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Results from Hengelo’s FBK Games, plus the BAL, UKWL, Gouden Spike, Racers Track Club Grand Prix and more

After another busy weekend in athletics, links to separate event reports can be found below, followed by a list of other recent highlights.

Adam Hickey and Nicole Taylor win England titles at FASTFriday
Divine Oduduru storms to fast sprint double at NCAA Champs
Sha’Carri Richardson runs record-breaking NCAA sprint double
GB’s Jonathan Albon wins trail world title

FBK Games, Hengelo, Netherlands, June 9

Eilish McColgan improved her own Scottish 5000m record and moved to third on the UK all-time list with 14:47.94 to finish fifth in a race won by Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi in 14:37.22.

It follows recent performances of a 14:52.40 5000m in Stockholm and a 4:02.29 1500m in Rome by McColgan, who wasn’t even sure if she would be well enough to race in Hengelo after suffering with a cold after Rome.

Telahun Bekele won the men’s 5000m in 12:57.56 for another sub-13 minute run just three days after his 12:52.98 in Rome.

Sam Kendricks cleared 5.91m to improve the pole vault meeting record set by Sergey Bubka in 1992, while Adam Hague’s 5.41m saw him finish sixth on countback.

Michael Cherry won the 400m in 45.15 and Orlando Ortega the 100m hurdles in 13.27.

Kyle Langford was second in the 800m as he clocked 1:45.87 behind Cornelius Tuwei with 1:45.67, while Guy Learmonth finished sixth in 1:47.20.

Another GB runner-up spot was secured by CJ Ujah as he ran a 10.13 100m on his season debut behind Arthur Cissé with 10.05. Harry Aikines-Aryeetey was eighth in 10.27.

Gouden Spike, Netherlands, June 8

Olympic heptathlon champion Nafi Thiam achieved a 13.62 (-1.4m/sec) 100m hurdles win and a windy 6.65m (+4.1m/sec) in the long jump.

Finette Agyapong won the 200m in 23.39, while Jake Smith and Petros Surafel both achieved European U23 Championships 10,000m qualifying marks with respective PBs of 29:15.08 and 29:22.55. Ciaran Lewis clocked 9:21.54 in the 3000m steeplechase.

Pavel Maslák ran a 20.84 200m before confirming in his post-race interview that he’s not planning on the IAAF World Championships in Doha.

BAL and UKWL, Barnet and Leigh, June 9

Newham and Essex Beagles improved on their second spot in the opening match to win the second British Athletics League Premiership match in overcast drizzly conditions at Allianz Park, north London, Tom Pollak reports.

They were helped to victory by a 46.34 second 400m win by Rabah Yousif.

Britain’s No.1 Scott Lincoln was top performer with a winning 19.29m in the shot while BUCS champion Will Grimsey high jumped a winning 2.15m and Jersey Commonwealth Games thrower Zane Duquemin continued his return to form after injury by winning the discus with 60.22m.

Photo by Gary Mitchell

The tightest finish was in the 100m where just five thousandths of a second separated Jahde Williams and David Bolarinwa and they were both given an official 10.51.

Southend won the National 4 match, beating Reading and Enfield and Haringey.

Shaftesbury Barnet won the opening UK Women’s League Division 1 match beating Southampton and Wigan.

They achieved their victory despite pole vaulter Jade Ive failing to clear a height.

At the UK Women’s League Premier Division match, Jessie Knight won the 400m hurdles by two seconds, clocking 56.67 to to take more than a second off her previous best.

Alicia Barrett won the 100m hurdles in 13.27 (1.9m/sec), with Heather Paton breaking the 36-year-old Scottish record with her time of 13.34 in second.

By David Greenwood

Alisha Rees won the 100m in 11.61 (0.6m/sec) from Rachel Miller with 11.62 and Shannon Hylton in 11.66, with Hylton winning the 200m in 23.74 (-0.3m/sec) from Rees with 23.97 and Miller with 24.13.

Thames Valley Harriers won the match from Trafford.

Racers Track Club Grand Prix, Kingston, Jamaica, June 8

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce continued her return to top form as she clocked 10.88 to win the 100m. Zharnel Hughes won the men’s race in an equal European lead of 9.97 ahead of Yohan Blake’s 10.01.

