rue that miss.

There seemed little danger when Deivid took possession 30 yards out in the 81st minute. He quickly disproved that theory with a stunning strike that arrowed into the top corner.

Ballack said afterwards: "We are very disappointed. We had a big chance to win here. Even after the 1-1 we had two good chances, me and Didier (Drogba) to score the second goal.

"But we didn't concentrate enough. We have to go again next week. It was our fault, the game was in our hands. We gave it away."