Protests defer Race of Champions
Bangkok: The Sports Authority of Thailand and the organisers of the 2013 Race of Champions (ROC) have announced that the motor racing event cannot take place as planned over December 14-15 owing to the ongoing anti-government protests in Bangkok. “Our thoughts are with the Thai people during this difficult period and we wish that a peaceful solution will soon be found. The Race of Champions has been held all over the world for 25 consecutive years and we are currently looking at options of repeating the success of last year’s event in Bangkok on another date,” said the ROC in a statement on Monday. Indian drivers Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok have been invited for the annual event. (IANS)
Bayern’s Alaba extends deal to 2018
BERLIN: Left back David Alaba has signed a three-year contract extension that will keep him at Bayern Munich until 2018, the club said on Monday. The 21-year-old Austrian international joined Bayern’s youth team when he was 16 and has been a first choice for coach Pep Guardiola and predecessor Jupp Heynckes for the past three seasons. “David has undergone amazing development,” chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said in a statement. “He is already among Europe’s best and most successful full backs.” (AFP)
Tennis legend Steffi Graf’s father dies
Berlin: Peter Graf, the father, former coach and ex-manager of legendary German tennis player Steffi Graf, died in Mannheim from cancer late on Sunday, media reports said. He was 75. Peter Graf accompanied his daughter during her climb to the top of the tennis world, but the two later had a falling out after he was sentenced to more than three years in prison in 1997 for tax evasion. Graf senior, who spent a year in prison, had recently been coaching foreign tennis players. Peter Graf had mended his relationship with his daughter, who won 22 Grand Slam titles during her career. (IANS)
Bhullar 4th in Asian Tour Order of Merit
Kuala Lumpur: Savouring his fifth Asian Tour victory at the Indonesia Open, Indian golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar moved up to fourth in the latest Order of Merit on Monday. Bhullar’s earnings have gone up to US $462,378 (Rs 2.88 crore)this season after he clinched his first title of the year on Sunday. With the top four Asian players at the end of the 2013 season qualifying for Team Asia to face Europe in the Ryder Cup-styled EurAsia Cup at Glenmarie Golf and Country Club in Malaysia, the talented Bhullar is poised to make the Asian team on his own merit. Current number one Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand, who leads the rankings with $1.1 million (Rs 6.85 crore), is almost assured of securing a place in Team Asia while third-ranked Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh and fifth-ranked Anirban Lahiri of India currently occupy the top four Asian slots. Australian Scott Hend is second on the merit list. (PTI)
Red Bull’s Newey preparing for 2014
LONDON: Red Bull technical head Adrian Newey says he is preparing for next year’s Formula One regulation changes with some trepidation. The sport is introducing a new V6 turbocharged engine with energy recovery systems in what is considered the biggest shake-up in a generation. Testing with the new cars is due to start at the end of January with the season starting in Australia in March. “I think from our perspective it is somewhere between mild panic and crisis management,” Newey joked on stage at Sunday’s Autosport Awards where Red Bull won the international racing car of the year for the fourth year in a row. “Next year’s regulations are a huge change. It is a very complicated powertrain and for many teams including ourselves it really is a big challenge. “Reliability could be a big issue and it is far from clear how the three engine manufacturers will perform compared to each other. We have got the aerodynamic changes too.” Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel won both championships again this year, for the fourth year in a row, and Newey, who has also won championships with Williams and McLaren, said they would have been happy to stick with the old regulations. (Reuters)