My time at Blogger has sadly come to an end. Unfortunately, it cannot provide some of the resources that I really need to stand out. With this change of appearance and website, there will also be a change in my writing. I won't just be releasing results and letting you know who did what and when. The name of the blog is analysis and this is something I haven't really done much of.
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Thank you.
Sunday 11 August 2013
Sunday 4 August 2013
Iversen's Italian Job
Niels-Kristian Iversen has continued his fantastic year in Grand Prix Speedway by winning his first ever meeting, in Terenzano, Italy. Britain's Tai Woffinden finished second with Emil Sayfutdinov third, meaning the championship race has been cut down to five point with four meetings remaining. The surprise performer of the night, Matej Zagar, finished fourth which increases his chances of a top eight finish.
The first two were reversed in the semi-finals as Woffinden beat Iversen in the first one, making it four consecutive wins for Woffinden. Nicki Pedersen was the man to miss out, finishing third, with Leon Madsen's first GP of the season ending in a semi-final exit. Zagar won the second semi-final with Sayfutdinov, who scraped through the heats, managed to overtake Jaroslaw Hampel on the penultimate lap to also creep in to the final. The last GP winner, Darcy Ward, again made it in to the semi-finals but couldn't beat any of his opponents.
It was the most open GP of the season with 12 of the 17 riders picking up a race win. The first heat of the night was restarted due to wildcard, Nicolas Covatti, moving at the start but all four returned to see Zagar pick up the three points. Sayfutdinov could only finish fourth in the opening with Pedersen second. There were wins for Iversen, Ward and Hampel in the first four heats. Gollob was disappointing with a fourth place, behind Hancock's second in heat two. Madsen, who is replaced the injured Andreas Jonsson, began with a third in heat three. Woffinden managed a second place in his first heat in the fourth.
Krzysztof Kasprzak won heat five with Pedersen and Sayfutidnov also picking up their first heat wins of the night. But Zagar had the best start of the night, winning heat eight to make it two wins in two. Woffinden made it two second places in heat six with Iversen going from first to fourth in heat eight. Ward managed to gain second after his win in a tough eighth heat.
There was drama in heat ten when it was initially restarted even though the start did look fine. Pedersen was the one who missed out after having a great start to begin with. It looked disastrous as Pedersen ended up being fourth in the restart with Greg Hancock winning it. But the heat wasn't over and the riders were called back from their garages as replays showed that the tapes hadn't gone up equally and the referee decided to restart the heat once more. Typically, Hancock ended up finishing fourth with Pedersen winning his second heat of the night, in the end.
The drama continued in to heat-11 as Iversen would lose control of his bike and crash in to Sayfutdinov. Fortunately, both were okay and Iversen was rightly excluded from the restart. It turned out to be a win for Woffinden over Sayfutdinov, a pattern of the meeting. There were two surprise wins in the third section of the night as Ales Dryml would win heat nine and Madsen heat-12, with Gollob scoring a second fourth place in that same heat.
Heat-13 would suffer a huge delay after the wildcard, Covatti, crashed out in the first corner and looked to land horribly on his chin. Treatment took a while before he left in an ambulance with only a wrist injury thankfully. The restart was won by Woffinden after Ward had gone down on the third lap but managed to continue. Iversen and Hampel would also win their second heats of the night with Hancock finally picking up his first victory in heat-15.
Substitute Nicolas Vicentin rode instead of Covatti in heat-16 but would end up breaking a chain and not completing the heat that was won by Hampel for his third victory of the night. Gollob completed his miserable night with a victory in heat-18 before Ward won his second heat of the in the 19th with Sayfutdinov only managing third. Woffinden took full advantage by winning heat number three in the final heat, but Hancock's fourth place meant Sayfutdinov just about qualified for the semi-finals. Championship standings after eight rounds:
1. Emil Sayfutdinov (Rus) 107
2. Tai Woffinden (Gbr) 102
3. Jaroslaw Hampel (Pol) 85
4. Nicki Pedersen (Den) 83
5. Chris Holder (Aus) 82 (Injured for rest of season)
6. Niels-Kristian Iversen (Den) 77
7. Matej Zagar (Slv) 75
8. Greg Hancock (Usa) 71
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9. Tomasz Gollob (Pol) 68
10. Freddie Lindgren (Swe) 61
11. Krzysztof Kasprzak (Pol) 59
12. Darcy Ward (Aus) 55
13. Martin Vaculik (Svk) 44
15. Andreas Jonsson (Swe) 39
16. Antonio Lindback (Swe) 34
The first two were reversed in the semi-finals as Woffinden beat Iversen in the first one, making it four consecutive wins for Woffinden. Nicki Pedersen was the man to miss out, finishing third, with Leon Madsen's first GP of the season ending in a semi-final exit. Zagar won the second semi-final with Sayfutdinov, who scraped through the heats, managed to overtake Jaroslaw Hampel on the penultimate lap to also creep in to the final. The last GP winner, Darcy Ward, again made it in to the semi-finals but couldn't beat any of his opponents.
It was the most open GP of the season with 12 of the 17 riders picking up a race win. The first heat of the night was restarted due to wildcard, Nicolas Covatti, moving at the start but all four returned to see Zagar pick up the three points. Sayfutdinov could only finish fourth in the opening with Pedersen second. There were wins for Iversen, Ward and Hampel in the first four heats. Gollob was disappointing with a fourth place, behind Hancock's second in heat two. Madsen, who is replaced the injured Andreas Jonsson, began with a third in heat three. Woffinden managed a second place in his first heat in the fourth.
Krzysztof Kasprzak won heat five with Pedersen and Sayfutidnov also picking up their first heat wins of the night. But Zagar had the best start of the night, winning heat eight to make it two wins in two. Woffinden made it two second places in heat six with Iversen going from first to fourth in heat eight. Ward managed to gain second after his win in a tough eighth heat.
There was drama in heat ten when it was initially restarted even though the start did look fine. Pedersen was the one who missed out after having a great start to begin with. It looked disastrous as Pedersen ended up being fourth in the restart with Greg Hancock winning it. But the heat wasn't over and the riders were called back from their garages as replays showed that the tapes hadn't gone up equally and the referee decided to restart the heat once more. Typically, Hancock ended up finishing fourth with Pedersen winning his second heat of the night, in the end.
The drama continued in to heat-11 as Iversen would lose control of his bike and crash in to Sayfutdinov. Fortunately, both were okay and Iversen was rightly excluded from the restart. It turned out to be a win for Woffinden over Sayfutdinov, a pattern of the meeting. There were two surprise wins in the third section of the night as Ales Dryml would win heat nine and Madsen heat-12, with Gollob scoring a second fourth place in that same heat.
Heat-13 would suffer a huge delay after the wildcard, Covatti, crashed out in the first corner and looked to land horribly on his chin. Treatment took a while before he left in an ambulance with only a wrist injury thankfully. The restart was won by Woffinden after Ward had gone down on the third lap but managed to continue. Iversen and Hampel would also win their second heats of the night with Hancock finally picking up his first victory in heat-15.
Substitute Nicolas Vicentin rode instead of Covatti in heat-16 but would end up breaking a chain and not completing the heat that was won by Hampel for his third victory of the night. Gollob completed his miserable night with a victory in heat-18 before Ward won his second heat of the in the 19th with Sayfutdinov only managing third. Woffinden took full advantage by winning heat number three in the final heat, but Hancock's fourth place meant Sayfutdinov just about qualified for the semi-finals. Championship standings after eight rounds:
1. Emil Sayfutdinov (Rus) 107
2. Tai Woffinden (Gbr) 102
3. Jaroslaw Hampel (Pol) 85
4. Nicki Pedersen (Den) 83
5. Chris Holder (Aus) 82 (Injured for rest of season)
6. Niels-Kristian Iversen (Den) 77
7. Matej Zagar (Slv) 75
8. Greg Hancock (Usa) 71
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9. Tomasz Gollob (Pol) 68
10. Freddie Lindgren (Swe) 61
11. Krzysztof Kasprzak (Pol) 59
12. Darcy Ward (Aus) 55
13. Martin Vaculik (Svk) 44
15. Andreas Jonsson (Swe) 39
16. Antonio Lindback (Swe) 34
Sunday 28 July 2013
14th World Matchplay Title
Phil Taylor has continued his 100% record in World Matchplay finals to lift the trophy for an unbelievable 14th time, also extending his unbeaten run in Blackpool to six years. It was a fantastic final between himself and European Champion, Adrian Lewis. Taylor managed to maintain an average of around 111 throughout the match with Lewis, aided by countless 180s, averaging around 106.
The first four legs of the final would go with throw, including Taylor hitting an 88-checkout on the bull in leg three, before Lewis broke in the fifth leg to go 3-2 in front. All five legs of the second session would go with throw, meaning that Lewis now had a 6-4 lead. The third session was definitely the turning point when Taylor won all five legs, with checkouts of 130 and 123 in legs 12 and 13, to move 9-6 in front.
It didn't completely ruin Lewis at this point though and he did manage to find a break that allowed him to make it 10-8 before 11-9 at the end of the fourth session. That became 11-10 before Lewis made a crucial mistake. After hitting single-20 with his first dart he decided to go for single eight to leave double top instead of single-16 for the double of the same bed. But because the first dart had lay in such a way, Lewis had no chance of finding double top and ended up hitting the first dart before hitting the floor. This allowed Taylor to move 12-10 in front and added another nail in the Lewis coffin.
The mistake hurt Lewis and Taylor smelt blood, he managed to win the following three legs of the fifth session to make it 15-10. Lewis began to fight back once again in the sixth session. After both players missed two darts to win the 16th leg, Lewis managed to finish off ten before finding a terrific 127-checkout to reduce the deficit to 15-13. Lewis would then miss two darts to move within one of victory and Taylor all but sealed the match with a terrific 136-checkout to make it 17-13. It was a rather more common tops finish for Taylor to win the match and claim his colossal 14th victory.
It was also a poignant final as commentator John Gwynne was hanging up his microphone for good. The sporting world wishes Gwynney a fantastic retirement and thanks him for his incredible time as a voice of sports.
The first four legs of the final would go with throw, including Taylor hitting an 88-checkout on the bull in leg three, before Lewis broke in the fifth leg to go 3-2 in front. All five legs of the second session would go with throw, meaning that Lewis now had a 6-4 lead. The third session was definitely the turning point when Taylor won all five legs, with checkouts of 130 and 123 in legs 12 and 13, to move 9-6 in front.
It didn't completely ruin Lewis at this point though and he did manage to find a break that allowed him to make it 10-8 before 11-9 at the end of the fourth session. That became 11-10 before Lewis made a crucial mistake. After hitting single-20 with his first dart he decided to go for single eight to leave double top instead of single-16 for the double of the same bed. But because the first dart had lay in such a way, Lewis had no chance of finding double top and ended up hitting the first dart before hitting the floor. This allowed Taylor to move 12-10 in front and added another nail in the Lewis coffin.
The mistake hurt Lewis and Taylor smelt blood, he managed to win the following three legs of the fifth session to make it 15-10. Lewis began to fight back once again in the sixth session. After both players missed two darts to win the 16th leg, Lewis managed to finish off ten before finding a terrific 127-checkout to reduce the deficit to 15-13. Lewis would then miss two darts to move within one of victory and Taylor all but sealed the match with a terrific 136-checkout to make it 17-13. It was a rather more common tops finish for Taylor to win the match and claim his colossal 14th victory.
It was also a poignant final as commentator John Gwynne was hanging up his microphone for good. The sporting world wishes Gwynney a fantastic retirement and thanks him for his incredible time as a voice of sports.
Hamilton's Maiden Mercedes Victory
Lewis Hamilton takes the chequered flag for the fourth time in Hungary and wins his first race in a Mercedes car. It was a race where Hamilton was fairly unthreatened throughout and ended up winning at a canter. Kimi Raikkonen overtakes Fernando Alonso in to second in the overall standings after staving off an attack from Sebastian Vettel to finish second. There was also good news for Williams as a tenth place for Pastor Maldonado meant that they had now secured their first point of the season.
Romain Grosjean looked very competitive in the early going and was in contention for a podium until a drive through penalty ended that attempt. Nico Rosberg got beaten up on the first lap and ended up retiring late on with a blown engine.
Alonso had his usual good start, overtaking Rosberg and challenging with Vettel and Grosjean. Felipe Massa also tried to get around the Mercedes and there ended up being contact which sent Rosberg off the track before rejoining in 12th. Mark Webber and Jenson Button were also winners from the first lap, landing seventh and eighth respectively.
With Hungary well known for its lack of over-taking. Most of the talk was about the strategy and the pit stops. Hamilton pitted on lap nine and crucially came out ahead of Button, who had began on the medium compound not the soft. Vettel would pit on lap-11 but come out behind the McLaren which caused the Red Bull a problem. Alonso would pit on lap-13 before both Lotus cars came in on lap-14 with Grosjean coming out behind both Hamilton and Vettel, leaving Webber in the lead.
The first retirement of the race came on lap-20 when Adrian Sutil suffered a hydraulic leak. Webber pitted on lap-24, giving Hamilton the lead again. Meanwhile, Button's tyres were going and it allowed Vettel, Grosjean and Alonso to overtake the McLaren. There was contact between Grosjean and Button which caused the McLaren to pit in an incident that was to be investigated after the race. The Lotus also pitted on lap-26, possibly also due to the incident as well as just a tyre change.
Grosjean looked to have overtaken Massa fairly on lap-29 to gain sixth but because he went off track just after the manoeuvre, he was brandished with a drive through penalty on lap-37. Esteban Gutierrez became the second retirement of the race to continue his miserable debut season. Button also managed to overtake Massa to gain seventh on lap-31.
Hamilton pitted on lap-32 and just came out behind Webber, which would have played in to Vettel's hands. But Hamilton managed to overtake Webber two laps later as both Alonso and Vettel decided to pit. The Red Bull once again ended up behind Button but it didn't cost him as much time this time around as he managed to overtake the McLaren on lap-37 to go fifth.
Valtteri Bottas became the third retirement on lap-45 when his car looked to break down near the finish line. Hamilton pitted for the third and final time on lap-51 and came out behind the two Red Bulls before Hamilton aggressively overtook Webber. Vettel would pit on lap-55 and gained third place when Webber pitted on lap-60.
Rosberg's race came to an end on lap-66 because of that engine failure. Force India's disappointing weekend came to an end when they also decided to retire Paul Di Resta who had had a truly miserable weekend. Race result:
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 2. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus), 3. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), 4. Mark Webber (Red Bull), 5. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), 6. Romain Grosjean (Lotus), 7. Jenson Button (McLaren), 8. Felipe Massa (Ferrari), 9. Sergio Perez (McLaren), 10. Pastor Maldonado (Williams), 11. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber), 12. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso), 13. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), 14. Giedo van der Garde (Caterham), 15. Charles Pic (Caterham), 16. Jules Bianchi (Marussia), 17. Max Chilton (Marussia) DNF: Adrian Sutil (Force India), Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber), Valtteri Bottas (Williams), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Paul Di Resta (Force India)
Romain Grosjean looked very competitive in the early going and was in contention for a podium until a drive through penalty ended that attempt. Nico Rosberg got beaten up on the first lap and ended up retiring late on with a blown engine.
