General Sports Thread

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/motorsport/articles/creqg3e74e7o
Truly awful
Two riders have died after an 11-bike crash during the British Supersport Championship race at Oulton Park on Monday.

Owen Jenner, 21, and Shane Richardson, 29, were fatally injured in a "major chain reaction" incident on the first lap of the race as the riders exited turn one.

 

Huge day in the Premiership today with the final regular season games and the playoff places up for grabs. Only Bath and Leicester are sure of a place, with Bath holding Bristol’s destiny in their hands at Ashton Gate. Gloucester have to beat Harlequins and hope Bristol lose, while Saracens host Newcastle and hope Bristol and Gloucester both lose.

 

Rumours Horner is on the verge of being sacked as RB Team Principal.

 

The next golf major, the USPGA starts on Thursday.
I’m not a gambling man but it’s being played at Quail Hollow, a course where Rory McIlroy has already won four tournaments.
He finished 6 shots off the winner of his last tournament, tied for 7th, despite (in his words) not having played well.
The top 6 in that tournament, for anyone looking at form was
-16 S Straka (Aut); -14 S Lowry (Ire); -14 J Thomas (US); -12 J Bridgeman (US), P Cantlay (US), T Fleetwood (Eng)

 

Well done Martin Brundle .

https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/1...gues-after-receiving-obe-from-prince-of-wales

Martin Brundle paid tribute to his Sky Sports colleagues as he revealed he was "ecstatic" at receiving an OBE from the King's New Year's honours.

The Sky Sports pundit and nine-time F1 podium finisher was honoured for his services to motor racing and sports broadcasting, with the Prince of Wales presenting him the award at Windsor Castle on Tuesday.


The British veteran of 158 grands prix has been part of Sky Sports F1's coverage since the channel launched in 2012.


It made me feel very lucky and very privileged because always something like this, you receive on behalf of an awful lot of other people because either they were designing and creating and fixing my racing cars, or working with us in the broadcasting industry," Brundle told Sky Sports News.

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Image:The Prince of Wales presented Brundle with his award
"You can't do anything on your own at the level of Formula 1. I've been very lucky to have two careers in F1 as a driver and a broadcaster, which this award has been presented for.
















"When the letter came through just before Christmas, I was ecstatic

Brundle, 65, said there had been "plenty to talk about" for him with the Prince of Wales, as he recalled their first meeting at the 1992 British Grand Prix.



"He came along with his mother and his brother," Brundle said. "We met them just after the drivers' briefing on race day.

"We're west Norfolk people and he spends quite a bit of time up there, so plenty to talk about. He told me a few other things, but I guess they're private."

F1 president Stefano Domenicali was among several big names from the sport to congratulate Brundle via social media.

Domenicali said: "Huge congratulations to Martin Brundle on receiving his OBE for services to motor racing and to sports broadcasting. He has been a tireless supporter of motorsport and constant presence and brilliant voice to all our fans over many years."

Mercedes driver George Russell added: "Congrats Martin, well deserved. Best in the business!!"

'Viewers are living the grid walk with me'
Brundle has perhaps become best known for his pre-race grid walks, which see him seek out interviews with drivers and celebrities just minutes before lights out.

He explained that the unpredictable nature of the feature is what he believes has made it so popular with fans watching from home.

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Play Video - 'I'm in charge around here!' | Brundle's BEST grid walk moments 2024
A look back at the most memorable moments from Martin Brundle's grid walks in the 2024 Formula 1 season
Brundle said: "We're only there to tell the story, the stories about the cars and the drivers, and we're there to explain what is a fast-moving and highly complex sport.

"We get in amongst it, we've got access, we've got opportunities, we know everybody pretty well. But then the grid, it just gets busier, there must have been 1,000 people on there in Vegas. I can't see anybody half the time, sometimes I can't even see an F1 car.

"We try to find people, we talk, and I think because it's a bit edgy and sometimes it fails miserably, I think people are kind of living it, if I'm having a good day or a bad day.

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Play Video - Brundle vs Unicorn | Unique China gridwalk moment!
Martin Brundle meets Mr Unicorn! Xue Zhang was on the grid looking for the fastest man in Formula 1
"I've never watched one in 27 years of doing it because it's not my natural habitat to run around being cheeky and interrupting people, but it's sort of grown a life of its own.

"What it was put in for originally was to ramp up the excitement before the grand prix. The cars go to the grid, it calms down a bit and then let's get some energy going.

"The chance to talk to a driver literally before they pull their crash helmets on and zoom down to the first corner is unique in sport."

 

Silly man is taking the PI$$




FIA president proposes changes to governing body

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IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES
Image caption,
Mohammed Ben Sulayem was appointed as FIA president in 2021

Andrew Benson
F1 Correspondent

• Published
  1 hour ago

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is proposing changes to the statutes of motorsport's governing body that appear to further extend his control.

BBC Sport has seen a confidential document containing the proposed revisions, which are set to be voted on at a meeting of the FIA General Assembly next month.

These bring forward the deadline for candidates for December's presidential election, give Ben Sulayem the possibility to bar any candidate from running against him and allow him more control over the membership of the FIA Senate.

No critic was prepared to comment on the record about the changes, as many are bound by non-disclosure agreements.

