Monday, January 24, 2011
Adrian Sutil is Force India’s asset: Otmar Szafnauer
Adrian Sutil is Force India’s asset: Otmar Szafnauer
Although no verdict has yet been given by Force India over its drivers’ line-up for the 2011 Formula One season , yet its chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer believes to see Adrian Sutil with the team for another season.
The team owner, Vijay Mallya announced earlier this month that he is really excited about the plans of the team for next year. The Indian billionaire and the owner of Kingfisher Airline told the media that he is hopeful to have a brilliant drivers’ line-up, which will get the best out of the team’s new car. However, Mallya did not give any specific date for the announcement of the drivers, rather he stated that he will soon come up with further news.
On the other hand, the Silverstone based team's Chief Operating Officer, Szafnauer told the reporters this morning that he is certain that the team will never want to lose a great driver like Sutil. He accepted the fact that the German has a reputation of being outspoken at times, but once on the track he is flawless. He further added that very soon the driver will be counted among the best drivers on the track.
Szafnauer, told the reporters earlier today, "He is sometimes almost too honest. In terms of driving, he sits directly behind Alonso, Hamilton, Vettel and Kubica among the category of the top drivers in Formula One."
Force India's team boss, Mallya has also expressed immense joy for having the German under his umbrella. The 28-year-old has been driving with the Indian squad since 2008, when it was formed, and had not been replaced although two Indian drivers, Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok expressed a lot of interest for driving with their country’s team.
He wrapped the 2010 season at 11th place in the drivers’ charts with 47 points, despite the fact that the team did not possess a very competitive car. Moreover, finishing two races of the season at fifth place was also a great achievement for the racer.
While talking about Sutil, Mallya added, "He has grown with the team and contributed to our improvements. He is also developing personally and I expect this upwards trend to continue."
He explained Force India's progress saying, “The organisation is better, Mercedes and McLaren have helped us and our design department is working professionally.”
Besides Force India, HRT is the only team that hasn't yet announced one of its drivers for the upcoming season.
Football Update: Manchester United’s Antonio Valencia to make his come-back after injury
Football Update: Manchester United’s Antonio Valencia to make his come-back after injury
The alluring Manchester United winger is all set to make his come - back after a long injury; missing the entire season due to injury. The 25-years-old Antonio Valencia fractured his ankle in a 0 - 0 draw with Rangers in September in an opening match of Champions League. The 26-years-old Kirk Broadfoot made an unfair challenge thereby injuring the winger recklessly. The winger could return to the squad by the end of February as said by his manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
The Ecuadorian footballer joined Manchester United back in June 2009 and replaced the veteran Cristiano Ronaldo who left for Real Madrid. Luis Antonio Valencia Mosquera was signed by the La Liga club, Villarreal in June 2005. At the same time he made successful loan spells with Recreativo for the period of 2005-06 and then with EPL (English Premier League) club Wigan Athletic for the period 2006-2008. He could only play two games for his Spaniard club Villarreal but after that, he gave some successful performances while playing for Wigan Athletic when the same club signed him for a three year deal in Jan 2008. His prolific act on the field attracted many high profile clubs and he was taken by Real Madrid.
The Man - U player had suffered a lot due to the dislocation of his ankle bone in an encounter with Rangers FC, whereas TV Channels were not willing to show the replays for the sickening direction of his ankle pointing in. The player has now started training sessions to improve his mobility and agility and is expected to return back to the squad in less than a month’s time. Manchester United boss, Sir Alex Ferguson was quite delighted on his imminent return and expressed in a press release that the Ecuador International is healing robustly. He said to manutd.com, “Antonio is doing pretty well; he has started running and also stepped out with his physios daily to recover and train. This is a nice development as he is given a green signal by the doctors and I think he would join the team in February which is going to be good news and really something we are looking forward to.”
The season was said to be over for the Ecuador international but the rapid recovery had led Old Trafford to have some more options for Ferguson inside his flanks. The medical tests are in the favour of ex - Wigan winger and are said to be not as bad as they were reported. Manchester United to face Birmingham City and are sharing the top position with the neighbours Manchester City on Premier League points chart with 45 points each. United has played 21 matches whereas City has played 43 and Birmingham City is at the sixteenth spot thereby securing 23 points with 21 games played. Manchester United defender, Rafael Da Silva, will not be with the squad, following an 8000 Pounds fine after a game played against Tottenham Hotspur. Spur boss Harry Redknapp stated that the red card was a bit harsh for Fergie’s defender.