Alonso had his usual good start, overtaking Rosberg and challenging with Vettel and Grosjean. Felipe Massa also tried to get around the Mercedes and there ended up being contact which sent Rosberg off the track before rejoining in 12th. Mark Webber and Jenson Button were also winners from the first lap, landing seventh and eighth respectively.
With Hungary well known for its lack of over-taking. Most of the talk was about the strategy and the pit stops. Hamilton pitted on lap nine and crucially came out ahead of Button, who had began on the medium compound not the soft. Vettel would pit on lap-11 but come out behind the McLaren which caused the Red Bull a problem. Alonso would pit on lap-13 before both Lotus cars came in on lap-14 with Grosjean coming out behind both Hamilton and Vettel, leaving Webber in the lead.
The first retirement of the race came on lap-20 when Adrian Sutil suffered a hydraulic leak. Webber pitted on lap-24, giving Hamilton the lead again. Meanwhile, Button's tyres were going and it allowed Vettel, Grosjean and Alonso to overtake the McLaren. There was contact between Grosjean and Button which caused the McLaren to pit in an incident that was to be investigated after the race. The Lotus also pitted on lap-26, possibly also due to the incident as well as just a tyre change.
Grosjean looked to have overtaken Massa fairly on lap-29 to gain sixth but because he went off track just after the manoeuvre, he was brandished with a drive through penalty on lap-37. Esteban Gutierrez became the second retirement of the race to continue his miserable debut season. Button also managed to overtake Massa to gain seventh on lap-31.
Hamilton pitted on lap-32 and just came out behind Webber, which would have played in to Vettel's hands. But Hamilton managed to overtake Webber two laps later as both Alonso and Vettel decided to pit. The Red Bull once again ended up behind Button but it didn't cost him as much time this time around as he managed to overtake the McLaren on lap-37 to go fifth.
Valtteri Bottas became the third retirement on lap-45 when his car looked to break down near the finish line. Hamilton pitted for the third and final time on lap-51 and came out behind the two Red Bulls before Hamilton aggressively overtook Webber. Vettel would pit on lap-55 and gained third place when Webber pitted on lap-60.
Rosberg's race came to an end on lap-66 because of that engine failure. Force India's disappointing weekend came to an end when they also decided to retire Paul Di Resta who had had a truly miserable weekend. Race result:
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 2. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus), 3. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), 4. Mark Webber (Red Bull), 5. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), 6. Romain Grosjean (Lotus), 7. Jenson Button (McLaren), 8. Felipe Massa (Ferrari), 9. Sergio Perez (McLaren), 10. Pastor Maldonado (Williams), 11. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber), 12. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso), 13. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), 14. Giedo van der Garde (Caterham), 15. Charles Pic (Caterham), 16. Jules Bianchi (Marussia), 17. Max Chilton (Marussia) DNF: Adrian Sutil (Force India), Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber), Valtteri Bottas (Williams), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Paul Di Resta (Force India)
Power of the Jackpot Hits Blackpool
It will be an all Stoke final in the 2013 World Matchplay after both Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis progressed from their semi-finals. Both produced fine performances to lead virtually throughout their matches, leaving Lewis to try and create history if he is to win the tournament. In his previous 13-World Matchplay finals, Taylor has not been beaten.
Lewis managed to see of Michael Van Gerwen in a rematch of the European Championship semi-final, which Lewis won. Lewis got off to a flyer hitting checkouts of 121 and 119, after the pair had initially shared the opening two legs, to go in at the first break 4-1 in front. Van Gerwen managed to pull it back to 4-3 and then 5-4 after Lewis missed a dart to win the ninth leg, but Lewis managed to win the tenth the make it 6-4 at the second interval. Van Gerwen missed three darts to win the 12th leg and allowed Lewis to to make it 8-4. But the Dutchman fought back and a 164-checkout meant he had taken the remaining three legs of the third session to pull it back to 8-7.
Van Gerwen would then make it four consecutive legs as he levelled the match. Lewis managed to stem the tide with a 106-checkout before winning the last two legs of the fourth session to again lead at 11-9. That became 12-9 before Lewis would miss two darts to win leg-23 and Van Gerwen posted a checkout of 84 on the bull before finding a 112-checkout to level the match once again. But Lewis again maintained his lead to make it 13-12 at the fifth break. Van Gerwen would finally take the lead in the match with a stunning 121-checkout to make it 15-14 and then missed two darts to go within a leg of victory, allowing Lewis to level the score. Lewis then took the following two legs to win the match 17-15 and progress through.
Taylor also managed to start like a train against James Wade. A 106-checkout from The Power put him 3-0 in front before he took a 4-1 lead, after he missed two darts to win the fourth leg, in to the first break. Taylor would then extend that advantage to 6-1 and then 7-2 before Wade managed to win the final leg of the second session to go in 7-3 behind. That became 7-4 when Wade found a huge 124-checkout and it was then 7-5 when Taylor missed two darts to win the leg. Taylor also missed two dart to win leg-14 as Wade made it 8-6 before Taylor made it nine with the 15th leg.
Wade returned from the break with a fantastic 146-checkout, only to be cancelled out by a 124-finish from Taylor. But The Machine would reel off the remaining three legs to complete his comeback from 7-2 down to level the match at 10-10. Two double 20's from Wade to perform an 80-checkout levelled the game again in leg-22 before needing to win the 25th leg to make it 13-12 in Taylor's favour. That would be the last leg he would win though as Taylor took the next four legs, with Wade missing four darts to win leg-28, to win the match 17-12 and book his place alongside Lewis.
Lewis managed to see of Michael Van Gerwen in a rematch of the European Championship semi-final, which Lewis won. Lewis got off to a flyer hitting checkouts of 121 and 119, after the pair had initially shared the opening two legs, to go in at the first break 4-1 in front. Van Gerwen managed to pull it back to 4-3 and then 5-4 after Lewis missed a dart to win the ninth leg, but Lewis managed to win the tenth the make it 6-4 at the second interval. Van Gerwen missed three darts to win the 12th leg and allowed Lewis to to make it 8-4. But the Dutchman fought back and a 164-checkout meant he had taken the remaining three legs of the third session to pull it back to 8-7.
Van Gerwen would then make it four consecutive legs as he levelled the match. Lewis managed to stem the tide with a 106-checkout before winning the last two legs of the fourth session to again lead at 11-9. That became 12-9 before Lewis would miss two darts to win leg-23 and Van Gerwen posted a checkout of 84 on the bull before finding a 112-checkout to level the match once again. But Lewis again maintained his lead to make it 13-12 at the fifth break. Van Gerwen would finally take the lead in the match with a stunning 121-checkout to make it 15-14 and then missed two darts to go within a leg of victory, allowing Lewis to level the score. Lewis then took the following two legs to win the match 17-15 and progress through.
Taylor also managed to start like a train against James Wade. A 106-checkout from The Power put him 3-0 in front before he took a 4-1 lead, after he missed two darts to win the fourth leg, in to the first break. Taylor would then extend that advantage to 6-1 and then 7-2 before Wade managed to win the final leg of the second session to go in 7-3 behind. That became 7-4 when Wade found a huge 124-checkout and it was then 7-5 when Taylor missed two darts to win the leg. Taylor also missed two dart to win leg-14 as Wade made it 8-6 before Taylor made it nine with the 15th leg.
Wade returned from the break with a fantastic 146-checkout, only to be cancelled out by a 124-finish from Taylor. But The Machine would reel off the remaining three legs to complete his comeback from 7-2 down to level the match at 10-10. Two double 20's from Wade to perform an 80-checkout levelled the game again in leg-22 before needing to win the 25th leg to make it 13-12 in Taylor's favour. That would be the last leg he would win though as Taylor took the next four legs, with Wade missing four darts to win leg-28, to win the match 17-12 and book his place alongside Lewis.
Saturday 27 July 2013
Hamilton's Hat-Trick Pole
Lewis Hamilton surprised pretty much everyone, including himself, by snatching Pole position under Sebastian Vettel's nose. Hamilton had been complaining that his Mercedes car has lost pace going in to this weekend's Hungary Grand Prix, but it hasn't stopped him grabbing his third consecutive Pole position. Vettel looked vexed when he stepped out of his Red Bull to know he only managed second after dominating most of Q3.
Nico Rosberg was fastest in both Q1 and Q2 but could only settle for fourth place behind the impressive Romain Grosjean. Fernando Alonso continued his relatively quiet season, despite sitting second in the standings, and will start fifth ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in the second Lotus. Felipe Massa sits seventh with Daniel Ricciardo continuing to push for Mark Webber's seat next season in eighth. Sergio Perez found some pace for McLaren to sit ninth with Webber not posting a time in Q3 due to a KERS problem and the Australian will sit tenth.
Adrian Sutil was the man to miss out on Q3 in 11th with Nico Hulkenberg just behind him. Jenson Button will be a little disappointed with 13th after seeing Perez's performance and also having been in the top ten at times during Q3. Christian Horner has publicly stated that Jean-Eric Vergne isn't ready for a big seat just yet and the Frenchman looks have vindicated those words by only managing to qualify 14th. There was a slight victory for Williams as both Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas making in to Q2 but will start 15th and 16th respectively.
Esteban Gutierrez continued his struggle in his debut season for Sauber, missing out on Q2 and starting 17th. But the biggest loser of the day was a very disappointed and bewildered Paul Di Resta who has it all to do tomorrow, starting 18th. Caterham beat Marussia at the back of the grid with both Charles Pic and Giedo Van Der Garde out-qualifying Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton.
Nico Rosberg was fastest in both Q1 and Q2 but could only settle for fourth place behind the impressive Romain Grosjean. Fernando Alonso continued his relatively quiet season, despite sitting second in the standings, and will start fifth ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in the second Lotus. Felipe Massa sits seventh with Daniel Ricciardo continuing to push for Mark Webber's seat next season in eighth. Sergio Perez found some pace for McLaren to sit ninth with Webber not posting a time in Q3 due to a KERS problem and the Australian will sit tenth.
Adrian Sutil was the man to miss out on Q3 in 11th with Nico Hulkenberg just behind him. Jenson Button will be a little disappointed with 13th after seeing Perez's performance and also having been in the top ten at times during Q3. Christian Horner has publicly stated that Jean-Eric Vergne isn't ready for a big seat just yet and the Frenchman looks have vindicated those words by only managing to qualify 14th. There was a slight victory for Williams as both Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas making in to Q2 but will start 15th and 16th respectively.
Esteban Gutierrez continued his struggle in his debut season for Sauber, missing out on Q2 and starting 17th. But the biggest loser of the day was a very disappointed and bewildered Paul Di Resta who has it all to do tomorrow, starting 18th. Caterham beat Marussia at the back of the grid with both Charles Pic and Giedo Van Der Garde out-qualifying Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton.
Jackpot Again For MVG
The second of tonight's semi-finals was confirmed yesterday in the other two thrilling quarter finals. European Champion, Adrian Lewis, had to fight tooth and nail to continue his fantastic recent form and progress through. It'll be a repeat of the European Championships semi-final as Michael Van Gerwen will be looking to exact some revenge after also making it through.
Lewis needed extra time to see off the formidable Andy Hamilton in a tough battle of the Stokies. The first four legs all went with throw due to Lewis missing six darts to move 3-1 in front. It looked costly as Hamilton broke in the fifth leg to leave the stage 3-2 in front. But Hamilton then missed three darts to hold in the sixth leg and then needed a colossal 170-checkout to level at 4-4. The Hammer then secured a fantastic 127-checkout to move in front once more, only for Lewis to level the match before the second break with a ton checkout, courtesy of two double 20's. After losing the first leg of the third session, Lewis would again move in front at 7-6, only for Hamilton to turn it around once more by winning the remaining two legs of the session.
Hamilton would then make it four consecutive legs to move 10-7 in front which would become 11-9 at the fourth break. Lewis continued to worm his way back as the score went from 12-9 to 13-10 before Jackpot took the remaining two legs of the fifth session to move to within a leg of Hamilton. Hamilton then crucially missed two darts to win leg-26 and Lewis was now level. Hamilton responded with a 101-checkout and did sit 15-14 in front, only for Lewis to force a tie break. Lewis needed to find an unbelievable 161-checkout to level the match at 16-16 before finding a break, after Hamilton missed a dart at double, to move 18-17 in front. Lewis was now throwing for the match and managed to clear up-86 to emerge victorious.
Van Gerwen wasn't ever really in trouble against Dave Chisnall, but the world number nine did give him a match. Chisnall missed a crucial dart to break in the third leg, allowing Van Gerwen to retake the lead with a 105-checkout. The Dutchman did lead 3-2 at the first break before Chisnall managed to find a break in leg-7 and then produced a 112-checkout to move 5-3 ahead. It should have been six but he missed three darts and Van Gerwen swooped in with a 110-checkout. Van Gerwen then managed to the match at 5-5 after Chisnall missed a further dart to win the leg. The first three legs of the third session all went with throw before Van Gerwen broke in leg-14 only for Chisnall to break back and make it 8-7 to the Dutchman at the third break.
Van Gerwen found an edge, and two consecutive legs, to move 10-7 ahead only for Chisnall to find a brilliant 144-checkout to make it 11-9 after four sessions. The writing would end up being on the wall though as Van Gerwen reeled off the first three legs of the fifth session before then making it 15-10, leaving him one leg away as they left the stage for the final time. Chisnall did manage to hold the victory off for one more leg but Van Gerwen managed to check-out 20 to win 16-11.
Lewis needed extra time to see off the formidable Andy Hamilton in a tough battle of the Stokies. The first four legs all went with throw due to Lewis missing six darts to move 3-1 in front. It looked costly as Hamilton broke in the fifth leg to leave the stage 3-2 in front. But Hamilton then missed three darts to hold in the sixth leg and then needed a colossal 170-checkout to level at 4-4. The Hammer then secured a fantastic 127-checkout to move in front once more, only for Lewis to level the match before the second break with a ton checkout, courtesy of two double 20's. After losing the first leg of the third session, Lewis would again move in front at 7-6, only for Hamilton to turn it around once more by winning the remaining two legs of the session.
Hamilton would then make it four consecutive legs to move 10-7 in front which would become 11-9 at the fourth break. Lewis continued to worm his way back as the score went from 12-9 to 13-10 before Jackpot took the remaining two legs of the fifth session to move to within a leg of Hamilton. Hamilton then crucially missed two darts to win leg-26 and Lewis was now level. Hamilton responded with a 101-checkout and did sit 15-14 in front, only for Lewis to force a tie break. Lewis needed to find an unbelievable 161-checkout to level the match at 16-16 before finding a break, after Hamilton missed a dart at double, to move 18-17 in front. Lewis was now throwing for the match and managed to clear up-86 to emerge victorious.
Van Gerwen wasn't ever really in trouble against Dave Chisnall, but the world number nine did give him a match. Chisnall missed a crucial dart to break in the third leg, allowing Van Gerwen to retake the lead with a 105-checkout. The Dutchman did lead 3-2 at the first break before Chisnall managed to find a break in leg-7 and then produced a 112-checkout to move 5-3 ahead. It should have been six but he missed three darts and Van Gerwen swooped in with a 110-checkout. Van Gerwen then managed to the match at 5-5 after Chisnall missed a further dart to win the leg. The first three legs of the third session all went with throw before Van Gerwen broke in leg-14 only for Chisnall to break back and make it 8-7 to the Dutchman at the third break.