Shaunae Miller-Uibo won the 400m in 49.54, while Kendra Harrison won the 100m hurdles in 12.54 as Cindy Ofili ran 13.06 for fifth.

Britain’s Delano Williams ran 20.79 for fourth in the men’s 200m, while Jodie Williams achieved the same position in the women’s race in 23.03.

Golden Roof Challenge, Innsbruck, Austria, June 8

Juan Miguel Echevarría jumped a best of 8.15m (0.2m/sec) to win the long jump, as GB’s Feron Sayers was second with a best of 7.92m (0.0m/s).

Angelica Bengtsson cleared a meeting record 4.61m in the pole vault. Britain’s Charlie Myers cleared 5.51m in the men’s event.

Jena, Germany, June 8

Harry Hughes threw 77.89m to finish fourth in the javelin competition won by organiser Thomas Rohler with 82.56m.

Paralympic champion Hollie Arnold had a strong season opener as she threw 41.94m. Her training partner Rebekah Walton won that competition with a best of 51.35m.

Chania, Greece, June 9

Nick Miller threw the hammer 77.72m, his furthest mark since winning the Commonwealth title last April, to win by two metres and achieve the World Championships and Olympic qualifying standards.

Richard Kilty won the 100m in 10.32 (1.0m/sec).

Alex Haydock-Wilson was second in the 400m with a 46.83 PB.

Portland Track Festival, Oregon, USA, June 8-9 

Josh Kerr ran an 800m PB of 1:46.06 and Charlie Da’Vall Grice clocked 1:46.47 for his best time for three years.

Neil Gourley ran 1:47.11 to just miss his PB.

James West ran 3:37.22 for third in the 1500m.

La Coruna, Spain, June 8

Tom Bosworth clocked 81:23 for 25th in the 20km race walk won by Japan’s Toshikazu Yamanishi in 77:41.

NYRR New York Mini 10km, USA, June 8

Sara Hall produced a strong finish to win the NYRR New York Mini 10km (incorporating the USATF Champs) in Central Park.

The American clocked 32:27 to beat Stephanie Bruce and Sally Kipyego.

Five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams has confirmed she will play at the Nature Valley Classic in Birmingham.

American Williams, 38, will make her debut at the grass-court event after accepting a wildcard, joining world number one Naomi Osaka and French Open champion Ashleigh Barty in the draw.

Defending champion Petra Kvitova and British number one Johanna Konta are also playing in the tournament.

The tournament runs from 15-23 June.

Former world number one Garbine Muguruza has been forced to withdraw from the event held at Edgbaston Priory Club due to a left leg injury.

'Nadal feat will be talked about in 200 years'

Published in Tennis
Monday, 10 June 2019 03:30

Rafael Nadal's record tally of 12 French Open titles will still be talked about "in 200 years", says former British number one Greg Rusedski.

Nadal, 33, is the first player to win a dozen singles titles at the same Grand Slam.

The Spanish second seed beat Austria's Dominic Thiem 6-3 5-7 6-1 6-1 in Sunday's final at Roland-Garros.

"This is the unbreakable record," former US Open finalist Rusedski told BBC Sport.

Nadal's third successive win on the Paris clay moved him clear of Margaret Court's tally of 11 Australian Open titles.

The Spaniard is only the second player to win the same tour singles event a dozen times, with Martina Navratilova having won 12 titles at Chicago between 1978 and 1992.

"Most players don't win 12 titles in their careers, he has won 12 clay-court majors at Roland-Garros," Rusedski said.

"When we're dead, in 200 years from now, people will be talking about Rafael Nadal winning 12 French Opens.

"It is incomprehensible.

"This is the Tour de France of tennis and to do it 12 times is superhuman."

'Big three's longevity is unheard of'

By beating 25-year-old Thiem for the second successive year in the final, Nadal increased his tally to 18 major triumphs.

Only long-time rival Roger Federer has won more Grand Slams, sitting two ahead of the Mallorcan in the all-time list of men's singles triumphs.

Serb world number one Novak Djokovic, who was denied the chance to hold all four Slams at the same time by Thiem in the semi-finals, is now three behind Nadal.

Nadal, 37-year-old Federer and 32-year-old Djokovic have won the past 10 Grand Slam titles between them.

