The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- We need three perfect races, say Red Bull
- Woods' coach has Noh eyeing top 30
- Lorenzo 'liberated' by world MotoGP title win
| We need three perfect races, say Red Bull Posted: 28 Oct 2012 07:18 PM PDT NEW DELHI: Red Bull need three "perfect" race weekends to ensure a third straight drivers' and constructors' world championship double after Sebastian Vettel's victory in India, says team chief Christian Horner. Germany's Vettel, winner of the title in 2010 and 2011, cruised to his fourth consecutive victory on Sunday, leading the Indian Grand Prix from start to finish in a dominant display. The 26th win of his career gives Vettel a 13-point lead over his nearest challenger, Fernando Alonso of Ferrari, who finished second at the Buddh International Circuit after starting fifth on the grid. Red Bull enjoy a healthy 91-point lead in the constructors' championship over Ferrari. But speaking after Vettel's consummate triumph in the heat and dust of New Delhi, Horner warned against complacency as he looked forward to the final three races of the season in Abu Dhabi, the United States and Brazil. "We certainly cannot afford to be complacent because Fernando Alonso keeps turning up," said Horner, after Vettel and his Red Bull team-mate Australian Mark Webber sandwiched the Spanish driver in second place. "He (Alonso) drove a strong race today and it was a shame we couldn't keep Mark (Webber) ahead of him, as he had a KERS issue from lap 20. "We have got a great lead now in the constructors' championship, but it is only 13 points in the drivers'.... We have managed to eke out a gap and, considering where we came from four races ago, it is impressive. "But we have to keep that momentum going. It is the first time Seb has won four races in succession and it was an incredible performance from him this weekend. "With 75 points available from three races, it is going to be crucial for us to have perfect weekends now." Horner was unfazed by Alonso's bullish talk that he will win at Interlagos in Sao Paulo on November 25 to take his third world championship crown. "Talk is cheap at the end of the day," he said, when reminded that Alonso has said he is "100 per cent convinced" he will win the championship again this year. "I think it is down to what you do on the track," said Horner. "We can all prophesy but it is a question of our focus now being on Abu Dhabi to extract the most out of the car, the drivers, the strategy, and the reliability that we can. "It is going to be a question of having three perfect weekends." Horner said Red Bull would have to be at their best to deny Alonso and his Ferrari team. "Fernando is a quality driver and Ferrari are a quality team and they are doing a strong job," he said. "He is remarkably consistent and we are going to have to perform at our very, very best if we are going to maintain our lead ahead of him. "We have worked hard to get into this position and there is a real determination within the team to carry this momentum into the remaining three races." "We need more from the car, more performance," Horner said. "We have had good speed here, now we need more handling with the car. There are three races to go and I believe we will do it." - AFP |
| Woods' coach has Noh eyeing top 30 Posted: 28 Oct 2012 07:27 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: An instant improvement under Tiger Woods' coach Sean Foley has South Korean sensation Noh Seung-Yul eyeing the top 30 and his first PGA Tour win after an encouraging rookie season in America. The lean 21-year-old made an indifferent start to PGA life with a clutch of missed cuts, but since pairing with Foley in March he's had three top-10 finishes and has been among the best 20 in half of his tournaments. Noh, who has spent time with Asian Major-winner Y.E. Yang as he adapts to life in the States, said he felt ready to make an impression on the PGA Tour next year and improve his ranking of 86. "(Next year) I want to do better than this year, and try to win a tournament, and make the Tour Championship, and try also to get top 30 in the world rankings," he said in an interview at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia. Noh won the Malaysian Open in 2010 on his way to being crowned the Asian Tour's youngest merit champion. He earned his PGA Tour card at qualifying school last year. Now he said "little changes" made by Foley to his swing had had a big effect on his game, giving him more variety and control. "I used to have a little right to left draw, but always just one way. Now I can hit both way, hit the fade and the draw more, control the iron shots so I get a lot of good birdie chances," said Noh. Noh, who had rounds of 71, 66, 67 and 66 at the CIMB Classic to finish tied 14th, spoke glowingly about conditions in the United States. "In the US, everything is perfect. In the golf course, outside the golf course, I always like it. In the US they clean your shoes and the laundry and everything is free, and they give us courtesy cars. I like that," he said. Fellow South Korean stars Yang, K.J. Choi and Bae Sang-Moon have helped Noh adapt to life in the United States, by giving him tips about his game - and where to find Korean food. "Y.E.'s helping me all the time with my game and also outside the course, showing me Korean restaurants. I'm there for the first time so I don't know where the Korean restaurants are," he said. And Noh added that he was already making plans for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where golf will return to the Games - partly because a medal would exempt him from military service. "For Korean people it's important because of the military service," he said. "Every young player is trying to get into the Olympic Games. If I win an Olympic bronze medal, I'll be exempted, so maybe I'll try for that. "Maybe I'll delay it (military service) until I'm 30, 31, so I'll try two times at the Olympics." - AFP |
| Lorenzo 'liberated' by world MotoGP title win Posted: 28 Oct 2012 07:16 PM PDT PHILLIP ISLAND (Australia): New world MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo says he feels liberated after winning a season-long battle with the powerful Repsol Honda team to claim his second premier class title. Lorenzo clinched the world championship after rival Dani Pedrosa crashed on the second lap of Sunday's Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island, ending a chance to catch his fellow Spaniard in the final two races of the season. Casey Stoner powered away to win his sixth straight Australian MotoGP, with Lorenzo coming home in second place to claim the main title. The Spanish Yamaha rider only had to avoid a mistake to carry off the victory after Stoner's Repsol Honda teammate Pedrosa crashed out. Lorenzo led Pedrosa by 23 points going into the penultimate Phillip Island round and just needed to finish three points more than his compatriot to seal the world title ahead of the final race in Valencia on November 11. He said this season's title had been more of a challenge than his first MotoGP championship two years ago because of the two-pronged Repsol Honda threat of Pedrosa and Stoner. "It's been a big emotion because this year has been tougher than my first world title (2010) because I knew my competitors were stronger and more constant this year, and I knew I had to be more constant than them," he said. Lorenzo, who will now return home for the final race of the season with no extra pressure, said he had learned the hard way how to succeed in the class. "When I first came into MotoGP I needed to learn from my mistakes, know my limits and try not to go over the limit, so for this reason I am very proud of my evolution and so very grateful to my team," he said. "I feel emotional for the toughness and the hard competition. I needed to be strong and really focused. For this reason I now feel liberated of the weight off my shoulders." Phillip Island was bitter-sweet for Lorenzo - he did not start in 2011 after coming off his bike in the race warm-up, severing the top of the ring finger on his left hand. "Last year here was one of my worst moments in my career, the most scary one when I had this injured finger, but one year later I can celebrate my second world MotoGP title," he said. "This season was not easy, that was why I had be very focused, constant and very quick and I had to take a lot of risks, and my Yamaha is a much better bike than last year. "For this reason we are the best in 2012 and we will celebrate very well." Stoner meanwhile maintained he would not be changing his mind about retirement at the end of this season, at the age of 27. "There's definitely some aspects of my racing that I'm going to miss for sure and I have so much respect for Jorge and Dani and we've been challenging and fighting each other for so many years," he said. "When I announced my retirement I said that the sport would have to make dramatic changes for me to even consider coming back. "I can never say never but honestly I have no thoughts whatsoever at this time of even thinking of coming back, so nope, sorry." The race Sunday was a remarkable victory for Stoner, who is not long back from surgery on torn ligaments and fractures to his ankle, tibia and fibula he suffered in a crash during qualifying for the Indianapolis MotoGP in mid-August. - AFP |
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