Van Gerwen found an edge, and two consecutive legs, to move 10-7 ahead only for Chisnall to find a brilliant 144-checkout to make it 11-9 after four sessions. The writing would end up being on the wall though as Van Gerwen reeled off the first three legs of the fifth session before then making it 15-10, leaving him one leg away as they left the stage for the final time. Chisnall did manage to hold the victory off for one more leg but Van Gerwen managed to check-out 20 to win 16-11.
Thursday 25 July 2013
TaylorWade For A Semi-Final
The first two quarter finals of the 2013 World Matchplay Darts were completed today, meaning that the first of Saturday's semi-finals has now been confirmed. The reigning champion, Phil Taylor, will meet James Wade after both players managed to get through against tough opposition in their quarter finals.
Taylor booked his place in the top four with victory over a Justin Pipe that looked to tire towards the end. Taylor began the night with a 122-checkout to level the match in the second leg before going 3-1 in front. The score would be 3-2 going in to the first break but Pipe soon retaliated. Pipe would hit a fantastic 136-checkout to level the match at 4-4. Taylor needed to make it 5-5 at the second break before Pipe levelled the match in the 12th leg. Taylor finally found a break and won three consecutive legs to lead 9-6 at the third break. That became 9-7 before Taylor again stepped up a gear, reeling off the remaining four legs of the fourth session, including a 100-checkout in leg-19, to make it 13-7. The five legs of the fifth session all went with throw, meaning that Pipe won it 3-2 and did hit a 104-checkout in leg-23, this meant Taylor was 15-9 in front before Pipe prolonged the defeat until after the break. The 26th leg was completed with an 18-checkout, giving Taylor the 16-10 victory.
Wade needed extra time to battle back and overcome Simon Whitlock in his quarter final. The match see-sawed throughout and it began with Whitlock winning the opening leg against the throw. Wade retaliated and took out 120 to move 2-1 in front before leading 3-2 at the first break. After sharing the first two legs, Whitlock responded with the following three legs to turn it around and lead 6-4 at the second, Wade did miss two darts to make it 5-5. The third session saw Wade turn it around again, taking the first four legs of the session to end up going 8-7 ahead. Whitlock had missed two darts in leg-12 to make it 7-5 but he soon made it 8-8 with a stunning 130-checkout. The Aussie did go 9-8 ahead only for Wade to make it 10-9 before Whitlock levelled the match going in to the fourth break. A 124-checkout from Whitlock was the second of three consecutive legs to move ahead once again at 13-10, only for Wade to take the remaining two legs of the session to reduce the arrears to 13-12 at the final interval. Whitlock then managed to move 14-12 in front only for Wade to hit a 135-checkout to level before Whitlock needed make it 15-15 to force a tie break. That became 16-16 before Wade finally managed to see off the Aussie and win 18-16.
Taylor booked his place in the top four with victory over a Justin Pipe that looked to tire towards the end. Taylor began the night with a 122-checkout to level the match in the second leg before going 3-1 in front. The score would be 3-2 going in to the first break but Pipe soon retaliated. Pipe would hit a fantastic 136-checkout to level the match at 4-4. Taylor needed to make it 5-5 at the second break before Pipe levelled the match in the 12th leg. Taylor finally found a break and won three consecutive legs to lead 9-6 at the third break. That became 9-7 before Taylor again stepped up a gear, reeling off the remaining four legs of the fourth session, including a 100-checkout in leg-19, to make it 13-7. The five legs of the fifth session all went with throw, meaning that Pipe won it 3-2 and did hit a 104-checkout in leg-23, this meant Taylor was 15-9 in front before Pipe prolonged the defeat until after the break. The 26th leg was completed with an 18-checkout, giving Taylor the 16-10 victory.
Wade needed extra time to battle back and overcome Simon Whitlock in his quarter final. The match see-sawed throughout and it began with Whitlock winning the opening leg against the throw. Wade retaliated and took out 120 to move 2-1 in front before leading 3-2 at the first break. After sharing the first two legs, Whitlock responded with the following three legs to turn it around and lead 6-4 at the second, Wade did miss two darts to make it 5-5. The third session saw Wade turn it around again, taking the first four legs of the session to end up going 8-7 ahead. Whitlock had missed two darts in leg-12 to make it 7-5 but he soon made it 8-8 with a stunning 130-checkout. The Aussie did go 9-8 ahead only for Wade to make it 10-9 before Whitlock levelled the match going in to the fourth break. A 124-checkout from Whitlock was the second of three consecutive legs to move ahead once again at 13-10, only for Wade to take the remaining two legs of the session to reduce the arrears to 13-12 at the final interval. Whitlock then managed to move 14-12 in front only for Wade to hit a 135-checkout to level before Whitlock needed make it 15-15 to force a tie break. That became 16-16 before Wade finally managed to see off the Aussie and win 18-16.
Wednesday 24 July 2013
2013 World Matchplay Darts: Day Five
The quarter final line-up was completed as the four remaining second round matches were played out in this year's 2013 World Matchplay tournament. A terrific 105 average from Michael Van Gerwen was enough to produce a fantastic performance to progress. There were wins for Andy Hamilton and Adrian Lewis before Dave Chisnall made it in to the quarter finals of the Matchplay for the first time in his career.
Hamilton continued his fantastic record by seeing off Ian White. After White missed a dart to hold his throw in the opening leg, Hamilton managed to move 2-0 in front. The Hammer then missed two darts to make it three and White ended up winning the fifth to somehow only be 3-2 behind at the break. Hamilton returned from the interval with a 107-checkout to move 4-2 in front. All five legs of the second session went with throw, meaning that Hamilton was now 6-4 in front. The first three legs of the third session would then go against the throw before Hamilton finally held in leg-14 to move 9-5 ahead. It was a consistent performance from The Hammer and, on another day against someone ranked higher than White, his mistakes would have been punished. White did manage to make it 10-7 before Hamilton took the next three legs to win the match 13-7.
Lewis continued to win ugly as he makes his way in to the last eight, taking full advantage of Brendan Dolan's horrific double trouble. After winning the opening leg, the Northern Irishman missed six darts to hold throw in the third leg. Lewis secured a 4-1 lead with a 101-checkout before winning every leg in the second session to make it 9-1. Jackpot managed to get in to double figures before Dolan finally found a double and, as is typical, a second came straight after to make it 10-3. The remaining two legs of the third set went with Lewis to move him a leg away from victory. Dolan put up some resistance with a 108-checkout and then an unbelievable 170-finish before Lewis finished the match off, 13-5.
Van Gerwen continued to make a statement, and become joint favourite for the tournament again, with a demolition job over Peter Wright. The first five legs all went with throw, giving the Dutchman a 3-2 lead. But Van Gerwen soon found another gear and a 104-checkout put him 7-3 in front before Wright took the final leg of the second session. The overdrive button was then hit by Van Gerwen as he stormed out and won all five legs of the third session to go within a leg of victory at the third break. The interval was rather pointless though as Van Gerwen came back and won the 16th leg to ease through to the quarter finals.
The match of the night was definitely between Chisnall and Jamie Caven. It was a game of firsts as neither player had made in to the second round of this tournament before. Chisnall missed three darts to go 3-0 in front but did manage to win the fifth leg to go 3-2 in front at the first break. Caven missed two darts to win the seventh leg as Chisnall ended up taking the first three legs of the second session to lead 6-2. But Caven began to fight back and scored a 109-checkout to make it 6-4 at the second break. Caven managed to make it three consecutive legs by wining the first leg of the third session. Caven would then turn the match around by winning a further five legs on the spin to move 10-7 ahead. The game would turn again as Caven missed two darts to make it 11-8 and then four darts to back ahead after Chisnall had levelled the match. The world number nine then hit a superb 116-checkout to make it 12-10 against the throw before winning the 23rd leg to win 13-10.
Hamilton continued his fantastic record by seeing off Ian White. After White missed a dart to hold his throw in the opening leg, Hamilton managed to move 2-0 in front. The Hammer then missed two darts to make it three and White ended up winning the fifth to somehow only be 3-2 behind at the break. Hamilton returned from the interval with a 107-checkout to move 4-2 in front. All five legs of the second session went with throw, meaning that Hamilton was now 6-4 in front. The first three legs of the third session would then go against the throw before Hamilton finally held in leg-14 to move 9-5 ahead. It was a consistent performance from The Hammer and, on another day against someone ranked higher than White, his mistakes would have been punished. White did manage to make it 10-7 before Hamilton took the next three legs to win the match 13-7.
Lewis continued to win ugly as he makes his way in to the last eight, taking full advantage of Brendan Dolan's horrific double trouble. After winning the opening leg, the Northern Irishman missed six darts to hold throw in the third leg. Lewis secured a 4-1 lead with a 101-checkout before winning every leg in the second session to make it 9-1. Jackpot managed to get in to double figures before Dolan finally found a double and, as is typical, a second came straight after to make it 10-3. The remaining two legs of the third set went with Lewis to move him a leg away from victory. Dolan put up some resistance with a 108-checkout and then an unbelievable 170-finish before Lewis finished the match off, 13-5.
Van Gerwen continued to make a statement, and become joint favourite for the tournament again, with a demolition job over Peter Wright. The first five legs all went with throw, giving the Dutchman a 3-2 lead. But Van Gerwen soon found another gear and a 104-checkout put him 7-3 in front before Wright took the final leg of the second session. The overdrive button was then hit by Van Gerwen as he stormed out and won all five legs of the third session to go within a leg of victory at the third break. The interval was rather pointless though as Van Gerwen came back and won the 16th leg to ease through to the quarter finals.
The match of the night was definitely between Chisnall and Jamie Caven. It was a game of firsts as neither player had made in to the second round of this tournament before. Chisnall missed three darts to go 3-0 in front but did manage to win the fifth leg to go 3-2 in front at the first break. Caven missed two darts to win the seventh leg as Chisnall ended up taking the first three legs of the second session to lead 6-2. But Caven began to fight back and scored a 109-checkout to make it 6-4 at the second break. Caven managed to make it three consecutive legs by wining the first leg of the third session. Caven would then turn the match around by winning a further five legs on the spin to move 10-7 ahead. The game would turn again as Caven missed two darts to make it 11-8 and then four darts to back ahead after Chisnall had levelled the match. The world number nine then hit a superb 116-checkout to make it 12-10 against the throw before winning the 23rd leg to win 13-10.
2013 World Matchplay Darts: Day Four
Half of the quarter finalists were confirmed as the 2013 World Matchplay moved on to day four yesterday. After reaching that stage last year, Justin Pipe secured a career high victory to take him to the last eight again this year. The reigning Champion, Phil Taylor, managed to continue his defence with a very close fought victory. There were also victories for Simon Whitlock and James Wade as the draw becomes ever more exciting.
Pipe was the first man in to the quarter finals after a match that had a lot at stake. It was eighth versus ninth as Raymond Van Barneveld took on the man from Taunton. Barney did miss a dart to instantly break the throw before Pipe missed two darts to go 3-0 in front. Van Barneveld managed to level before a fantastic 170-checkout put Pipe 3-2 ahead at the first break. Pipe missed another three darts to make it 4-2 but was able to make it 4-3 after Barney missed two darts of his own to win the seventh leg. The Dutchman did manage to level with a 117-checkout but another great 129-checkout from Pipe meant that he was now 6-4 in front at the second break.
Pipe managed to extend his lead again with a 90-checkout on the bull. But Van Barneveld retaliated with a ton checkout followed by a 90-finish before levelling the match after Pipe missed another five darts at the double. A win in leg-15 meant the Dutchman managed to take the lead for the first time in the match. That did become 9-7 to Van Barneveld until he hit the proverbial wall, allowing Pipe to take the following six legs to win 13-9. Not only does it put Pipe in to the last eight, it also means he overtakes Van Barneveld in the world rankings.
Whitlock managed to overcome Kevin Painter in a slightly tempestuous affair. The first three legs all went against throw before Whitlock managed to hold in the fifth to only be 3-2 behind at the break. The first three legs of the second session also went against throw and this time it was Painter who held in the tenth leg to level the match at 5-5. The theme continued as the first two legs of the third session went against throw before Whitlock held to move 7-6 in front. At this point, Painter had dropped off and in frustration within his own game, he seemed to take offence at something the Aussie said and it only harmed his game more.
Whitlock would end up winning the final four legs of the third session to lead 9-6 at the third and final break. Painter did look slightly rejuvenated at the beginning of the fourth session but the players would only trade legs. Painter did manage to hit a 122-checkout to make it 12-10 before Whitlock put the game to bed with a huge 91-checkout.
The first tie break of the tournament came in a fantastic match between Taylor and Terry Jenkins. After Taylor took the opening two legs, Jenkins needed to win the fifth leg to only be 3-2 behind at the first break. Taylor would extend that advantage by winning the following three legs before Jenkins found a 118-checkout. But Taylor looked ever more likely to win the match when he responded with a colossal 127-checkout to lead 7-3 at the second break.
Jenkins began to fight back during the third session, bringing it back to 7-5 before missing seven darts to move within a leg of Taylor. Jenkins did manage to win the 15th leg to make it 9-6 at the third break. But The Bull wasn't finished and he would win the next three legs to level the match, including an 88-checkout on the bull in leg-17. Taylor was slightly rattled and missed four darts to move back in front and Jenkins would take the lead for the first time in the match at 10-9. Taylor levelled with a 109-checkout and would then find a crucial break to end up throwing for the match at 12-11. But The Power would uncharacteristically miss five match darts and Jenkins forced the tie break. Jenkins would miss two crucial darts to hold the throw, again allowing Taylor to throw for the match. This time Taylor wasn't going to be denied and he managed to squeak through to the quarter finals with a 14-12 win.
The final match of the night was just as big as Wade took on Gary Anderson. The first four legs went against the throw including a fantastic 121-checkout from Anderson in the third leg. Wade finally managed to hold his throw to leave the stage 3-2 in front. The Machine didn't return from the break and Anderson was able to reel off four consecutive legs, with another great 120-checkout in leg seven, to take a 6-4 lead in to the second break after Wade managed to stop the rot in the tenth leg.
Wade did manage to pull it back to 6-5 before Anderson took the next two legs with a 99-checkout which included two double 19's in the 13th. But Wade again began to fight back and took the remaining two legs, with a 110-checkout in leg-15, in the third session to only be 8-7 behind. This time it was Anderson who failed to come back from the break and this time it was catastrophic. Wade was able to reel off four consecutive legs this time to move 12-8 in front. Anderson couldn't come back and Wade would progress with a 13-8 victory.
Pipe was the first man in to the quarter finals after a match that had a lot at stake. It was eighth versus ninth as Raymond Van Barneveld took on the man from Taunton. Barney did miss a dart to instantly break the throw before Pipe missed two darts to go 3-0 in front. Van Barneveld managed to level before a fantastic 170-checkout put Pipe 3-2 ahead at the first break. Pipe missed another three darts to make it 4-2 but was able to make it 4-3 after Barney missed two darts of his own to win the seventh leg. The Dutchman did manage to level with a 117-checkout but another great 129-checkout from Pipe meant that he was now 6-4 in front at the second break.