Britain's Andy Murray was the last player under 30 to win a Grand Slam men's singles title when he won Wimbledon aged 29 in 2016.

"The last 'next generation' had a lot of war wounds against the likes of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray, they didn't necessarily believe they could possibly beat these guys," Rusedski, 45, said.

"But I think the new guys - led by Stefanos Tsitsipas, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Denis Shapovalov - this generation may not have the same war wounds.

"And in a couple of years obviously Roger will be nearly 40 and Rafa and Novak will be in their mid-30s - if they are all still playing then.

"To do what they are doing is unheard of.

"It is still those big three and the other guys are trying to knock on the door.

"We want to see one of those younger guys take a Slam."

'Women's game full of intrigue - and that will return to men's game too'

With Nadal beating Federer and Thiem seeing off Djokovic, the men's semi-finals at a major were contested by the top four seeds for the first time since the 2012 Australian Open.

By contrast, the women's draw was wide open after early exits for top seeds like Angelique Kerber, Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams.

Only one of the last four - Britain's Johanna Konta - had previously reached a Grand Slam semi-final, while two of the others - American Amanda Anisimova and runner-up Czech Marketa Vondrousova - were teenagers.

Eventual champion Ashleigh Barty claimed her first Slam singles title with a 6-1 6-3 victory over 19-year-old Vondrousova.

"On the women's side there are about 10 to 15 women who could win," Rusedski said.

"There is a lot of intrigue because you don't know who is going to win - that's great to have going into a Slam.

"We will see that level of intrigue come back in the men's, of course we will. I can't see the same domination.

"We had [Andre] Agassi and [Pete] Sampras and when they retired it was 'what's going to happen now?'. There was a two-year gap and then all of a sudden Federer, Nadal and Djokovic all showed up.

"Tsitsipas is going to be a big superstar in our game, you've got [Alexander] Zverev, you've got Thiem.

"There will be a little transition period, it might take a year or two, but there will be stars to replace the big three."

Why Nadal is the King of Clay - the stats

ITTF and IPC tighten ties

Published in Table Tennis
Sunday, 09 June 2019 19:51

In his role at ITTF-Oceania, Holtz oversaw the implementation of the 2017-2020 Strategic Plan and was responsible for the operational and financial management of the organisation. Prior to that, he worked as Table Tennis Australia’s Sport for Development Manager where he designed and implemented the Smash Down Barriers programme, using table tennis to promote social inclusion and provide opportunities to more than 2,500 people with impairments and over 6,000 children living in economically-deprived areas in Oceania and Southeast Asia.

In his role of as World Para Sports Managing Director, Holtz will support the 10 sports currently governed by the IPC in areas concerning governance, audit and finance, sport development and brand & commercialisation.

In light of Holtz’ appointment, the ITTF looks forward to growing its already excellent relations with the IPC and collaborating more closely around the wider Paralympic Movement. The IPC currently acts as the international federation include Para alpine skiing, Para athletics, Para biathlon, Para cross-country skiing, Para dance sport, Para ice hockey, Para powerlifting, Para snowboard, Para swimming and Para shooting.

“I am very excited to take on the role of World Para Sports Managing Director. Para sports are at the core of the Paralympic Movement providing athletes, coaches, officials, administrators and volunteers with opportunities from community to high performance levels. I look forward to contributing further to the growth of the sports and to support them to achieve their strategic objectives.”

World Para Sports Managing Director, Christian Holtz

“This is an important moment for the IPC and the World Para Sports and we are extremely happy to welcome Christian Holtz to our team, providing significant contributions to our ongoing discussions about new models of sport governance and he will help us achieve the next stage in our business strategy and evolution, where we seek to further develop our brand, commercial, competition and broadcast concepts. I have seen first-hand the excellent work Christian has done at ITTF-Oceania and look forward to him having a similar impact with the World Para Sports. These undoubtedly are exciting times for the World Para Sports and the Paralympic Movement as a whole.”

IPC Interim CEO, Mike Peters

Sarah-Jane Perry beats defending champion Nour El Sherbini

Shock on day one of PSA World Tour Finals 
By SEAN REUTHE in Cairo 

The opening day of the 2018-2019 CIB PSA World Tour Finals saw defending women’s champion Nour El Sherbini fall to a surprise defeat against England No.1 Sarah-Jane Perry as the season-ending tournament got under way at Cairo’s Mall of Arabia.