2011 Australian Open Quarterfinal Preview: Stanislas Wawrinka vs. Roger Federer
2011 Australian Open Quarterfinal Preview: Stanislas Wawrinka vs. Roger Federer
In an “All-Swiss” clash, four-time Australian Open Champion, Roger Federer meets compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka for the first quarterfinal match of the 2011 Grand Slam Down Under on Tuesday.
Second seeded Federer made it to his 27th Grand Slam quarterfinal on Sunday when he defeated Spaniard Tommy Robredo in a four set win. His quarterfinal berth at the 2011 Australian Open equalled Jimmy Connor’s record of quarterfinal appearances at a Grand Slam.
Having enjoyed a successful final run at the 2010 Qatar ExxonMobil Open, Federer makes his 12th straight appearance at the event having debuted in 2000. Federer has turned four of his five final runs into success stories, failing only in 2009 when he lost to Rafael Nadal. He last appeared in the final at the event in 2010 when he defeated Brit Andy Murray to clinch the championship.
Coming to the event with hopes of a fifth title, Federer looks to break Andre Agassi’s record of most Australian Open titles in the Open Era. Having equalled Agassi’s record of four wins last year, a win in this event will take him one over the American legend.
Federer started off by playing Lukas Lacko, last Monday in the event. Defeating the Slovak with a loss of only five games, Federer moved ahead to play Gilles Simon. What had seemed like a straight sets victory resulted in a five set win for the Swiss marvel with the Frenchman putting up much resistance.
Coming into the third round, Federer was pitted against Xavier Malisse. Losing only seven games, Federer moved ahead to meet Robredo in the fourth round. Although the Swiss maestro was prone to many errors in his match against Robredo, the winners he struck seemed to be much more long lasting. Federer was eventually able to do away with the Spaniard, registering 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 for the match.
Meeting on the courts for the eighth time, Federer leads the career head-to-head 6-1. Having met three times last year, the pair’s last meeting on the courts came at the If Stockholm Open where Federer extended his lead over his compatriot to three straight wins. However, the fact remains that Wawrinka has beaten Federer albeit once.
If he has done it once, there is nothing stopping him from doing it again especially since the number two Swiss tennis player has shown much promise lately. Starting the year at the Aircel Chennai Open, Wawrinka won the title after defeating Malisse.
Participating at his sixth Australian Open, Wawrinka set a new career best when he made it all the way to the quarterfinals after impressive victories over names like Andy Roddick and Gael Monfils.
Wawrinka is the only other player besides Nadal and Murray to make it into the quarterfinals without dropping a single set. This truly speaks volumes about the rising Swiss tennis star.
Prediction: Although Federer, being the world number two, is truly the favourite to win the match, it would be extremely unwise to dismiss Wawrinka completely. Given the recent form, the number two Swiss might pull one over Federer.
Cricket Update: Graeme Smith Should not indulge into Politics, cautions Fikile Mbalula
Fikile Mbalula, the sports minister for South Africa has intimidated the cricket team skipper Graeme Smith to stay away from politics and to pay attention to his game instead.
Mbalula gave this statement while reacting to a statement which had been released by the Cricket South Africa two days ago and in which the South African captain had extended his complete support to Gerald Majola, the chief executive of the CSA after Mtutuzeli Nyoka, the president of the Cricket South Africa had accused Majola of lying to him over the bonuses which had been paid by the IPL to his staff last year.
Intervening into the matter, and while responding to the statement given by the SA skipper in which he had said that “Mjola has always backed the team to the hilt in every possible way”, the minister said in a radio program, “Graeme Smith is a great captain. We get disturbed when players get to be drawn into internal wrangling and squabbles within the top management and the board. This has applied to every aspect of the game whether it be human resources, facilities or anything else. The players have great faith in him and he must take his share of the credit for the success we have enjoyed over the last period of time.”
Things seemed getting worse when later on Mohammad Moosaje, the team manager of the team also opted to endorse Smith’s views.
Airing his views in a media release, Moosajee had said, “Gerald has been a pillar of strength to the team at all times and has an excellent working relationship both with myself and other senior members of management as well as with Graeme and the players.”