Pipe managed to extend his lead again with a 90-checkout on the bull. But Van Barneveld retaliated with a ton checkout followed by a 90-finish before levelling the match after Pipe missed another five darts at the double. A win in leg-15 meant the Dutchman managed to take the lead for the first time in the match. That did become 9-7 to Van Barneveld until he hit the proverbial wall, allowing Pipe to take the following six legs to win 13-9. Not only does it put Pipe in to the last eight, it also means he overtakes Van Barneveld in the world rankings.
Whitlock managed to overcome Kevin Painter in a slightly tempestuous affair. The first three legs all went against throw before Whitlock managed to hold in the fifth to only be 3-2 behind at the break. The first three legs of the second session also went against throw and this time it was Painter who held in the tenth leg to level the match at 5-5. The theme continued as the first two legs of the third session went against throw before Whitlock held to move 7-6 in front. At this point, Painter had dropped off and in frustration within his own game, he seemed to take offence at something the Aussie said and it only harmed his game more.
Whitlock would end up winning the final four legs of the third session to lead 9-6 at the third and final break. Painter did look slightly rejuvenated at the beginning of the fourth session but the players would only trade legs. Painter did manage to hit a 122-checkout to make it 12-10 before Whitlock put the game to bed with a huge 91-checkout.
The first tie break of the tournament came in a fantastic match between Taylor and Terry Jenkins. After Taylor took the opening two legs, Jenkins needed to win the fifth leg to only be 3-2 behind at the first break. Taylor would extend that advantage by winning the following three legs before Jenkins found a 118-checkout. But Taylor looked ever more likely to win the match when he responded with a colossal 127-checkout to lead 7-3 at the second break.
Jenkins began to fight back during the third session, bringing it back to 7-5 before missing seven darts to move within a leg of Taylor. Jenkins did manage to win the 15th leg to make it 9-6 at the third break. But The Bull wasn't finished and he would win the next three legs to level the match, including an 88-checkout on the bull in leg-17. Taylor was slightly rattled and missed four darts to move back in front and Jenkins would take the lead for the first time in the match at 10-9. Taylor levelled with a 109-checkout and would then find a crucial break to end up throwing for the match at 12-11. But The Power would uncharacteristically miss five match darts and Jenkins forced the tie break. Jenkins would miss two crucial darts to hold the throw, again allowing Taylor to throw for the match. This time Taylor wasn't going to be denied and he managed to squeak through to the quarter finals with a 14-12 win.
The final match of the night was just as big as Wade took on Gary Anderson. The first four legs went against the throw including a fantastic 121-checkout from Anderson in the third leg. Wade finally managed to hold his throw to leave the stage 3-2 in front. The Machine didn't return from the break and Anderson was able to reel off four consecutive legs, with another great 120-checkout in leg seven, to take a 6-4 lead in to the second break after Wade managed to stop the rot in the tenth leg.
Wade did manage to pull it back to 6-5 before Anderson took the next two legs with a 99-checkout which included two double 19's in the 13th. But Wade again began to fight back and took the remaining two legs, with a 110-checkout in leg-15, in the third session to only be 8-7 behind. This time it was Anderson who failed to come back from the break and this time it was catastrophic. Wade was able to reel off four consecutive legs this time to move 12-8 in front. Anderson couldn't come back and Wade would progress with a 13-8 victory.
Monday 22 July 2013
2013 World Matchplay Darts: Day Three
The first round of the 2013 World Matchplay came to an end with the in form players making it through alongside a great first round performance. There was a shock victory for Ian White whilst Jamie Caven and Adrian Lewis came through to continue their recent good runs. Andy Hamilton completed the round two line up.
Robert Thornton continued his awful form in Blackpool against White. The Scot hadn't won a leg in the Winter Games in his previous two appearances and that showed throughout the match. White won the opening four legs after Thornton had missed ten darts at a double between legs two and four. Thornton finally managed to break his duck in the fifth leg and then made it 4-2 after White missed a dart to win that leg. But White continued to take control and would win the following three legs to make it 7-2. The ninth leg was won with an amazing 125-checkout as White went bull, 25, bull. Thornton did manage to make it 7-3 going in to the second break before White took the next three legs to win the match 10-3 and won it with an 81-checkout on the bull.
Caven continued his great recent form with a good comeback over Wes Newton. A 104-checkout from Caven was required to to level the score at 2-2 after Newton won the opening two legs. Newton then regained the lead with the next three legs to move 5-2 and then 6-3 in front. That then became 7-4 before Caven roared back to level the match. Newton would move ahead once more before Caven again levelled before making it three consecutive legs to win 10-8 and go through.
The European Champion wasn't at his best but it was enough to see off Ronny Huybrechts. The Belgian did level the match in the second leg but Lewis left the stage 4-1 at the first break. It could have been a lot closer but Huybrechts was guilty of missing a few chances. Lewis managed to make it 5-2 with a great 127-checkout and then 6-3 after Huybrechts missed three darts at the double before the leaving the oche with a seventh leg at the second break. The next five legs were shared, giving Lewis a 10-5 ugly victory.
One of the performances of the round goes to Hamilton who saw off the local lad, Ronnie Baxter. Hamilton got off to a great start with a 104-checkout before going off stage 5-0 in front. That would be extended to 8-0 before Baxter finally hit a double, much to the appreciation of the crowd. It didn't change the game and Hamilton would win the match in style with a 111-checkout.
Robert Thornton continued his awful form in Blackpool against White. The Scot hadn't won a leg in the Winter Games in his previous two appearances and that showed throughout the match. White won the opening four legs after Thornton had missed ten darts at a double between legs two and four. Thornton finally managed to break his duck in the fifth leg and then made it 4-2 after White missed a dart to win that leg. But White continued to take control and would win the following three legs to make it 7-2. The ninth leg was won with an amazing 125-checkout as White went bull, 25, bull. Thornton did manage to make it 7-3 going in to the second break before White took the next three legs to win the match 10-3 and won it with an 81-checkout on the bull.
Caven continued his great recent form with a good comeback over Wes Newton. A 104-checkout from Caven was required to to level the score at 2-2 after Newton won the opening two legs. Newton then regained the lead with the next three legs to move 5-2 and then 6-3 in front. That then became 7-4 before Caven roared back to level the match. Newton would move ahead once more before Caven again levelled before making it three consecutive legs to win 10-8 and go through.
The European Champion wasn't at his best but it was enough to see off Ronny Huybrechts. The Belgian did level the match in the second leg but Lewis left the stage 4-1 at the first break. It could have been a lot closer but Huybrechts was guilty of missing a few chances. Lewis managed to make it 5-2 with a great 127-checkout and then 6-3 after Huybrechts missed three darts at the double before the leaving the oche with a seventh leg at the second break. The next five legs were shared, giving Lewis a 10-5 ugly victory.
One of the performances of the round goes to Hamilton who saw off the local lad, Ronnie Baxter. Hamilton got off to a great start with a 104-checkout before going off stage 5-0 in front. That would be extended to 8-0 before Baxter finally hit a double, much to the appreciation of the crowd. It didn't change the game and Hamilton would win the match in style with a 111-checkout.
Sunday 21 July 2013
2013 World Matchplay Darts: Day Two - Evening Session
The second night of the 2013 World Matchplay saw the two heavy favourites enter the fray. Phil Taylor performed the best show of the tournament to set out his stall before Michael Van Gerwen also progressed with a very solid performance. Gary Anderson also produced a good performance to make it through with Dave Chisnall somehow squeezing in to the second round.
After pulling out the European Championship with illness, Anderson returned to the oche and looked to be in top form for the first time in a while. The Scot began the match with a 101-checkout before leaving the stage 4-1 ahead after winning the opening three legs. King won the opening leg of the second session before Anderson took the following four legs to extend his lead to 8-2. King did try to mount some sort of comeback and managed to make it 8-5 before Anderson took the next two legs to win 10-5 and set up a second round match against James Wade.
The cagiest match of the tournament definitely goes to Chisnall and Paul Nicholson. It was a match where neither were at their best and it left Nicholson visibly upset. Nicholson did start the better by winning the first two legs before taking a 4-1 lead at the first break. Chisnall came back after the break to level the match before missing three darts in following leg to take the lead for the first time. Chizzy did win the tenth leg with a 102-checkout which meant the players were locked together at 5-5 at the second break. Chisnall added a 121-checkout to take the lead for the first time before going 7-5 in front. This time it was Nicholson to fight back and did so by winning the following three legs to regain the lead at 8-7. Chisnall managed to find a 76-checkout on the bull to again level the match before breaking Nicholson to go 9-8 in front. This also seemed to break him mentally as The Asset was having to fight back the tears during the 18th leg. Chisnall also managed to win that to win the game 10-8 and progress through to the second round. Thoughts do go to Nicholson though in the hope he is okay and recovers his form.
It was perhaps no surprise that the tournament favourite pulled off the best performance of the tournament so far. Taylor faced Matchplay debutant Stuart Kellett and sent out a chilling statement. The Power took the first five legs with a 161-checkout in the fifth. Kellett did miss the odd dart at a double but finally avoided the whitewash in the eighth leg after Taylor missed two darts himself. It didn't change the outcome and Taylor hit a 134-checkout in the tenth to make it 9-1 at the second break. The players returned for Taylor to also take the 11th leg and easily win the match 10-1 to set up a second round tie with Terry Jenkins.
Van Gerwen also looked to make his mark against Colin Lloyd with a beginning checkout of 107 and then a 120-checkout in leg three as he went 5-0 in front. Unlike many, Lloyd was fazed and he retaliated after the break by winning the following three legs before also finding a 120-checkout to make it 6-4 at the second break. Van Gerwen would miss two darts in the 13th leg as Lloyd made it 7-6. But Van Gerwen stopped the comeback with an 85-checkout on the bull before then making it 9-6. The Dutchman would then win the 17th leg to book his place in the second round.
After pulling out the European Championship with illness, Anderson returned to the oche and looked to be in top form for the first time in a while. The Scot began the match with a 101-checkout before leaving the stage 4-1 ahead after winning the opening three legs. King won the opening leg of the second session before Anderson took the following four legs to extend his lead to 8-2. King did try to mount some sort of comeback and managed to make it 8-5 before Anderson took the next two legs to win 10-5 and set up a second round match against James Wade.
The cagiest match of the tournament definitely goes to Chisnall and Paul Nicholson. It was a match where neither were at their best and it left Nicholson visibly upset. Nicholson did start the better by winning the first two legs before taking a 4-1 lead at the first break. Chisnall came back after the break to level the match before missing three darts in following leg to take the lead for the first time. Chizzy did win the tenth leg with a 102-checkout which meant the players were locked together at 5-5 at the second break. Chisnall added a 121-checkout to take the lead for the first time before going 7-5 in front. This time it was Nicholson to fight back and did so by winning the following three legs to regain the lead at 8-7. Chisnall managed to find a 76-checkout on the bull to again level the match before breaking Nicholson to go 9-8 in front. This also seemed to break him mentally as The Asset was having to fight back the tears during the 18th leg. Chisnall also managed to win that to win the game 10-8 and progress through to the second round. Thoughts do go to Nicholson though in the hope he is okay and recovers his form.
It was perhaps no surprise that the tournament favourite pulled off the best performance of the tournament so far. Taylor faced Matchplay debutant Stuart Kellett and sent out a chilling statement. The Power took the first five legs with a 161-checkout in the fifth. Kellett did miss the odd dart at a double but finally avoided the whitewash in the eighth leg after Taylor missed two darts himself. It didn't change the outcome and Taylor hit a 134-checkout in the tenth to make it 9-1 at the second break. The players returned for Taylor to also take the 11th leg and easily win the match 10-1 to set up a second round tie with Terry Jenkins.
Van Gerwen also looked to make his mark against Colin Lloyd with a beginning checkout of 107 and then a 120-checkout in leg three as he went 5-0 in front. Unlike many, Lloyd was fazed and he retaliated after the break by winning the following three legs before also finding a 120-checkout to make it 6-4 at the second break. Van Gerwen would miss two darts in the 13th leg as Lloyd made it 7-6. But Van Gerwen stopped the comeback with an 85-checkout on the bull before then making it 9-6. The Dutchman would then win the 17th leg to book his place in the second round.
2013 World Matchplay Darts: Day Two - Afternoon Session
There was no time for a lazy afternoon by the seaside in Blackpool. This afternoon was filled with more darting drama as we reached the halfway point in the first round of the 2013 World Matchplay tournament. There were wins for the P's as Justin Pipe, Kevin Painter and Peter Wright all made it through, joined by Northern Ireland's Brendan Dolan.
Pipe managed to see off an injured Mark Webster in another match where the person starting the better ended up losing. Webster was suffering from damaged ligaments in his right ankle following a five-a-side football match. But it didn't really hamper the left-handed Welshman as he took a 2-0 lead courtesy of a 101-checkout. Pipe did level the match but a 76-checkout on the bull was enough for Webster to go 3-2 in front at the first break. Webster probably didn't want the break as Pipe returned with five consecutive legs to take a 7-3 lead at the second break. Pipe took the next two legs to go within one of winning the match before Webster added another leg to his belt. Pipe would still win 10-4 to comfortably progress to meet Raymond Van Barneveld in the second round.
Painter had a tough job in seeing off the young Jamie Lewis. Lewis managed to win the opening leg after Painter missed four darts at the double only for The Artist to go 2-1 and then 3-2 in front at the first interval. Painter gained an edge with a superb 164-checkout before then going 5-2 ahead. The plucky Lewis tried to come back and managed to make it 6-5 with a 104-checkout. But Painter continued to stay ahead and extended his lead to 8-5 and then 9-6 before Lewis tried to keep himself in the match. Painter would take the 17th leg of the match to win the game 10-7.
Wright continued his fantastic recent run of form with his first ever victory over Kim Huybrechts. The first six legs all went with throw as the match began to live up to its 'hard to call' nature. But Wright managed to gain a real foothold as he took the next four legs to go 7-3 in front. Huybrechts struggled for long periods during the game and after winning his fourth leg, Wright managed to win the following three legs to book his place in the next round.
The closest match of the afternoon saw Dolan creep past Steve Beaton to also make it in to the second round. The game began in extraordinary fashion; Dolan took the first leg with a 112-checkout before Beaton riposted with a 118-finish. Beaton would then go 3-1 in front before making it 5-2. But Dolan battled back and the Northern Irishman managed to take the next three legs to level the match at the second interval. Dolan then managed to make it five consecutive legs to go 7-5 in front before Beaton fought back to level, with a 117-checkout in leg-13. The next three legs were shared to put Dolan 9-8 in front but a sudden death shoot-out was avoided as the Northern Irishman managed to win the 18th leg and squeeze through.
Pipe managed to see off an injured Mark Webster in another match where the person starting the better ended up losing. Webster was suffering from damaged ligaments in his right ankle following a five-a-side football match. But it didn't really hamper the left-handed Welshman as he took a 2-0 lead courtesy of a 101-checkout. Pipe did level the match but a 76-checkout on the bull was enough for Webster to go 3-2 in front at the first break. Webster probably didn't want the break as Pipe returned with five consecutive legs to take a 7-3 lead at the second break. Pipe took the next two legs to go within one of winning the match before Webster added another leg to his belt. Pipe would still win 10-4 to comfortably progress to meet Raymond Van Barneveld in the second round.