But one said: "Most proposals aim at some sort of consolidation of power, more centralised control and trying to eliminate independent checks and balances."

Another said the document containing the proposals was "very cleverly written".

"It's taking a very moral high ground," they said. "Or it's appearing to. Whereas the reality of it is probably less so."

Ben Sulayem was criticised last December for statute changes that were labelled a "worrisome concentration of power" by one of its member clubs.

The FIA have been approached by BBC Sport for comment.

• FIA changes criticised as they are voted through
  • Published
    13 December 2024

Questions of integrity
The most controversial proposal is one that dictates there "must not be anything in the record of the candidates standing for the election as members of the presidential list that calls into question their professional integrity".

According to the document of proposed statutes, the reason for adding this is that such an eligibility criterion is currently absent from the FIA statutes and internal regulations.

It says that this should be in the requirements for a presidential campaign "for the sake of consistency" because it already applies to candidates standing for a number of other FIA bodies, such as the F1 cost-cap committee, and audit and ethics committees.

However, the list of presidential candidates and their teams, which are strictly defined, is monitored by the FIA's nominations committee.

If it finds any ethical issues with a list, it would refer the matter to the FIA's ethics committee.

Both bodies are controlled by the FIA president and his allies, following changes to the statutes made by Ben Sulayem last year.

In combination with the FIA's code of ethics, this could appear targeted at Carlos Sainz, the rally legend who has already declared his interest in running for president in December.

The code of ethics dictates that parties of the FIA "shall avoid any conflicts of interest and must disclose any situation that could lead to such a conflict".

Sainz is the father of Ferrari Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz, so it would in theory be easy for the ethics committee - should it be so minded - to declare that he has a conflict of interest that bars him from running for election.

Changes to senate composition
Ben Sulayem has also proposed changes to the nomination of members of the senate, the body that controls the FIA in combination with the president.

The senate consists of 16 members, 12 of which are defined in the statutes as representatives of the president, his team and members of the two world councils, for sport and mobility and tourism.

The final four are currently "proposed" by the president and "confirmed by" the other 12 members of the senate.

Ben Sulayem is proposing that the president should "appoint" these final members, with no oversight from the other senate members.

The reason given for proposing this change is to allow "more flexibility in having the expertise required for the many and varied topics it has to deal with and which may require an urgent decision".

However, the FIA statutes already contain article 18.4, which appears to cover this. It allows the senate to "invite other members to join in the study of specific questions".

One source close to the situation said this was "so clearly poorer governance that the boldness is surprising".

Another said: "It's a convenient way of dressing up a way where 'I can potentially get rid of these people when it suits me.'"

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IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES
Image caption,
Carlos Sainz has declared his interest in running for president in December

Changes to ethics and other committees
Another change proposes that the four-year term of office of the members of the audit, ethics and nominations committees be brought into line with that of the president.

Currently, the document states, these terms "do not necessarily start at the same time as that of the members of the presidential list".

The reason given for this change is "to ensure consistency between terms of office and group these elections together".

However, critics says that while this "seems efficient", it also gives "fewer options for dissent outside of a presidential cycle".

Last year, Ben Sulayem sacked the heads of the audit and ethics committees after they were involved in investigations into him and his office.

Changes to world council
Ben Sulayem is also proposing to make a change to the composition of the world motorsport council, the organisation's legislative body.

Current rules says that 21 of the 28 members must be of different nationalities.

Ben Sulayem is proposing, in the interests of "flexibility", that there be "no more than two members of the same nationality among the seven vice-presidents and the 14 elected WMSC members".

The document states this could deprive the FIA of "candidates from other backgrounds whose experience and qualities could also be beneficial to the WMSC in fulfilling its missions".

A critic says this increases Ben Sulayem's ability to "stack the WMSC with the people he wants".

Election timing
The proposals also bring forward the deadline for candidates to declare their teams for the presidential election, from 21 days prior to the election to 49 days.

The reason given is that the current time limit "leaves the nominations committee with very little time to check the eligibility of the 11 candidates (for a presidential team) proposed in a given list".

Critics say it could give the president longer to have the nominations committee look at reasons to bar candidates and members of their team.

Candidates are required by FIA rules to submit their chosen president of the senate, deputy presidents for sport and mobility and seven vice-presidents for sport from all the FIA's regions.

All positions must be filled before a campaign for a candidate to be allowed into the election.

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Cracking performance from Dave Allen!

 

Some move there from Max. Amazing.

 

Charles driving his bus brilliantly

 

Lucky Max and Lewis

 

The timing of that VSC was absolutely brutal for Norris.

 

And Charles gets shafted. Great.

 

Max and Lewis lucky again. Charles shafted again. Ffs.

 

Stroll doing Stroll things.

 

Oooof. Piastri crashes. Leclerc is insanely quick at Monaco.

 

This Draper-Monfils match is incredible!

 

Draper through in 3 sets against Fonseca. Very straightforward win.

 

Twat.

Spanish Grand Prix 2025: Lance Stroll misses race with injury after losing temper - BBC Sport

 

Max has lost the plot!

 

Amazing. Surely he gets 20 seconds or something. Oooh. 10. Lucky.