The PSA World Tour Finals is the final tournament of the PSA World Tour season, with the first four days featuring round-robin matches during the group stage. Fixtures are held using a best-of-three games format and Perry marched into first place in Group B as she claimed a 2-0 victory over the World No.2.

It was the Egyptian who started stronger in both of the games, going 8-5 up in the first before losing six points in a row, while she held a 9-3 advantage in the second. But Perry soon whittled down that lead as she found her accuracy and range to devastating effect to make it three wins on the bounce against her opponent after wins at the Hong Kong Open and last month’s Allam British Open.

“I just relaxed and remembered that there wasn’t any pressure on me,” said 29-year-old Perry.

“I remember playing her on this court in Gouna a couple of years ago, and I got an absolute lesson and have had a few of those over the years. It makes it a bit of a bonus being here at the end of the season following my [elbow] operation, so I’m just trying to seize any opportunity that comes my way on the court.

“You can’t afford to have a bad start and you can’t afford to go 9-3 down in any game. I didn’t think about winning that game when I was 9-3 down, I just tried to play my way back in because I knew how important the third game was.”

Perry takes the maximum four points on offer to top Group B, with the other two players in Group B – Nour El Tayeb and Nouran Gohar – set to meet tomorrow.

In Group A, World No.1 Raneem El Welily got her title challenge under way as she stormed to a 2-0 win against Welsh World No.9 Tesni Evans, beating her 11-4, 11-6.

Fresh from winning a quartet of awards at the PSA Awards dinner last night – including the PSA Women’s Player of the Year – El Welily was in dominant form as she swept her opponent aside, with the Alexandria-born 30-year-old moving top of her group.

“As Egyptians we are very lucky to be playing the last tournament at home and not having to travel on a plane,” said El Welily.

“We are very lucky to be able to play in front of our home crowd and to be playing in a tournament where my family and coaches can watch and also playing in a tournament that CIB and Wadi Degla, my own sponsors, are sponsoring.”

France’s Camille Serme sits in second in Group A after she defeated New Zealand’s Joelle King. All three games went to tie-breaks as both played to an intense tempo in Cairo. However, it was the Frenchwoman who was able to hold her nerve and close out as she claimed a 12-14, 12-10, 12-10 victory in 55 minutes. The 2-1 win means Serme takes three points, while King also claims a point as she moves into third place.

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ElShorbagy saves four match balls against Elias

Defending men’s champion Mohamed ElShorbagy overturned four match balls as he defeated Peru’s Diego Elias to take a 2-1 victory, meaning he finishes the day in second place in Group B.

All four of their previous matches had gone the distance to five games, and despite the best of three format, crowds at the Mall of Arabia were treated to a spectacular 63 minute affair which saw ElShorbagy take a nail-biting third game by a 17-15 margin.

“We both had a lot of match balls,” said 28-year-old ElShorbagy. “Matches like this, every time we play each other it always goes down to the wire. He’s a great player and I always say that he is going to beat us all one day and I’m going to try and make it as late as possible, but one day he is a future World No.1 and a future World Champion.”

ElShorbagy sits level on three points with World No.3 Tarek Momen, but has a lower percentage of points won, meaning Momen ends the opening day top of Group B courtesy of a 6-11, 11-3, 11-8 victory over Germany’s World No.5 Simon Rösner.

Meanwhile, World No.1 and last year’s runner-up Ali Farag got off to a winning start in Group A as he toppled fellow Egyptian Mohamed Abouelghar in straight games.

Farag, the reigning World Champion, finished top of the men’s PSA World Tour Finals Leaderboard and is looking to cap off an incredible season that has seen him win six PSA World Tour titles.

He took maximum points on offer as he earned a 12-10, 11-9 triumph to put himself on the verge of securing a semi-final spot, with the top two from each group qualifying for the last four.

“I’m still learning a lot about myself,” Farag said. “Coming into this tournament, I knew I needed a bit of a rest, and I didn’t need to train any more as it has been a long season, and I had to be smart with my head and body. I took a couple of days off by the beach and did some exercises away from squash which was needed, and I think that made me sharp ahead of this tournament.”