Painter had a tough job in seeing off the young Jamie Lewis. Lewis managed to win the opening leg after Painter missed four darts at the double only for The Artist to go 2-1 and then 3-2 in front at the first interval. Painter gained an edge with a superb 164-checkout before then going 5-2 ahead. The plucky Lewis tried to come back and managed to make it 6-5 with a 104-checkout. But Painter continued to stay ahead and extended his lead to 8-5 and then 9-6 before Lewis tried to keep himself in the match. Painter would take the 17th leg of the match to win the game 10-7.
Wright continued his fantastic recent run of form with his first ever victory over Kim Huybrechts. The first six legs all went with throw as the match began to live up to its 'hard to call' nature. But Wright managed to gain a real foothold as he took the next four legs to go 7-3 in front. Huybrechts struggled for long periods during the game and after winning his fourth leg, Wright managed to win the following three legs to book his place in the next round.
The closest match of the afternoon saw Dolan creep past Steve Beaton to also make it in to the second round. The game began in extraordinary fashion; Dolan took the first leg with a 112-checkout before Beaton riposted with a 118-finish. Beaton would then go 3-1 in front before making it 5-2. But Dolan battled back and the Northern Irishman managed to take the next three legs to level the match at the second interval. Dolan then managed to make it five consecutive legs to go 7-5 in front before Beaton fought back to level, with a 117-checkout in leg-13. The next three legs were shared to put Dolan 9-8 in front but a sudden death shoot-out was avoided as the Northern Irishman managed to win the 18th leg and squeeze through.
Poland’s Last Heat World Cup Win
Poland win their sixth World Cup in nine years in dramatic
fashion. The final twisted and turned throughout as it went down to the final
heat. It turned out to be a battle between Michael Jepsen Jensen and Jaroslaw
Hampel and the Polish GP rider managed to get a phenomenal start to win the
trophy. After their race off victory, Australia were in contention for a lot of
the meeting but ultimately fell away and finished third. The hosts, Czech
Republic, were in action for the first time this tournament but, as feared, they
weren’t really good enough to compete in a final.
Poland (Hampel, Krzysztof Kasprzak, Patryk Dudek &
Maciej Janowski) and Denmark (Nicki Pedersen, Kenneth Bjerre, Niels-Kristian
Iversen & Jepsen Jensen) were unchanged from their first round victories. Australia
(Darcy Ward, Cameron Woodward, Jason Doyle & Troy Batchelor) were unchanged
from the race off. Czech Republic were led by the semi-GP rider Ales Dryml. His
brother Lukas and Josef Franc have also had premiere Speedway experience with
young Vaclav Milik completing the line-up for the hosts.
The beginning of the meeting was very open with all four
countries picking a race victory. Hampel won the first heat of the night, after
a false start originally, and second places from the other Poles put them ahead
on nine points from four heats. Pedersen won the second heat for Denmark as
they sat on five points. Woodward won the third heat for Australia, following
another false start, and three other third places meant they sat second on
seven points. Czech Republic had to wait until the fourth heat to pick up their
first points which came from Ales Drmyl’s victory.
Denmark dominated heats five to eight with four victories.
This propelled them in to the lead with 17-points. Three second places and a
fourth from Hampel in heat six put Poland on 15. Australia had to settle for
four third places which left them on 11-points from eight heats. Ales Dryml
continued to lead his nation with a second place in heat six to gain a further
two points, meaning he had scored all five points in the meeting so far for the
hosts. The first disqualification came in heat seven as Franc false started and
hit the tapes.
Australia used their joker in heat nine and it worked
perfectly as Batchelor won. Janowski finished second with Pedersen third,
meaning that Denmark still led on 18-points with both Poland and now Australia
on 17. Milik went down in heat ten, forcing a restart; Bjerre won it to extend
Denmark’s lead to two. Ales Dryml used Czech Republic’s joker in heat-11 but he
finished fourth which meant they still picked no points up. Hampel won it to
move to within a point again of the Danes. Heat-12 was then won by Iversen to
put Denmark on 26-points from 12-heats. A third place from Kasprzak put Poland
on 23-points with Australia on 21 after Ward finished second. With no points
gained from the previous four heats, Czech Republic remained on just five.
The game changed in heat-13 as Janowski won it for Poland.
This was helped by Jepsen Jensen coming fourth, allowing Poland to level the
scores with Australia three points behind. Iversen then restored Denmark’s lead
with victory in heat-14. A fourth place from Dudek meant that Poland were once
again three points behind with Australia a point behind on 25. It got worse for
Poland as Kasprzak packed up in heat-15 but it actually turned out to be a good
thing. Woodward’s second place did put Australia second with Denmark now six
points ahead. This meant that Poland could now play their joker in heat-16 and
the script was completely ripped up. Hampel rode the joker and would win the
heat. Pedersen was second until he packed up, meaning that Poland were once
again level with Denmark on 32-points from 16-heats. Australia still weren’t
out of it on 29-points with Czech Republic still in single figures.
Heat-17 was very tense and dramatic. There was a false start
to begin with, meaning all four riders had to go back and start again. Then
Bjerre looked to clip Lukas Dryml on the third corner with his dirt protector.
This looked to have caused Dryml to hit the floor but, after a lot of
deliberation from the referee, it was Dryml who was disqualified. Bjerre was a
very lucky boy but he could finish third with Ward taking victory for
Australia. This put Poland on 34, Denmark on 33 and Australia on 32.
It all changed again in heat-18 when Pedersen won it for
Denmark with Dudek only finishing third. This put Denmark on 36 with Poland on
35. Doyle finished fourth which ended Australia’s chances as they remained on
32. Second from Milik meant Czech Republic had now got in to double figures on
11.
Janowski won heat-19 with Iversen second. This meant that
Poland and Denmark were now locked together on 38-points with one heat
remaining. The tension rose with a false start, sending Jepsen Jensen and
Hampel back to the start. The engines were revved for a second time and as the
tapes rose, Hampel stormed away and took the lead. Jepsen Jensen had fallen to
fourth, virtually ending the tournament. Hampel continued to get away as Jepsen
Jensen clawed his way back to second, meaning that Poland would win the World
Cup by a solitary point.
Final Result: Poland 41 Denmark 40 Australia 33 Czech
Republic 12
Saturday 20 July 2013
2013 World Matchplay Darts: Day One
The Winter Gardens in Blackpool opened its doors once again for the week as the 2013 World Matchplay Darts began in full swing. There were wins for the five time World Champion, Raymond Van Barneveld, who is yet to win in Blackpool. The 2007 Champion, James Wade, also made it through along with The Bull Terry Jenkins. The European Darts Championship runner-up Simon Whitlock also won after fending off a Jelle Klaasen comeback.
Jenkins ended up progressing comfortably past Andy Smith. It didn't start that way as The Pie Man rattled off a 116-checkout before going 2-0 in front. Jenkins did manage to battle back to still went off at the first break 3-2 behind as Smith managed to hit a 101-checkout. But that would be the last leg Smith would win as Jenkins managed to reel off seven consecutive legs, with a little help from Smith missing doubles when Jenkins did, to win the match 10-7.
It was a similar story for Van Barneveld as he made Mensur Suljovic's World Matchplay debut a nightmare. It was a good start for the Austrian as he levelled the match with a brilliant 120-Shanghai finish before then going 2-1 in front. But Barney would reply with a 101-checkout to leave the stage 3-2 in front at the first break. The Dutchman would then take the following four legs, including an 81-checkout on the bull, before Suljovic made it 7-3 at the second break. Suljovic would also win the first leg of the third session only for Barney to prevent any type of comeback with a 121-checkout, again on the bull. The Dutchman would then wrap the game up with the following two legs to win 10-4.
The first real contest was between Wade and John Part. After Wade missed three darts to level the match, Part took a 2-0 lead. Wade did fight back to level but would still leave the stage 3-2 down after the first interval. Wade was guilty of missing another three darts in leg seven which allowed Part to hit a 104-checkout to go 4-3 in front. Wade responded with a 110-checkout before taking the following two legs to end the second session 6-4 ahead. The Machine did manage to extend that to 8-5 before Part pulled it back to 8-7. That became 9-8 and the 18th leg turned out to be a rather tense one. But Wade emerged with a 24-checkout to win 10-8 and progress without really being at his best on the doubles in parts of the game.
Whitlock was the third man to go 2-0 ahead only for Klaasen to level the match. Klaasen again levelled to make it 3-3 before Whitlock went on to win the next five legs and go 8-3 in front. Klaasen wasn't really anywhere for most of the match but he did summon up two consecutive legs to make it 8-5. Whitlock went within a leg of the match and then went on to miss two match darts, allowing Klaasen to make it 9-6. Out of nowhere, The Dutchman somehow hit a magnificent 158-checkout followed by a 118-finish to make it 9-8. With fears of becoming the victim of yet another Blackpool comeback, Whitlock managed to compose himself and take the next leg to win 10-8.
Jenkins ended up progressing comfortably past Andy Smith. It didn't start that way as The Pie Man rattled off a 116-checkout before going 2-0 in front. Jenkins did manage to battle back to still went off at the first break 3-2 behind as Smith managed to hit a 101-checkout. But that would be the last leg Smith would win as Jenkins managed to reel off seven consecutive legs, with a little help from Smith missing doubles when Jenkins did, to win the match 10-7.
It was a similar story for Van Barneveld as he made Mensur Suljovic's World Matchplay debut a nightmare. It was a good start for the Austrian as he levelled the match with a brilliant 120-Shanghai finish before then going 2-1 in front. But Barney would reply with a 101-checkout to leave the stage 3-2 in front at the first break. The Dutchman would then take the following four legs, including an 81-checkout on the bull, before Suljovic made it 7-3 at the second break. Suljovic would also win the first leg of the third session only for Barney to prevent any type of comeback with a 121-checkout, again on the bull. The Dutchman would then wrap the game up with the following two legs to win 10-4.
The first real contest was between Wade and John Part. After Wade missed three darts to level the match, Part took a 2-0 lead. Wade did fight back to level but would still leave the stage 3-2 down after the first interval. Wade was guilty of missing another three darts in leg seven which allowed Part to hit a 104-checkout to go 4-3 in front. Wade responded with a 110-checkout before taking the following two legs to end the second session 6-4 ahead. The Machine did manage to extend that to 8-5 before Part pulled it back to 8-7. That became 9-8 and the 18th leg turned out to be a rather tense one. But Wade emerged with a 24-checkout to win 10-8 and progress without really being at his best on the doubles in parts of the game.
Whitlock was the third man to go 2-0 ahead only for Klaasen to level the match. Klaasen again levelled to make it 3-3 before Whitlock went on to win the next five legs and go 8-3 in front. Klaasen wasn't really anywhere for most of the match but he did summon up two consecutive legs to make it 8-5. Whitlock went within a leg of the match and then went on to miss two match darts, allowing Klaasen to make it 9-6. Out of nowhere, The Dutchman somehow hit a magnificent 158-checkout followed by a 118-finish to make it 9-8. With fears of becoming the victim of yet another Blackpool comeback, Whitlock managed to compose himself and take the next leg to win 10-8.
Thursday 18 July 2013
British Dismay as Australia Make It To World Cup Final
Australia managed to pick themselves up from their recent losses by winning the race-off and putting themselves in to the 2013 Speedway World Cup. In a meeting that Great Britain were expected to do well in and maybe even win, they finished fourth with a comical ending to their tournament. Latvia continued their surprising performance by keeping pace with the rest and finishing third behind a very competitive USA side.
USA (Ricky Wells, Gino Manzares, Ryan Fisher & Greg Hancock), Latvia (Kasts Puodzuks, Maksim Bogdanovs, Vjaceslavs Giruckis & Andzejs Lebedevs) and Australia (Jason Doyle, Troy Batchelor, Cameron Woodward & Darcy Ward) were all unchanged from their first meetings. Britain had decided to change Ed Kennett and Craig Cook for Lewis Bridger and Ben Barker to join Tai Woffinden and Chris Harris.
It was tight meeting throughout although Britain got off to the worst start with Barker finishing fourth before Harris packed up in heat two. Hancock and Fisher made it two wins in two for the Americans before Wells added a seventh point from four heats. A second from Woodward in heat three followed by a win for Ward also put Australia on seven. Two seconds and a third in the opening three heats put Latvia on five points and remained on that after Giruckis finished fourth in the fourth heat. Britain were level on five after Woffinden won heat three following a restart before Bridger managed a second place.
Woffinden then managed to win the fifth heat to go level with Australia whilst second for Hancock placed the Americans a point ahead. But a fourth from Bridger allowed Latvia to level after Puodzuks won the sixth heat, leaving Australia and USA tied on ten points. Doyle managed to win heat seven to give Australia the lead, which they would hold on to despite finishing fourth in heat eight after Batchelor had taken Lebedevs out on the final corner. A win for Harris put Britain and USA a point behind Australia on 12 with Latvia fourth on 11.
USA took the lead once again in heat nine with Hancock winning it. A win for Giruckis in heat ten allowed Latvia to go level with Britain and point behind Australia with USA still in front. But Ward would take heat-11 to put the Aussies in front and that was enhanced when Woodward finished second in heat-12. They were on 20-points with Latvia now second on 18 after Bogdanovs won heat-12. USA and Britain were locked together on 17.
Things got worse for Britain when Barker finished fourth in heat-13. Ward won it and this meant Australia were now six points ahead. Britain wasted no time in using their joker but they decided to sub Harris for Woffinden with Hancock going off the inside when it may have been wise to wait a little bit. It was no surprise to see Hancock win the heat with Woffinden picking up four points for second. But that good work was overturned when Bridger lost control of his bike and crashed out, forcing a restart. Batchelor won it for Australia and Britain were again six points behind. Manzares looked to deliberately not complete heat-15 with alleged bike problems. But this meant America could now use their joker and, surprise surprise, Hancock took it in the following heat. Hancock managed to win the heat and this put them level with Australia on 27-points after 16-heats. Second place for Woffinden was enough to put them level with Latvia on 23-points.
There were more farcical tactics in heat-17 as Barker decided to deliberately drop from second to third on the line. This was so Britain would be six points behind Australia and be allowed to use a tactical substitute. It was too little too late and Harris could only finish second in heat-18. This left Australia three points ahead in the meeting and a second from Batchelor in heat-19 sealed their victory. They were then able to round the night off with a victory from Ward with Woffinden second. Australia won the meeting with 35-points. USA finished second with 31 with Britain last on 28, a point behind Latvia.
Monday 15 July 2013
Britain Through To Race Off
Great Britain managed to book their place alongside Australia and Latvia in Thursday's race off in the 2013 Speedway World Cup. Denmark strolled to victory right from the beginning which means they join Poland and Czech Republic in Saturday's final. The shock of the night saw a fantastic joker put USA in to the race off at an under strength Sweden's expense. Britain now have a great chance to take the final slot in the final with a victory in the race off.