According to the inside sources, both team manager and skipper were not themselves willing to speak out, rather they were asked to do so. Moreover, most of the team members did not feel happy for the statements which had been issued on their behalf. This was like taking a clear side in a battle which was taking place within leadership of the Cricket South Africa.
The controversy which had eventually emerged within the CSA came to an end when all the eleven provincial cricket unions expressed their no-confidence upon the president and asked him to step down from the post. This had clearly ended the relationships between Nyoka and Majola.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Largest parade of scooters
HERVEY BAY, Queensland, Australia -- Organised by the Fraser Coast Regional Council's Seniors in Focus group, the mobility scooters parade took place on the Hervey Bay Esplanade during Disability Action Week and 126 mobility scooter users participated - setting the new world record for the Largest parade of electric mobility scooters.
Photo: Hervey Bay mobility scooter owners sets the world record for the World's Largest Parade of Mobility Scooters.Photo by The Courier-Mail
(enlarge photo)
Julie de Waard, Seniors in Focus project officer, was very pleased with the recognition: "We are over the moon ... We have all worked very hard for three years for this world record and it's a great achievement and everyone involved should feel extremely proud," she said.
The announcement of the new world record for theLargest parade of electric mobility scooters came after three attempts and many years of hard work, according to the Fraser Coast Regional Council.
Ms de Waard said 65 scooters turned up for the first attempt in 2007 - 20 short of the number needed. Then in 2008 a total of 97 scooters crossed the line but they missed out because they had not travelled far enough.
Council's community and recreation portfolio chairman, Les Muckan, said the new world record for the Largest parade of electric mobility scooters would help promote the Fraser Coast as an innovative and caring community with a great sense of fun and he expected it to become an annual event.
The World's Smallest Piloted Airplane
The World's Smallest Piloted Airplane
The BUMBLE BEE II
Designed, Built and Flown by Robert H. Starr
The Bumble
d Bumble Bee II were designed and built specifically to acquire the title of The World's Smallest Piloted Airplane. Mr. Robert H. Starr, of Phoenix, Arizona, has been involved with the both world's previous title holding smallest airplanes. He was the only pilot of JR in 1949 who was able to fly it without cracking it up, unlike his predecessors. He was the co-builder and pilot for Sky Baby in 1954. He gained considerable experience and knowledge on these first projects and knew that a smaller, superior plane could be built. Mr. Starr had difficulty getting credit for his contributions on the first projects. Consequently, he decided to build a smaller machine and establish a new world record on his own. 30 years later, The Bumble Bee and Bumble Bee II, were the result.
Why did he name them Bumble Bee? Rumor has it that the real bumble bee does not have enough wing area to fly. At first glance, most engineers and professional pilots made the same statement about The Bumble Bee's. The bumble bee and The Bumble Bee's have never heard this rumor, so they fly anyway. Mr. Starr flew Bumble Bee II several times and captured the world record in April 1988 at age 64. On the last flight of theBumble Bee II, the engine quit on the downwind leg of the flight. The impact totally destroyed the Bumble Bee II. Mr. Starr sustained extremely serious injuries. He has since recovered. The Bumble Bee I is on permanent display at the Pima Air Museum in Tucson, Arizona.
Mr. Starr has logged over 15,000 air hours in everything from Piper Cubs to the F-86 Sabre Jet. He was a fighter pilot in World War II and flew P-40's & 51's with the 14th Air Force Flying Tigers in China. He has participated in most of the largest Air Shows in the United States. He has also been test pilot for many experimental aircraft.
Fastest Solar Powered Vehicle
Photo: TheWorld's Fastest Solar Powered Car, which has an array of 400 silicon cells, was designed and built by a team of students from the Faculty of Engineering at Sydney's University of New South Wales. (enlarge photo)
The previous Guinness world record for TheFastest Solar Powered Car was 79 km/h for cars powered by silicon solar cells, set by the General Motors Sunraycer in 1988.
The new record for the World's Fastest Solar Powered Car was set at the HMAS Albatross navy base airstrip in Nowra.
Guinness World Records adjudicators were present at the time of the record.
The Sunswift IVy, weighting only 1/10th of the weight of an average car and equipped with a 98% efficient Brushless CSIRO 3 phase DC motor needs just 1300 watts of solar generated power to achieve it's estimated average speed of 85 km/h.