The CIB PSA World Tour Finals continues tomorrow (June 10) when the likes of British Open champion Nouran Gohar and New Zealand’s Paul Coll get their tournaments under way. Live action will be shown from 19:00 (GMT+2) on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour (excluding Europe & Japan).
 

CIB PSA World Tour Finals 2019, Mall of Arabia, 6th of October City, Egypt.

Men’s Group A:
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bt [8] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) 2-0: 12-10, 11-9 (39m)

Men’s Group B:
[2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) bt [7] Diego Elias (PER) 2-1: 6-11, 11-3, 17-15 (63m)
[3] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt [6] Simon Rösner (GER) 2-1: 6-11, 11-3, 11-8 (44m)

Women’s Group A:
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) bt [8] Tesni Evans (WAL) 2-0: 11-4, 11-6 (18m)
[4] Camille Serme (FRA) bt [5] Joelle King (NZL) 2-1: 12-14, 12-10, 12-10 (55m)

Women’s Group B:
[7] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt [2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) 2-0: 11-8, 11-9 (23m)

TODAY (June 10) Men’s Group A:
[4] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) v [5] Paul Coll (NZL)

Men’s Group B:
[6] Simon Rösner (GER) v [7] Diego Elias (PER)
[2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) v [3] Tarek Momen (EGY)

Women’s Group A:
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) v [4] Camille Serme (FRA)
[5] Joelle King (NZL) v [8] Tesni Evans (WAL)

Women’s Group B:
[3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) v [6] Nouran Gohar (EGY) 

Report by SEAN REUTHE (PSA PR and Media Manager). Edited by ALAN THATCHER.

Pictures and graphics courtesy of PSA

Posted on June 10, 2019

Edgbaston to host Head Racketball National Champs

Published in Squash
Monday, 10 June 2019 06:29

Racketball stars are ready to go again at Edgbaston Priory, from left: Sarah Roberton, Tim Vail, Natalie Lawrence and Ted Jeal

Record numbers set for July showdown
By DONNA HELMER – Squash Mad Correspondent

A record numbers of players are expected to turn out for the newly merged HEAD National Racketball Championships at Edgbaston Priory Club next month.

The two-day event, which takes place over the weekend of 6-7th July, is expected to lure a huge draw following the amalgamation of the National Racketball Championships and National Squash 57 Championships.

With 29 national titles up for grabs from the Under 13s to the inaugural Over 80s, this accessible tournament enables players of all ages and abilities to come together and play at one of the UK’s finest clubs, whether they’re competing for fun or pursuing a major title.

Year after year, the tournament continues to attract the finest players from around the UK including Tim Vail and Bett Dryhurst – who have triumphed 10 and 31 times respectively.

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Speaking ahead of the tournament, Mark Fuller, UK-Racketball Director said: “I’m very excited about the competition this year – it’s looking likely that this will be one of the biggest events in the sport’s history!

“With the help of England Squash, we have already seen a significant increase in entries.

“The game’s top players including many of last year’s defending champions have already signed up. There has never been a better time to play this event for the first time and fight it out for a national title.

“This is an event for all ages and abilities, so whatever your standard, join us in Edgbaston for a thrilling weekend of action!”

And there’s more than just a trophy on offer for victorious participants this year, with all competitors having a chance to win HEAD prizes and Series points that will count towards their overall finishing position in the 2019 UK-Racketball Series.

To find out more about the event and to sign up, visit UK-Racketball

Pictures courtesy of  UK Racketball and England Squash

Posted on June 10, 2019

For Wales under-20s lock Teddy Williams, a World Rugby Championship match with Argentina was not even his hardest test of the day.

Tackles and mauls were the stress relief for 18-year-old Williams, one of three members of the Wales under-20 side who is balancing the World Rugby U20 Championship with their A-level exams.

Williams, a pupil at Cardiff Welsh medium school Ysgol Glantaf, sat chemistry in the morning, then was driven hastily across the city of Rosario back to the stadium just in time to help his side defeat the hosts 30-25 in a contest that kicked off at 1pm.

"It was a bonus to have him as an option off the bench. Originally we thought he would take the exam in Buenos Aires and would miss the match," head coach Gareth Williams explained.

"We have three players involved with exams - we are balancing it."

The day before the Argentina victory, Williams sat a biology exam. He also took a maths exam along with team-mate Aneurin Owen, 18, before Wales' 32-13 defeat by France.