GB were unsurprisingly led by Tai Woffinden and former GP rider, Chris Harris. Unfortunately, Edward Kennett and Craig Cook failed to follow the example and left the top two riders with too much work to do. Denmark were the clear favourites with GP riders Nicki Pedersen and Niels-Kristian Iversen at the helm. There was no real weak link for the Danes as they also had former GP rider Kenneth Bjerre and U-21 World Champion Michael Jepsen-Jensen in their ranks.
It was also no surprise to see USA's participation rest solely on Greg Hancock. The double World Champion guided Ryan Fisher, Gino Manzares and Ricky Wells to the race off. With Andreas Jonsson, Freddie Lindgren, Antonio Lindback and Thomas H Jonasson all injured, Sweden were left with Peter Ljung as their shining light. Daniel Nermark, Dennis Andersson and Jonas Davidsson tried their hardest but Sweden clearly missed their 'better' riders.
Victories for Iversen and Woffinden put Britain and Denmark level after just two heats before wins for Pedersen and Bjerre put the Danes ahead with 11-points after four heats. Second places for Ljung and Nermark helped Sweden get up to five points, one behind Britain. It was looking bleak for USA with Hancock and Wells picking up a point apiece from the opening four heats.
Pedersen and Bjerre extended Denmark's lead in the next two heats before finishing with 20-points after eight heats. A fantastic joker win for Woffinden in heat seven had put Britain two points behind the Danes but a third place from Cook left Britain on 17-points. Wells did manage USA's third point in heat five before Hancock scored his first victory in heat eight to double their tally. A third from Andersson in heat six after Manzares had fallen and a second from Ljung in the following heat left Sweden on eight after eight heats.
All four Danes managed to win their heats between nine and 12 which arguably finished the meeting off as they now had a ten point lead over Britain. Second places for both Harris and Woffinden did leave GB with 22-points from 12-heats. That was ten more than Sweden who had to rely on three points from Ljung over two heats and also a point from Nermark to put them on to 12. USA remained last on nine points after Hancock had scored another second place in heat ten before Fisher fell down in heat-12.
Iversen made it five consecutive heats after Andersson was disqualified for touching the tapes from the start. The meeting then changed in heat-14 when Sweden and USA both decided to play their jokers. It worked perfectly for USA as Hancock won the heat with Davidsson finishing last. This put the Americans four points ahead before Hancock won the following heat to extend that lead to seven after 16-heats. Denmark were now on 39 after a win for Harris in heat-16 put Britain on to 30. Nermark hit the fence in the same heat which left Sweden on just 13-points.
Sweden tried to pull it back with Ljung winning heat-17 in dramatic circumstances. Kennett had already gone down from the first corner and Bjerre looked like he was going to win. But the Dane picked up a puncture on the final corner to allow Ljung the win and the deficit was now five with three heats to go.
Nermark followed that by pulling another point back with a second in heat-18. But a fourth place from Andersson ended Sweden's hopes in the penultimate heat. Denmark completed the night on 49-points with Jepsen Jensen and Iversen picking up final victories. There was also a final victory for Woffinden in heat-19 as Britain finished comfortably in second on 35. USA finished their ground breaking night with 24 as Sweden were dumped out of the tournament with just 18-points.
GB were unsurprisingly led by Tai Woffinden and former GP rider, Chris Harris. Unfortunately, Edward Kennett and Craig Cook failed to follow the example and left the top two riders with too much work to do. Denmark were the clear favourites with GP riders Nicki Pedersen and Niels-Kristian Iversen at the helm. There was no real weak link for the Danes as they also had former GP rider Kenneth Bjerre and U-21 World Champion Michael Jepsen-Jensen in their ranks.
It was also no surprise to see USA's participation rest solely on Greg Hancock. The double World Champion guided Ryan Fisher, Gino Manzares and Ricky Wells to the race off. With Andreas Jonsson, Freddie Lindgren, Antonio Lindback and Thomas H Jonasson all injured, Sweden were left with Peter Ljung as their shining light. Daniel Nermark, Dennis Andersson and Jonas Davidsson tried their hardest but Sweden clearly missed their 'better' riders.
Victories for Iversen and Woffinden put Britain and Denmark level after just two heats before wins for Pedersen and Bjerre put the Danes ahead with 11-points after four heats. Second places for Ljung and Nermark helped Sweden get up to five points, one behind Britain. It was looking bleak for USA with Hancock and Wells picking up a point apiece from the opening four heats.
Pedersen and Bjerre extended Denmark's lead in the next two heats before finishing with 20-points after eight heats. A fantastic joker win for Woffinden in heat seven had put Britain two points behind the Danes but a third place from Cook left Britain on 17-points. Wells did manage USA's third point in heat five before Hancock scored his first victory in heat eight to double their tally. A third from Andersson in heat six after Manzares had fallen and a second from Ljung in the following heat left Sweden on eight after eight heats.
All four Danes managed to win their heats between nine and 12 which arguably finished the meeting off as they now had a ten point lead over Britain. Second places for both Harris and Woffinden did leave GB with 22-points from 12-heats. That was ten more than Sweden who had to rely on three points from Ljung over two heats and also a point from Nermark to put them on to 12. USA remained last on nine points after Hancock had scored another second place in heat ten before Fisher fell down in heat-12.
Iversen made it five consecutive heats after Andersson was disqualified for touching the tapes from the start. The meeting then changed in heat-14 when Sweden and USA both decided to play their jokers. It worked perfectly for USA as Hancock won the heat with Davidsson finishing last. This put the Americans four points ahead before Hancock won the following heat to extend that lead to seven after 16-heats. Denmark were now on 39 after a win for Harris in heat-16 put Britain on to 30. Nermark hit the fence in the same heat which left Sweden on just 13-points.
Sweden tried to pull it back with Ljung winning heat-17 in dramatic circumstances. Kennett had already gone down from the first corner and Bjerre looked like he was going to win. But the Dane picked up a puncture on the final corner to allow Ljung the win and the deficit was now five with three heats to go.
Nermark followed that by pulling another point back with a second in heat-18. But a fourth place from Andersson ended Sweden's hopes in the penultimate heat. Denmark completed the night on 49-points with Jepsen Jensen and Iversen picking up final victories. There was also a final victory for Woffinden in heat-19 as Britain finished comfortably in second on 35. USA finished their ground breaking night with 24 as Sweden were dumped out of the tournament with just 18-points.
2013 Speedway World Cup Event One
Poland win event one in the 2013 Speedway World cup to join
Czech Republic in the final. Czech Republic, who qualify for the final courtesy
of being the hosts, as well as most of the others wouldn’t have been surprised
to see Poland dominate from heat one to win the event. Australia and the
surprise quantity of Latvia will do battle once again in the race-off on
Thursday while a disappointing and severely under strength Russia side become
the first nation to exit the competition.
Poland, hosts of this first event, were spearheaded by the
GP riders Jaroslaw Hampel and Krzysztof Kasprzak. Fellow GP rider, Tomasz
Gollob, was due to take part but had to pull out with injury and was replaced
by the leader of the U-21 World Championships, Patryk Dudek. Maciej Janowski
completed the Polish line-up.
With Chris Holder out with that devastating broken hip, it
was down to the exciting Darcy Ward to guide World Cup regulars Davey Watt and
Troy Batchelor to success. The unknown Jason Doyle took Holder’s place. Russia
went with youth and went from being potential favourites to virtual unknowns.
GP leader Emil Sayfutdinov would have led the side but he had to pull out with
a foot injury. Russia also decided not to go with the Laguta brothers who were
also World Cup regulars. Instead, Russia went with the fresh faces of Viktor
Kulakov, Vladimir Borodulin, Ilya Chalov and Andriy Kudryashov, who would have
been the fourth member alongside the regulars if they had been picked. As for
the Latvia, they were the real unknown quantity. Apart from Andzejs Lebedevs
who rides for King’s Lynn, not a lot was known about Kasts Puodzuks, Maksim
Bogdanovs and Vjaceslavs Giruckis.
Hampel and Dudek got Poland off to the perfect start before
Ward continued his GP form with the win in heat three after an initial false
start. There was a surprise in heat four as Bogdanovs began an impressive night
with the win in heat four as Batchelor finished second with a puncture. After
the first four heats, Poland led with nine. Australia were second on seven as
Doyle also gained a second place in heat two. Latvia were third on six points
with Lebedevs began the night with a second place. After both Kudryashov and
Chalov gained a point in the first two heats, Russia remained on two points
after the fourth heat.
Both Janowski and Kasprzak would gain victories in heats
five and six to extend Poland’s advantage. Dudek was going to make that three
consecutive wins until he packed up on the final corner, allowing Batchelor to
pick up the win before being followed up by Ward for his second victory of the
night. Hampel grabbed second by beating Bogdanovs to the line after the final
corner which Poland had 17-points after eight heats, Australia remained second
with 14. Three points in two rides for Bogdanovs mixed with a point from
Lebedevs put Latvia on to ten points with Russia on seven.
Ward made it back to back victories in heat nine before
Hampel, Janowski and Kasprzak won the following three heats to go even further
in front. The three wins and Dudek’s second place meant that Poland were now up
to 28 after 12-heats. The first joker of the night was played in heat-11 by
Russia, Kudryashov managed to finish second which meant he scored four points.
Borodulin followed that with a second place to move Russia up to 13-points.
They had managed to close the gap on Latvia to just a point. Australia were
still second on 19-points after failing to make any inroads with their joker.
They played it in heat-12 but Ward was blocked off on the inside by Kasprzak at
the start and that succumbed the Aussie to fourth.
Janowski, Kasprzak and Hampel then made it six wins in a row
to all but seal the victory with 38-points from 16-heats. Three second places
allowed Australia to move on to 26-points. A victory for Puodzuks in heat-16
helped Latvia on to 22-points. Russia finished fourth in all four heats to
remain on just 13-points and now all but out of the meeting.
Third place for Kasprzak was enough declare Poland the
winners in heat-17. Doyle managed to win that and Ward finished the meeting off
with a victory to make sure Australia came second. Janowski gained his fourth
victory in heat-18 after an initial false start and Hampel followed suite,
winning Poland’s 12th heat, in the 19th. Latvia finished third
with 27-points after Bogdanovs completed a great Latvian night with a second
place in heat-19. Kulakov would get Russia’s only point in the final eight
heats to leave Russia reeling with no victories and only 14-points to end the
night and their tournament.
Considering who may be joining Australia and Latvia in the
race-off. It’s unlikely that either one will make in to the final. However, if
Davey Watt, the only Aussie not to pick up a win, improves in the race off,
they will definitely compete. As for Latvia, they have already outdone
themselves and now anything else will be a bonus.
Sunday 7 July 2013
Third Time Lucky For Lewis
Adrian Lewis has managed to win European Darts Championship after making it to his third final. After seeing off Michael van Gerwen, Lewis set up a final date with the reigning champion Simon Whitlock who managed to beat Ronny Huybrechts in the first semi-final.
The final was a little bit one sided overall. It began with Lewis smashing a 106-checkout before storming in to a 6-1 lead after Whitlock had missed two darts to take a 2-1 lead. Lewis was definitely back to his best even when he missed six darts to win leg to win leg nine, allowing Whitlock to make it 6-3. Legs either side of a fantastic 125-checkout made it 9-3 and put Lewis in the most commanding position.
It wasn't completely over as Whitlock had already come back from this scoreline earlier the day to win his quarter final against Jamie Caven. After Lewis missed two darts to make it 10-3, Whitlock hit double top then double ten to win the tenth leg and then made it 9-5. Lewis would miss two darts to win the match two legs later, but then managed to take out ten to win the game 11-6 and win his first major tournament since his two World Championships.
Lewis' semi-final victory over van Gerwen was something of a spectacular nature. It was a match where the Dutchman looked tired and was a bit like in his first round, much below par. Lewis took a 3-0 lead after taking a ton checkout in the second leg. That lead became 4-1 before van Gerwen missed five darts to level the match. Those missed darts helped Lewis take four legs on the spin to make it 8-3 before a fantastic 141-checkout put him 9-4 ahead. van Gerwen threatened a comeback by taking the next legs to make it 9-7. That became 10-8 when the Dutchman managed to hit a superb 150-checkout. But Lewis nipped any comeback in the bud by surpassing that and hitting a 160-checkout to win the match 11-8.
It was slightly easier for Whitlock against Huybrechts, but only by a leg. Whitlock took the first two legs before going 5-1 in front after the Belgian missed three darts to level the match at 2-2. Whitlock did miss four darts to make it 6-1 but by the second break, the Australian was 7-3 ahead. Huybrechts continued to hold his throw before he finally managed to break with a great 150-checkout to make it 9-7. But Huybrechts would miss a dart to go within a leg and Whitlock took it along with the following leg to win the match 10-7.
Quarter Final results:
Ronny Huybrechts 10-9 Robert Thornton
Simon Whitlock 10-9 Jamie Caven
Michael van Gerwen 10-7 Jelle Klaasen
Andy Hamilton 3-10 Adrian Lewis
The final was a little bit one sided overall. It began with Lewis smashing a 106-checkout before storming in to a 6-1 lead after Whitlock had missed two darts to take a 2-1 lead. Lewis was definitely back to his best even when he missed six darts to win leg to win leg nine, allowing Whitlock to make it 6-3. Legs either side of a fantastic 125-checkout made it 9-3 and put Lewis in the most commanding position.
It wasn't completely over as Whitlock had already come back from this scoreline earlier the day to win his quarter final against Jamie Caven. After Lewis missed two darts to make it 10-3, Whitlock hit double top then double ten to win the tenth leg and then made it 9-5. Lewis would miss two darts to win the match two legs later, but then managed to take out ten to win the game 11-6 and win his first major tournament since his two World Championships.
Lewis' semi-final victory over van Gerwen was something of a spectacular nature. It was a match where the Dutchman looked tired and was a bit like in his first round, much below par. Lewis took a 3-0 lead after taking a ton checkout in the second leg. That lead became 4-1 before van Gerwen missed five darts to level the match. Those missed darts helped Lewis take four legs on the spin to make it 8-3 before a fantastic 141-checkout put him 9-4 ahead. van Gerwen threatened a comeback by taking the next legs to make it 9-7. That became 10-8 when the Dutchman managed to hit a superb 150-checkout. But Lewis nipped any comeback in the bud by surpassing that and hitting a 160-checkout to win the match 11-8.
It was slightly easier for Whitlock against Huybrechts, but only by a leg. Whitlock took the first two legs before going 5-1 in front after the Belgian missed three darts to level the match at 2-2. Whitlock did miss four darts to make it 6-1 but by the second break, the Australian was 7-3 ahead. Huybrechts continued to hold his throw before he finally managed to break with a great 150-checkout to make it 9-7. But Huybrechts would miss a dart to go within a leg and Whitlock took it along with the following leg to win the match 10-7.
Quarter Final results:
Ronny Huybrechts 10-9 Robert Thornton
Simon Whitlock 10-9 Jamie Caven
Michael van Gerwen 10-7 Jelle Klaasen
Andy Hamilton 3-10 Adrian Lewis
Murray Does It
After 77-years of British pain, Andy Murray has finally done it. He's won Wimbledon. Murray managed to continue his unbelievable trend against Novak Djokovic, not dropping a set against him on grass. In an enthralling match, Murray was able to dig deep and win the crown despite missing three Championship points.