That's approximately the same amount of energy a toaster needs for toasting two pieces of bread.
The drivers for this world record successful attempt were Barton Mawer and Craig Davis, professional racing drivers from the electric car firm Tesla European Operations.
"We were confident. We only needed a little bit of sunshine and that was enough," declared Barton Mawer after the event.
The Sunswift IVy is roughly the same size as an average family car, but is one-tenth of the weight thanks to its carbon fiber frame. It has a top speed of 115 kph (71.5 mph) and cost $280,000 AUD to develop.
Another similar Guinness world record is the longest journey by electric vehicle (non-solar) without recharging the batteries: 555.6 km (345.23 miles), achieved by Tadashi Tateuchi (Japan) who drove his Mira EV from Tokyo to Osaka, Japan.
Guinness World Records also recognized the fastest transatlantic crossing made completely under solar power: 29 days by sun21 (Switzerland) and its crew of five from Las Palmas, Gran Canaria to Le Marin, Martinique.
Photo: TheWorld's Fastest Solar Powered Car, which has an array of 400 silicon cells, was designed and built by a team of students from the Faculty of Engineering at Sydney's University of New South Wales. (enlarge photo)
The previous Guinness world record for TheFastest Solar Powered Car was 79 km/h for cars powered by silicon solar cells, set by the General Motors Sunraycer in 1988.
The new record for the World's Fastest Solar Powered Car was set at the HMAS Albatross navy base airstrip in Nowra.
Guinness World Records adjudicators were present at the time of the record.
The Sunswift IVy, weighting only 1/10th of the weight of an average car and equipped with a 98% efficient Brushless CSIRO 3 phase DC motor needs just 1300 watts of solar generated power to achieve it's estimated average speed of 85 km/h.
That's approximately the same amount of energy a toaster needs for toasting two pieces of bread.
The drivers for this world record successful attempt were Barton Mawer and Craig Davis, professional racing drivers from the electric car firm Tesla European Operations.
"We were confident. We only needed a little bit of sunshine and that was enough," declared Barton Mawer after the event.
The Sunswift IVy is roughly the same size as an average family car, but is one-tenth of the weight thanks to its carbon fiber frame. It has a top speed of 115 kph (71.5 mph) and cost $280,000 AUD to develop.
Another similar Guinness world record is the longest journey by electric vehicle (non-solar) without recharging the batteries: 555.6 km (345.23 miles), achieved by Tadashi Tateuchi (Japan) who drove his Mira EV from Tokyo to Osaka, Japan.
Guinness World Records also recognized the fastest transatlantic crossing made completely under solar power: 29 days by sun21 (Switzerland) and its crew of five from Las Palmas, Gran Canaria to Le Marin, Martinique.
The previous Guinness world record for TheFastest Solar Powered Car was 79 km/h for cars powered by silicon solar cells, set by the General Motors Sunraycer in 1988.
The new record for the World's Fastest Solar Powered Car was set at the HMAS Albatross navy base airstrip in Nowra.
Guinness World Records adjudicators were present at the time of the record.
The Sunswift IVy, weighting only 1/10th of the weight of an average car and equipped with a 98% efficient Brushless CSIRO 3 phase DC motor needs just 1300 watts of solar generated power to achieve it's estimated average speed of 85 km/h.
That's approximately the same amount of energy a toaster needs for toasting two pieces of bread.
The drivers for this world record successful attempt were Barton Mawer and Craig Davis, professional racing drivers from the electric car firm Tesla European Operations.
"We were confident. We only needed a little bit of sunshine and that was enough," declared Barton Mawer after the event.
The Sunswift IVy is roughly the same size as an average family car, but is one-tenth of the weight thanks to its carbon fiber frame. It has a top speed of 115 kph (71.5 mph) and cost $280,000 AUD to develop.
Another similar Guinness world record is the longest journey by electric vehicle (non-solar) without recharging the batteries: 555.6 km (345.23 miles), achieved by Tadashi Tateuchi (Japan) who drove his Mira EV from Tokyo to Osaka, Japan.
Guinness World Records also recognized the fastest transatlantic crossing made completely under solar power: 29 days by sun21 (Switzerland) and its crew of five from Las Palmas, Gran Canaria to Le Marin, Martinique.
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