This week Williams, the son of former Wales international Owain Williams, will sit further exams in chemistry, maths - with Owen - and biology.

Owen suffered a head injury after colliding with a team-mate against Argentina, and while he was not fit enough to play against France he is fit enough for a maths exam.

Their team-mate, Leicester Tigers fly-half Sam Costelow, 18, had to travel even further to do his exams.

Different regulations meant he was forced to travel four hours and almost 200 miles to the capital city of Buenos Aires with a chaperone from the Wales management team in order to sit a geography exam.

Team manager Darren Joy has been responsible for making the arrangements, having contacted each of the respective schools three months ago to begin making plans.

While all the schools were willing to help, Joy endured a lot of red tape obtaining the requisite paperwork to ensure the players did not have to pick between the tournament and their education.

"The work the boys have put in is amazing, especially if you add in the fact that for a lot of them, it is their first time being away from home for a prolonged period," head coach Williams added.

"They have needed to keep their focus on two fronts with the rugby and the exams and that has been really impressive from them.

"To be able to set-up the exams over here in Argentina, we give a lot of credit to team manager Darren Joy.

"He has made it as comfortable as possible for the boys to complete their exams and make sure it doesn't impair on their preparation or performance."

Wales conclude their group matches against Fiji in Santa Fe on Wednesday.

For three of the squad, it will be a test they relish.

The Women's Rugby Super Series tournament will be harder than a World Cup, according to England captain Sarah Hunter.

The top five teams in the world all meet in San Diego, with Grand Slam champions England opening their campaign against USA on 28 June.

Simon Middleton's side then face Canada, France and world champions New Zealand in the round-robin tournament.

"It's incredible for us to have this opportunity," Hunter told BBC Sport.

"In some respects you could say it is harder than a World Cup.

"You probably wouldn't play the top five sides in the world during a World Cup campaign, so it gives us a great chance to actually see where we are at."

England breezed to a Six Nations Grand Slam earlier in the year, but Hunter expects the standard of competition to be significantly higher in California this summer.

"We did have a great Six Nations, and we can only play the opposition in front of us, but now we are going halfway across the world and playing the best teams that there are," she added.

"It's our chance to find out where we are and how we then need to move on in terms of looking at the big picture [at the World Cup] in two years' time."

Middleton has named a 28-strong squad for the Super Series, with Hunter leading a group shorn of some experienced players through injury.

Fly-half Katy Daley-McLean, centre Rachael Burford and wing Jess Breach have all been declared unavailable.

However, centre Emily Scarratt is among those to return, while uncapped pair Chloe Edwards and Clara Nielsen are both named as Middleton looks to build depth into his squad.

"We need to be coming off the summer tour with a really clear picture of what our squad is starting to look like in terms of the World Cup," Middleton told BBC Sport.

"The Super Series will provide us with a perfect platform to see exactly where we are."

England's Super Series matches

Friday, 28 June: England v United States (21:00 BST)

Sunday, 7 July: Canada v England (01:15 BST)

Wednesday, 10 July: England v France (22:15 BST)

Sunday, 14 July: New Zealand v England (21:00 BST)

All matches will be played at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center in San Diego except the final game against New Zealand, which will be played at San Diego State University's Torero Stadium.

Murillo & Szymczak Are SprintX Stars

Published in Racing
Sunday, 09 June 2019 18:25

SONOMA, Calif. – Kenny Murillo and Christian Szymczak raced to the overall victory in Sunday’s Pirelli GT4 America SprintX main event at Sonoma Raceway.

The No. 47 NOLASPORT Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR of Jason Hart (SprintX Pro-Am) would lead the field to the green flag for the final Pirelli GT4 America SprintX race of the weekend at Sonoma Raceway.

It was the No. 34 Murillo Racing Mercedes of Murillo and Szymczak (SprintX West Pro-Am) who would grab the headlines however, moving from fifth to first.

Just prior to the green flag, SprintX Race 1 winner Jeff Burton (SprintX West Am) would head to pitlane in the No. 91 Rearden Racing Audi R8 LMS GT4 to change a tire that was losing air pressure.  The team would change the Pirelli rubber and get the car back on track without losing a lap to the leaders.  The team would fight back through the field and finish eighth overall.