Every year that Murray has entered Wimbledon, the pressure has increased tenfold which led to bitter disappointment last year. But he put that behind him with some fantastic performances to get him to this second consecutive SW19 final against Djokovic in a rematch of last year's Olympic semi-final.
Neither player could really get a hold of the opening set as Murray would break in the third game only for Djokovic to reply in the fourth. Murray finally broke for a second time in the seventh game and proceeded to take the first 6-4.
The second set looked like it was going to belong to Djokovic. The Serb took a 4-1 lead and was on course to level the match. But Murray managed to fight back in true Braveheart fashion to level the set. Djokovic was visibly shaken and became irritable after a few tough calls by the umpire. This lapse of concentration may have cost the world number one as Murray took the second set 7-5 to heighten the hope amongst the packed crowd.
Murray looked to have started the third set in great form, taking a 2-0 lead. But the resurgent Djokovic fought back and won four straight games before Murray again came back to level the set at 4-4. That was the game that broke Djokovic and Murray ended up able to serve for the match at 5-4. He raced to 40-0 but failed to convert any of his Championship points. The game fell in to deuce and Djokovic continued to hold on. He managed to gain advantage three times but he just couldn't stop Murray. Murray finally got ahead and ended up winning the match on his fourth Championship point to rewrite British history.
Every year that Murray has entered Wimbledon, the pressure has increased tenfold which led to bitter disappointment last year. But he put that behind him with some fantastic performances to get him to this second consecutive SW19 final against Djokovic in a rematch of last year's Olympic semi-final.
Neither player could really get a hold of the opening set as Murray would break in the third game only for Djokovic to reply in the fourth. Murray finally broke for a second time in the seventh game and proceeded to take the first 6-4.
The second set looked like it was going to belong to Djokovic. The Serb took a 4-1 lead and was on course to level the match. But Murray managed to fight back in true Braveheart fashion to level the set. Djokovic was visibly shaken and became irritable after a few tough calls by the umpire. This lapse of concentration may have cost the world number one as Murray took the second set 7-5 to heighten the hope amongst the packed crowd.
Murray looked to have started the third set in great form, taking a 2-0 lead. But the resurgent Djokovic fought back and won four straight games before Murray again came back to level the set at 4-4. That was the game that broke Djokovic and Murray ended up able to serve for the match at 5-4. He raced to 40-0 but failed to convert any of his Championship points. The game fell in to deuce and Djokovic continued to hold on. He managed to gain advantage three times but he just couldn't stop Murray. Murray finally got ahead and ended up winning the match on his fourth Championship point to rewrite British history.
Vettel Wins At Home
For for the first time in his career, Sebastian Vettel has won a race in July and, more importantly, has won his home grand prix. Vettel virtually led from the first corner and had to stave off a late attack by Kimi Raikkonen who had passed team-mate Romain Grosjean via team orders, giving Lotus a two-three finish. Lewis Hamilton was mugged by both Red Bulls from the first corner and had to settle for fifth. Mark Webber would have been contender today one feels, but a horrific pit stop meant he had to come from the back and claim seventh.
Hamilton was perhaps too defensive from the start as he tried to cut across and stop Vettel. It didn't work as Vettel managed to around the outside of the Mercedes with Webber coming from the inside and Vettel took the lead after just one corner. Felipe Massa had a decent enough start, moving up to sixth. But the Ferrari's race was over after just four laps when the Brazilian seemed to just spin out from nothing and couldn't restart the car.
With the tyres under so much scrutiny this weekend, no-one was really sure what they could on them and luckily there were no incidents to speak of. For a three stop race, the window seemed to open between laps five and six as seven cars performed a stop. Paul Di Resta was lucky to have not been penalised for an unsafe release that caused Jean-Eric Vergne to slam the brakes. The incident is due to be looked at.
Hamilton was the first of the front runners to pit on lap seven and came back out in to tenth. Vettel followed a lap later and remained ahead of Hamilton, giving Webber the temporary lead. The second Red Bull pitted on lap nine and was guilty of a dramatic unsafe release, again an incident to be looked at; one of the wheels wasn't on the car properly and it quickly flew off. The runaway wheel then rolled and jumped down the pit lane before unfortunately hitting a cameraman from behind. Fortunately, the cameraman has only suffered some cuts and bruises after being taken to hospital. Webber did somehow make it back to the pits and came out at the back of the grid albeit a lap behind.
At this point, Grosjean led the race. Fernando Alonso pitted on lap-13 from second and came out ninth, behind the front runners. Grosjean would pit a lap later and it worked a treat as he managed to claim third, behind Vettel but ahead of Hamilton who had just overtook Nico Rosberg to claim fifth.
Lap-15 saw Raikkonen overtake Rosberg for sixth and Grosjean had overtaken Jenson Button to claim second. Three laps later, Raikkonen had overtook Hamilton to move in to fourth after Button had come in for his pit stop. By lap-21, Alonso was right up Hamilton's gearbox before they traded overtakes, Hamilton finally buckled and pitted on lap-23 to allow the Ferrari to pass.
The race was disrupted on the same lap as Jules Bianchi was forced to retire. A huge amount of smoke came out of the back of the Marussia before a fire started. It was an easily distinguishable fire but the drama continued as the empty Marussia began rolling back down the hill and across the track. Luckily no-one was near enough to get caught up in and the rolling chassis was stopped when it rolled over one of the advertising boards next to the track. Inevitably the Safety Car was called and it gave everyone a chance to dive in to the pits. Away from the drama, it emerged that Vergne was also forced to retire after suffering a hydraulics problem, similar to last week.
In compliance with the Safety Car rules, Webber was now able to unlap himself and now had a great chance of getting something out of the race. The Safety Car came in on lap-30 and Vettel got away perfectly. Within three laps, Webber had managed to move up to 15th before getting stuck behind a stubborn Esteban Gutierrez.
Vettel pitted for a third time on lap-42 and remained just ahead of Grosjean who had pitted a lap before. Three laps later and Vettel had overtaken Hamilton to claim fourth. Grosjean did the same on lap-46 which was a sure sign that the Mercedes should probably come in for its third stop.
Raikkonen and Alonso pitted on lap-50 to come out third and fourth with Raikkonen on the soft tyres. At this point, Webber had moved up to tenth. Button and Sergio Perez met once again on track on lap-51 with Button claiming fifth from his Mexican counterpart.
Grosjean was told a couple of times on the radio that Raikkonen is on the the softer tyres and that he shouldn't hold him up. By lap-55, Grosjean had heeded to the instructions and Raikkonen was now second and able to track the Red Bull down, but ultimately fell a second short. The final lap saw Hamilton overtake Button to claim fifth and Webber had overtaken Perez to steal seventh. Result:
1. Vettel (Red Bull), 2. Raikkonen (Lotus), 3. Grosjean (Lotus), 4. Alonso (Ferrari), 5. Hamilton (Mercedes), 6. Button (McLaren), 7. Webber (Red Bull), 8. Perez (McLaren), 9. Rosberg (Mercedes), 10. Hulkenberg (Sauber), 11. Di Resta (Force India), 12. Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), 13. Sutil (Force India), 14. Gutierrez (Sauber), 15. Maldonado (Williams), 16. Bottas (Williams), 17. Pic (Caterham), 18. van der Garde (Caterham), 19. Chilton (Marussia) DNF: Massa (Ferrari), Bianchi (Marussia), Vergne (Toro Ross)
Hamilton was perhaps too defensive from the start as he tried to cut across and stop Vettel. It didn't work as Vettel managed to around the outside of the Mercedes with Webber coming from the inside and Vettel took the lead after just one corner. Felipe Massa had a decent enough start, moving up to sixth. But the Ferrari's race was over after just four laps when the Brazilian seemed to just spin out from nothing and couldn't restart the car.
With the tyres under so much scrutiny this weekend, no-one was really sure what they could on them and luckily there were no incidents to speak of. For a three stop race, the window seemed to open between laps five and six as seven cars performed a stop. Paul Di Resta was lucky to have not been penalised for an unsafe release that caused Jean-Eric Vergne to slam the brakes. The incident is due to be looked at.
Hamilton was the first of the front runners to pit on lap seven and came back out in to tenth. Vettel followed a lap later and remained ahead of Hamilton, giving Webber the temporary lead. The second Red Bull pitted on lap nine and was guilty of a dramatic unsafe release, again an incident to be looked at; one of the wheels wasn't on the car properly and it quickly flew off. The runaway wheel then rolled and jumped down the pit lane before unfortunately hitting a cameraman from behind. Fortunately, the cameraman has only suffered some cuts and bruises after being taken to hospital. Webber did somehow make it back to the pits and came out at the back of the grid albeit a lap behind.
At this point, Grosjean led the race. Fernando Alonso pitted on lap-13 from second and came out ninth, behind the front runners. Grosjean would pit a lap later and it worked a treat as he managed to claim third, behind Vettel but ahead of Hamilton who had just overtook Nico Rosberg to claim fifth.
Lap-15 saw Raikkonen overtake Rosberg for sixth and Grosjean had overtaken Jenson Button to claim second. Three laps later, Raikkonen had overtook Hamilton to move in to fourth after Button had come in for his pit stop. By lap-21, Alonso was right up Hamilton's gearbox before they traded overtakes, Hamilton finally buckled and pitted on lap-23 to allow the Ferrari to pass.
The race was disrupted on the same lap as Jules Bianchi was forced to retire. A huge amount of smoke came out of the back of the Marussia before a fire started. It was an easily distinguishable fire but the drama continued as the empty Marussia began rolling back down the hill and across the track. Luckily no-one was near enough to get caught up in and the rolling chassis was stopped when it rolled over one of the advertising boards next to the track. Inevitably the Safety Car was called and it gave everyone a chance to dive in to the pits. Away from the drama, it emerged that Vergne was also forced to retire after suffering a hydraulics problem, similar to last week.
In compliance with the Safety Car rules, Webber was now able to unlap himself and now had a great chance of getting something out of the race. The Safety Car came in on lap-30 and Vettel got away perfectly. Within three laps, Webber had managed to move up to 15th before getting stuck behind a stubborn Esteban Gutierrez.
Vettel pitted for a third time on lap-42 and remained just ahead of Grosjean who had pitted a lap before. Three laps later and Vettel had overtaken Hamilton to claim fourth. Grosjean did the same on lap-46 which was a sure sign that the Mercedes should probably come in for its third stop.
Raikkonen and Alonso pitted on lap-50 to come out third and fourth with Raikkonen on the soft tyres. At this point, Webber had moved up to tenth. Button and Sergio Perez met once again on track on lap-51 with Button claiming fifth from his Mexican counterpart.
Grosjean was told a couple of times on the radio that Raikkonen is on the the softer tyres and that he shouldn't hold him up. By lap-55, Grosjean had heeded to the instructions and Raikkonen was now second and able to track the Red Bull down, but ultimately fell a second short. The final lap saw Hamilton overtake Button to claim fifth and Webber had overtaken Perez to steal seventh. Result:
1. Vettel (Red Bull), 2. Raikkonen (Lotus), 3. Grosjean (Lotus), 4. Alonso (Ferrari), 5. Hamilton (Mercedes), 6. Button (McLaren), 7. Webber (Red Bull), 8. Perez (McLaren), 9. Rosberg (Mercedes), 10. Hulkenberg (Sauber), 11. Di Resta (Force India), 12. Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), 13. Sutil (Force India), 14. Gutierrez (Sauber), 15. Maldonado (Williams), 16. Bottas (Williams), 17. Pic (Caterham), 18. van der Garde (Caterham), 19. Chilton (Marussia) DNF: Massa (Ferrari), Bianchi (Marussia), Vergne (Toro Ross)
2013 European Darts Championship Round Two
Jelle Klaasen 10-6
Justin Pipe: The Dutchman has returned to darts in fine form and continues
that by booking his place in the quarter finals for first time in three years
on television. Pipe had actually started the better by taking a 3-1 lead. But
Klaasen fought back with checkouts of 127, 121 and 110 to go 4-3 in front. Pipe
managed to turn it around once more by taking leads of 5-4 and 6-5 before the
pair were locked together after 12-legs. But Klaasen again found an edge,
hitting checkouts of 167 and 106 before also winning the following two legs to
take the match 10-6.
Andy Hamilton 10-8
Paul Nicholson: The Hammer sees off Nicholson in a tight affair but this
game may be more remembered for Nicholson’s spat with Eric Bristow on Twitter
afterwards. The first four legs went with throw before both players proceeding
to break, making the score 3-3. Hamilton missed four darts to win the eighth
leg and Nicholson was soon 6-3 in front. That became 7-4 before Hamilton
managed to fight back and level after The Asset missed a dart to win the 14th
leg. Nicholson would then miss a further four darts in the next two legs,
putting Hamilton just a leg away from victory. The Hammer would then see of
Nicholson in the 18th leg, 10-8.
Simon Whitlock 10-6
Colin Lloyd: The reigning champion is through after a comfortable second
part to this match. The first eight legs went with throw before Whitlock
finally broke and managed to take a 6-4 lead with a hold in the tenth. The
score would then translate to 8-6 before Whitlock took the next two legs, with
Lloyd missing darts to win the 15th leg, for Whitlock to win 10-6
and continue his defence.
James wade 2-10 Jamie
Caven: The surprise of the afternoon was definitely Caven’s fantastic
victory over Wade. With seven points between them in the averages the key was the
finishing, Caven managed a 56% checkout rate with Wade only a 22%. Caven
started like a train, taking a 4-0 lead with Wade only getting one chance at a
double, in the fourth leg. Wade did manage to pull two legs back before Caven
reeled off six straight legs to win in emphatic fashion, without giving Wade
much of a chance throughout the contest.
Adrian Lewis 10-6
Kevin Painter: Lewis continues his hunt for a major since his double world
triumph. Checkouts of 158 and 103 put Jackpot 3-2 ahead before Painter managed
to level the match. Lewis, somewhat back to his best, went in to a 5-3 lead
which would become a 6-4 one. Lewis would then take the next four legs to power
through and win the match 10-4 with an average of 100.34.
Robert Thornton 10-9
Raymond van Barneveld: There was a piece of personal history as Thornton
managed to beat van Barneveld for the first time ever in a competition. Barney
crucially missed four darts to take a 3-1 lead and Thornton actually went in to
the first break 3-2 in front. Thornton was next to miss a great chance, missing
three darts to go 4-2 ahead and, after missing another five darts, van
Barneveld actually managed to 5-4 in front. But Thornton again came back and
turned it around to lead 6-5 and would then miss two darts to make it 7-5.
Checkouts of 133 and 142 either side of a 64-finish put the Scot 9-6 in front a
one leg away from victory. The beleaguered Barney then managed to pick himself
to hit a 164-checkout before managing to force a deciding leg after Thornton
had missed three match darts in leg-17. Thornton threw first in the final leg
and managed to get to the double first, but missed his first three attempts.
Barney stepped up but missed his two match darts, allowing Thornton to take the
final leg and squeeze through.