Thirteen minutes into the race the No. 51 Panoz of Matt Keegan (SprintX Am) pulled along-side the No. 19 Cameron Racing BMW M4 GT4 of Gregory Liefooghe (SprintX Pro-Am) and would out-brake the BMW at the turn seven hairpin via the outside line for second place.  Keegan would then chase down the leading No. 47 NOLASPORT Porsche and grab the lead at the final hairpin one lap later.

Behind the leaders, the No. 33 Rearden Racing Audi R8 LMS GT4 of Owen Trinkler (SprintX West Pro-Am) would also choose the final hairpin to make a pass over the No. 67 TRG Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR of Kevin Woods (SprintX West Am) to grab seventh position.

During the mandatory pit stops for driver changes, the first and second place cars would pit together early in the pit window, with Preston Calvert getting in to the No. 51 Panoz and Matt Travis in the No. 47 Porsche.  Third place Gregory Liefooghe would stay out in an attempt to over-cut his rivals and pit with 26 minutes remaining, turning the No. 19 Cameron Racing BMW over to Sean Quinlan.  The stop was just a little too quick compared to the minimum required time and the No. 19 would face a drive through penalty for the error.

The No. 34 Murillo Racing Mercedes AMG of Christian Szymczak (SprintX West Pro-Am) would be the fastest car on track after switching drivers, as the bright orange machine would move from fifth to second in just a matter of laps before chasing down the race-leading Panoz.  With 20 minutes remaining the No. 34 would slip stream past the No. 51 at the turn seven hairpin and take the overall lead and victory.

“I was actually going back and forth on racing this weekend, but I knew it was going to be a great time so I had to,” said Szymczak. “The mercedes was really good all weekend.  I’ve been racing with Murillo for years now and the team is great and gave us a great car.”

Half a lap later Colin Mullan (SprintX Pro-Am) in the No. 36 Andretti Autosport McLaren 570S GT4 would pass the No. 47 NOLASPORT entry on the outside of turn one to take over the final podium position.

Timely Caution Leads To Victory For Garnhart

Published in Racing
Sunday, 09 June 2019 19:11

DUBUQUE, Iowa – Bryce Garnhart thought he would settle for second.

Then the yellow light flashed in front of him due to the leader crashing.

The defending track champion put the peddle down on the restart and cruised to the 25-lap Smokey Rupp Memorial Merfeld Brothers IMCA Modified win Sunday at Dubuque Speedway.

“I know it was bad for him, but it made me happy,” Garnhart said in victory lane. “Car ran great and I can’t thank everyone enough that works on this and supports us.”

Hometown driver Austin Moyer helped lead the field to John Ryan’s green flag and quickly opened a large advantage. With a straightaway lead over Garnhart, who clawed from sixth in a competitive 22-car field, Moyer jumped the turn two cushion and banged the wall, ending his night on lap 19.

Garnhart beat Timmy Current off the restart on the top groove and sped to the win.

Kyle Brown, Jeff Larson, Chris Zogg and Current completed the top five.

Ron Klein had a similar misfortune to Moyer in the Eichmann’s Bar and Grill IMCA Late Model 25-lap finale. Klein got caught up with a lapped car about halfway through, breaking the front end. Jeff Tharp inherited the lead on the restart and blasted to the win.

Justin Kay, Luke Merfeld, Eric Pollard and Jermiah Hurst followed.

Jerry Miles launched on a restart and won the Peosta Warehousing Logistics IMCA SportMod 15-lap feature.

Miles got that spot when top two drivers Rusty Deshaw and Tyler Soppe battled off turn two, collided and went head on into the backstretch wall. Deshaw’s ride ended upside down. He was not hurt, but both cars were done.

Austin Heacock, Jason Roth, Justin Becker and Wes Digman came next.

Brannon Bechen led all 10 laps of the 4Cylinder feature to beat Thomas Adams, John W. Campbell and Jacob Welter.

The K Motorports IMCA Stock Cars and Kinsella Concrete IMCA Hobby Stocks took the track together for two races in one.

Cole Mather picked up his third Stock Car win of the season over Kyle Merkes, Matt Hudspeth and Reece Norton.

Daniel Wauters took another Hobby win over Dakota Simonsen, Brandon White, Roger Winkers and Hank White.

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