Phil Taylor 5-10
Ronny Huybrechts: The Belgian performs one of the shocks of the tournament
against a very un-Tayloresque performance. Take nothing away from Huybrechts
though, he took the match to Taylor from the get go and, after losing the
opening leg, would storm in to a 5-1 lead. Huybrechts would miss six darts to
win leg eight and Taylor had managed to fight back to 5-4. But instead of
crumbling, Huybrechts picked it up a gear and again continued the offensive.
The Belgian won the next three legs to go 8-4 in front before missing a dart in
the 13th leg to move to within one of winning. Again, it didn’t faze
Huybrechts and, after Taylor missed three darts, he managed to get to the line
before crossing it with a fantastic 104-checkout to round off a 10-5 victory,
the best of his career so far.
Mervyn King 3-10
Michael van Gerwen: If van Gerwen was extremely flat on Friday; he
definitely got his together against King to remain the man to beat in this
tournament, and the world of darts at the minute. After sharing the first two
legs, the Dutchman moved in to a 4-1 lead with a 136-checkout in leg four. Van
Gerwen then added a 130-checkout to that in leg seven before King replied with
a 111-checkout to make it 5-3 to the Dutchman. Van Gerwen would the win the
next five in an astonishing ten minutes, with a second 136-checkout on the way,
to win it 10-3 in devastating fashion.
Saturday 6 July 2013
2013 German Grand Prix Qualifying Result
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
3. Mark Webber (Red Bull)
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
5. Romain Grosjean (Lotus)
6. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso)
7. Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
8. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
9. Jenson Button (McLaren)
10. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
11. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
12. Paul Di Resta (Force India)
13. Sergio Perez (Sauber)
14. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber)
15. Adrian Sutil (Force India)
16. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso)
17. Valtteri Bottas (Williams)
18. Pastor Maldonado (Williams)
19. Charles Pic (Caterham)
20. Jules Bianchi (Marussia)
21. Giedo Van Der Garde (Caterham)
22. Max Chilton (Marussia)
2. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
3. Mark Webber (Red Bull)
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
5. Romain Grosjean (Lotus)
6. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso)
7. Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
8. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
9. Jenson Button (McLaren)
10. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
11. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
12. Paul Di Resta (Force India)
13. Sergio Perez (Sauber)
14. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber)
15. Adrian Sutil (Force India)
16. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso)
17. Valtteri Bottas (Williams)
18. Pastor Maldonado (Williams)
19. Charles Pic (Caterham)
20. Jules Bianchi (Marussia)
21. Giedo Van Der Garde (Caterham)
22. Max Chilton (Marussia)
2013 European Darts Championship Day Two
Day two of the European Darts Championships saw the
conclusion of the first round but it left more disappointment on the lips of
many. The action, like yesterday, was exciting and dramatic but the German
crowd was so lacklustre that the atmosphere was unbearable. Just like on
Thursday, the world’s top players looked like they were just down the local,
albeit rather large, tavern with the odd punter shouting out.
ITV haven’t helped much and to be honest, the darting world
should remain split between the BBC and Sky because their coverage cannot be
beaten. With very little advertising and the only allowing of some games,
including the whole Saturday afternoon session, to be viewed via the internet
is absurd and does nothing to help promote the sport.
For those that did watch the second part of the first round,
they managed to see the favourite Michael van Gerwen and double world champion
Adrian Lewis win their matches. There were also victories for Justin Pipe, Paul
Nicholson, Andy Hamilton, Mervyn King, Jelle Klaasen and Kevin Painter as
Germany’s final entrant exited the stage and a magic 170-checkout was hit.
The hosts’ participation ended when Nicholson managed to see
off 16-year old Max Hopp. Thanks to ITV, those who were unaware of the internet
coverage could only join this match with Hopp 3-2 in front. That became 4-3
before Nicholson managed to dig deep in front of the partisan crown to take the
following three legs and win it 6-4. Before that, internet viewers would have
seen Pipe see off Finland’s Jani Haavisto 6-3.
Hopp’s match was probably the only time the German crowd
lifted their voices and added something to this tournament.
The lack of
atmosphere may have affected some of the performances as van Gerwen was
noticeably flat against Belgium’s Kurt van de Rijck. It would have taken a
miracle for van de Rijck to have won the match anyway, but he certainly didn’t
need the devastating news that his grandfather had passed away a few hours
previously. The Belgian did manage to win leg four which ended up being in the
middle of van Gerwen’s blocks of three consecutive legs. Van Gerwen wasn’t
anywhere near his best though and, with a lot of missed doubles, he’ll be
hoping to improve in round two.
The first deciding leg came in to play when Hamilton faced
Terry Jenkins. After a nervy start with missed doubles aplenty, Jenkins managed
to take the opening leg. Hamilton turned it around before Jenkins fought back
with three straight legs to lead 4-2. Ever the fighter, Hamilton again roared
back with a 112-checkout before going 5-4 in front. The Bull managed to set up
an 11th leg which Hamilton ended up winning to progress. There was
also a deciding leg in the following match when Ronnie Baxter faced King. It
was a very rare occasion where the bull to decide who threw first was the most
crucial dart in the match. Every single leg went with throw, despite Baxter
having two chances to break in a couple of legs, to leave King with a 6-5
victory.
Last year’s runner-up, Wes Newton, failed to make it past
the first round this year after losing to Klaasen. It was a topsy turvy affair
as Klaasen had taken a 2-0 lead before Newton reeled off four consecutive legs
to go 4-2 in front. But the Dutchman responded with four consecutive legs of
his own, including a 129-checkout with two double-18s in the ninth leg and a
112-checkout in the tenth, to win the match 6-4.
6-4 was the same scoreline in the other two matches as Lewis
faced Austria’s Mensur Suljovic and Painter faced Canada’s John Part. Suljovic
began his match with a 111-checkout and took a 3-1 lead before missing darts to
make it 4-1. That turned out to be the turning point as Lewis took the next two
legs to go 4-3 in front. Suljovic did level before Lewis took the following two
legs to progress. The crucial darts in the final game came in the third leg
when Part missed five darts to level the match at 2-2. The lead was 4-1 before
Part came back and ended up taking out a colossal 170-checkout in the seventh
leg and then levelling in the eighth. But Painter would take out the next two
legs to also take the final place in the second round.
Friday 5 July 2013
2013 European Darts Championships Day One
The 2013 European Darts Championships begin in fine fashion
last night, not that many people from Germany would know. The tournament is
being held in Mulheim but it was a shame to see the venue half empty and
without much of that fantastic atmosphere that is becoming entwined with
darting majors.
Maybe it was because it was the opening round or that it was
a Thursday or a combination of both, either way it didn’t stop eight great
games to begin the tournament. There were mixed results for the Huybrechts brothers
and wins for the World Champion, world number four and the reigning European
champion along with wins for Jamie Caven, Colin Lloyd, Robert Thornton and
Raymond van Barneveld.
Ronny Huybrechts started the night with perhaps his best
performance in a major tournament. The older of the Belgian brothers managed to
score an average of over 100 on his way to beating Stuart Kellett 6-3. Younger
brother Kim didn’t have the same fate, but he did have the unenviable task of
facing the reigning champion, Simon Whitlock. Huybrechts missed too many
doubles and soon found himself 4-1 down after initially winning the opening
leg. But the Belgian managed to fight back and level the scores before missing
three darts to go 5-4 in front. Whitlock then completed the 6-4 victory with a
great 110-checkout to keep his title defence alive.
Phil Taylor was magical last weekend as he managed to win a
PTC in Minehead. He looked to continue that form here with a first round
victory of Netherlands’ Vincent van der Voort. A ton checkout ensured that The
Power had a 3-0 lead before missing five darts at the double and allowing van
der Voort to claw it back to 6-2. The doubles seemed to be the only real blip
in a steady Taylor performance that saw him lead 5-2 before winning the match
6-3.
James Wade possibly proved that it doesn’t matter who you
play against, it’s how you play the board. This is because The Machine was due
to play Gary Anderson before the Scot pulled out with illness, with everyone
hoping he will be okay to play in the World Matchplay later this month,
allowing Mark Webster to take his place. But the change obviously didn’t faze
Wade as he took an instant 3-0 lead. That would become 4-2 before Wade
continued his efficient performance to seal a 6-2 victory and comfortably
progress.
On the face of it, 6-2 and 6-1 scorelines for Thornton and
van Barneveld would suggest they had relatively easy matches and played well,
but neither match was quite that simple. Thornton did play extremely well
against Brendan Dolan and was 4-0 ahead without any real trouble. The only
problem for Thornton was the fact that he had pulled a muscle in his back and
it was proving very painful for him. But he battled on and hit a 100-checkout
to go 5-1 ahead before taking the eighth leg to win the match 6-2.
Van Barneveld began his tournament against Germany’s own
Tomas Seyler and, without disrespecting the world 93; the Dutchman would have
had problems against someone with a higher calibre. Barney stormed in to the
game with a fantastic 156-checkout in the opening leg. Seyler did equalise but
would then miss a total of 16-darts at the double to help Barneveld secure a
6-1 victory. The Dutchman’s performance can be monitored by noting that he
required four double fours to win two thirds of his legs.
Perhaps the ‘biggest’ upset of the night goes to Lloyd who
managed to see off the in form Peter Wright. Lloyd had managed to go 2-1 in
front before Snakebite retaliated with an 84-checkout on the bull. Lloyd
returned to go 4-2 and then 5-4 in front before winning the match with an
impressive 116-checkout. But the performance of the night was to go to Caven
who managed to whitewash the world number ten, Dave Chisnall. Caven is in the
form of his career after recently publishing a book and managed to beat Chisnall
with a ton plus average and a highlight of a 118-checkout in the penultimate
fifth leg.
Monday 1 July 2013
Brazil Create Magic in the Maracana
Brazil line-up: Julio Cesar, Alves, Thiago Silva, David Luiz, Marcelo, Oscar, Dias, Paulinho (Hernanes, 88'), Fred (Jo, 80'), Neymar, Hulk (Jadson, 73')
Spain line-up: Casillas, Pique, Ramos, Arbeloa (Azpilicueta, 46'), Alba, Iniesta, Xavi, Busquets, Torres (Villa, 59'), Pedro, Mata (Navas, 52')
Brazil lay down their marker for next year’s World Cup by
claiming their third consecutive Confederations Cup. Two goals from Fred and
another from Neymar saw Spain’s hopes of winning all three major international
tournaments wiped out in stunning fashion. Gerard Pique was sent off at and
Sergio Ramos also missed a penalty at 3-0 as Spain played their worst
competitive game in a long time.
The Maracana was magic before a ball was kicked. The
Brazilian national anthem was awe-inspiring once again and definitely spurred
the hosts in to action. The crowd were rewarded within two minutes when Hulk’s
cross caused a mad scramble in the box. The ball fell under Fred, who was on
the floor, but the striker managed to react as it rolled and he kicked the ball
over Iker Casillas to give Brazil the lead.
Spain, just like in the semi-final, were second best for
nearly all of the game and they should have been 2-0 down after eight minutes.
A good bit of build-up ended with the ball deflecting off of Alvaro Arbeloa to
Fred. Fred then laid it off to Oscar but the Chelsea man dragged his effort
wide. Spain still hadn’t created anything by the time Paulinho had tried to chip
Casillas but the keeper had got back to his line yet still had to parry it down
on the line before clutching.
It could have got worse on the quarter of an hour mark when
there was a case for the World Champions to go down to ten men. The ball was
hit over the top and Neymar would have been clean through. But Arbeloa dragged
him down on the halfway line to prevent Neymar getting in. It wouldn’t have
been a surprise to see Arbreloa sent off but the distance between the foul and
the goal may have saved him. The decision did cause a little bit of handbags
amongst the players but there was nothing in it and the game continued.
Spain finally got an effort on target after 20-minutes when
Andres Iniesta’s long effort was parried by Julio Cesar for a corner. The resulting
set piece did find Fernando Torres but his header went wide. Sergio Ramos was potentially lucky to also
stay on the field when he cynically brought Oscar down on the edge of the box,
although Oscar was already on his way down because Hulk’s ball through to him
was a little over hit. It should have been 2-0 on 32-minutes when Brazil
managed to break after Jordi Alba was guilty of giving the ball away. Neymar
managed to thread a glorious ball through to Fred but the striker could only
hit his shot at Casillas, who was able to parry it away.
Spain’s best chance in the whole match came four minutes
before half-time. They managed to break two on one with Juan Mata rushing down
the wing. Mata then fed the ball across for Pedro and the Barcelona man curled
his effort around Julio Cesar. It was going towards goal, only for David Luiz
to slide in and fantastically clear the ball off the line for a corner. This
was arguably the game’s biggest ‘turning’ point.
Just three minutes later, Brazil had finally scored their
second. It came from another break with Neymar again at the heart of it. He
played the ball across to Oscar before the Chelsea man returned the favour,
playing Neymar in down the line in the box. The player of the tournament
managed to smash his effort in to the back of the net before Casillas had
chance to react.
Spain needed something to build on in the second half. What
they didn’t need was Brazil to score a third just two minutes in to the half to
virtually end the game there and then. It was a move that began with Marcelo;
it came off a Spanish foot before the ball fed in to Fred was side stepped by
Neymar and Fred curled his effort beautifully in to the bottom corner.
Spain were offered a small chance of getting back in to the
game on 54-minutes when Marcelo stupidly clipped substitute Jesus Navas, after
just two minutes of being on the field, in the box when he was going nowhere.
Ramos stepped up but managed to put his penalty wide, summing up the match for
Spain.
Iniesta again tried to lift his team but his shot was
straight at Julio Cesar. This allowed Brazil to counter and one ball over the
top again beat the defence. But Casillas was quick to get off his line and
prevent a fourth from going in. Marcelo would also have an effort from an audacious
angle hit the side netting.
The final nail in the coffin came on 68-minutes when Spain
went down to ten men. Neymar was bursting through once again and Pique dived in
to stop the run on the edge of the box. The referee had no option but to send
Pique off, much to wife, Shakira’s, dismay. Spain did try to give themselves
something to cheer about but Julio Cesar was in fantastic form and fully
deserved a clean sheet, ending Spain’s run in major tournaments in shocking
fashion.
Earlier, there was the small matter of the third/fourth
play-off between Uruguay and Italy. Italy took the lead on 25-minutes when
Alessandro Diamanti’s free-kick dipped on to the post. The rebounded off of
Fernando Muslera’s back before David Astori tapped the ball home on the line
for his first ever goal. However, the decision to award Astori with the goal
didn’t come until late in to the second half, so much for this fast goal line
technology.
Uruguay equalised 13-minutes in to the second half when
Edinson Cavani managed to curl the ball low around Gianluigi Buffon. Italy
retook the lead on 73-minutes when Diamanti sent curled a great free-kick past
Muslera. This ended up being out-done five minutes later when Cavani levelled
once again with a brilliant free-kick of his own which gave Buffon no chance.
Riccardo Montolivo would be sent off in the second half of extra time which
meant he missed the penalty shoot-out. Mattia De Sciglio missed Italy’s first
penalty before Diego Forlan and Martin Caceres both missed for Uruguay. Goals from
Alberto Aquilani, Stephan El Shaarawy and Emanuele Giaccherini made it 3-2 with
Uruguay needing to score their fifth and final penalty. Walter Gargano stepped
up but it was saved by Buffon, which meant they claimed third place without the
need for their fifth penalty.
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