TUZLA, Turkey – Lance Stroll took advantage of soggy conditions to score his maiden Formula One pole for the Turkish Grand Prix on Saturday at Intercity Istanbul Park.

Stroll, driving for for the BWT Racing Point Formula One Team, used a late flier during Q3 to jump to the top of the scoring pylon. His best lap of 1:47.765 in the wet conditions proved to be enough for him to earn the shock pole over Max Verstappen, who had been fastest in every practice leading up to qualifying.

He is the third Canadian driver in Formula One history to earn a pole, joining Jacques and Gilles Villenueve. The last Canadian driver to earn a pole in Formula One competition was Jacques Villeneuve, who won the pole for the European Grand Prix in 1997.

“I can’t really put it into words,” Stroll said moments after climbing from his car. “After FP3 there were a lot of things that we weren’t sure of coming into qualifying. We didn’t look too competitive in FP3, but I’m so happy right now. I really put that lap together there at the end.

“I only had one lap to do it there at the end because we started on the wet tire and boxed for inters. I had one lap where I had Valtteri (Bottas), who spun in front of me. I had one lap at the end to do it. I had the confidence in the car and I just nailed pretty much every corner and pieced it together nicely.”

Verstappen will start second on the grid for Red Bull, with Stroll’s Racing Point teammate Sergio Perez qualifying third after leading most of Q3 until Stroll’s late lap bumped him from the top of the order.

Alexander Albon qualified fourth for Red Bull, with Daniel Ricciardo fifth for Renault. Lewis Hamilton struggled throughout Q3, managing only the sixth fastest time. Renault’s Esteban Ocon, Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen, Mercedes’ Bottas and Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi completed the top-10.

GROBNIK, Croatia – Stienes Longin emerged victorious following Saturday’s EuroNASCAR PRO event at Automotodrom Grobnik, scoring his second series victory in the process.

The Belgian took the lead at the start and fended off all the attacks by polesitter Giorgio Maggi, who came home second and got his first podium finish in EuroNASCAR PRO together with the Junior Trophy win. Reigning EuroNASCAR 2 champion Lasse Soerensen finished third – and second in the Junior Trophy classification – just a few tenths of a second behind the top two.

When Longin timed his start perfectly from second on the grid, Maggi had to settle in second. In the early stages the driver of the No. 11 ProJob Chevrolet Camaro was able to build a small gap, but Maggi gradually caught back and in the closing laps, Maggi was right on Longin’s bumper but couldn’t find a way past the Belgian, who was perfect in closing all the doors.

“I’m very excited for the win here today,” said Longin. “I won the first time in EuroNASCAR PRO last year at Circuit Zolder and when you know how to win, it gets easier. Grobnik is a fast and fun track and it’s nice to be in Croatia. It was a nice battle with Giorgio but I know it’s hard to pass here. I hope it will rain tomorrow as I’m strong in those difficult conditions. I thank my PK Carsport team for the great work today and everyone supporting us.”

Soerensen was also involved in the fierce battle for the win, but the Dane was not able to make a move on Maggi driver and Longin. After several attempts to pass the Hendriks Motorsport driver, the Dane and his No. 66 DF1 Racing Chevrolet Camaro crossed the finish line in third and grabbed second place in the Junior Trophy classification.

Another tremendous battle took place right behind the top-3: in the end it was reigning champion Loris Hezemans finished fourth. The Dutchman had an intense duel with Nicolo Rocca in the opening laps, but the Italian was shuffled back down the order. Afterwards Hezemans had to defend his position against two-time series champion Alon Day, who fought his way up to fifth from ninth on the grid.

During his charge towards the top-five, Day passed Martin Doubek. The Czech had to let the Israeli go but secured a solid sixth place for Hendriks Motorsport and completed the Junior Trophy podium. Marc Goossens followed in seventh ahead of Justin Kunz, Lucas Lasserre and Rocca, who rounded out the top-10. Davide Dallara won the race in the Challenger Trophy in eleventh place.

Gianmarco Ercoli ended up 12th at the wheel of the No. 70 Mishumotors car. His #54 CAAL Racing was damaged in the EuroNASCAR 2 Qualifying and Mishumotors team owner Mirco Schultis immediately offered him to pilot his Camaro. Due to him switching cars, Ercoli had to start from the back of the grid.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – It wasn’t the finish to his second round that Tiger Woods would have wanted but his second-round 71 was enough to keep him within shouting distance of the lead at the Masters.

Woods is tied for 17^th place at 5 under par and four strokes off the lead after finishing his weather-delayed second round early Saturday.

“It was a quick turnaround last night and then get up this morning and a little bit cooler, the ball is not flying as far,” he said. “It was playing a little bit different and they definitely got the greens a lot faster than they were yesterday.”

Woods began his day at 7:30 a.m. ET on the 11th hole. He made a nice up-and-down for par there and birdied the par-5 15th . He played those eight holes in 1 under.

The highlight of Woods’ morning was actually a shot hit by another player. At the par-4 14^th hole, Shane Lowry’s approach landed short and left of the green leaving a difficult 19-yard chip over a mound, which he he executed perfectly and rolled into the hole for an unlikely birdie.

“I told [Woods] walking to the tee that’s the second-best chip I’ve ever seen here,” Lowry laughed.

Woods famously chipped in on the 16^th hole on his way to victory at the 2005 Masters.

Former world No. 1 and two-time major winner Ariya Jutanugarn and her sister Moriya have tested positive for COVID-19 and have withdrawn from next week's LPGA Tour event in Florida, the Pelican Women's Championship.

"Although we have been very cautious, unfortunately Mo and I have tested positive for COVID-19. We are now self-isolating and working on contact tracing all those we have been in contact with," Ariya Jutanugarn posted on her Facebook page on Saturday in Thailand.

The sisters said they contracted the disease earlier this week in the United States but gave no further information.

Ariya Jutanugarn, who won the 2016 Women's Open and 2018 U.S. Women's Open, said her condition is improving but that she has lost her sense of taste and has difficulty breathing.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – The top 3 players in the world are part of a five-way tie for the lead through 36 holes of the 84^th Masters Tournament.

World No. 1 Dustin Johnson (70), No. 2 Jon Rahm (66) and No. 3 Justin Thomas (69) are all at 9 under par, joined by Abraham Ancer (67) and Cameron Smith (68).

Rahm wrapped up his second round on Saturday morning to join the group. The first and second rounds have spilled over into new days because of a lengthy weather suspension early on Thursday.

Five players are one shot back: Patrick Cantlay (66), Sungjae Im (70), C.T. Pan (66), Hideki Matsuyama (68) and 2018 champion Patrick Reed (68).

Five-time – and defending – champion Tiger Woods (71) is part of a group at 5 under, along with three-time winner Phil Mickelson (70) and four-time major champ Brooks Koepka (69).

The cut line fell at even par, the lowest cut in tournament history. Sixty-players qualified for the weekend, including U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau (74), PGA champion Collin Morikawa (74) and 2015 Masters winner Jordan Spieth (70) – all on the number.

The third round began almost immediately following the conclusion of Round 2. Players are again going off split tees and playing in threesomes.

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The weather turned cool, the air heavy, and for the first time all week, it felt like a Masters might feel in November.

That is unlikely what defending champion Tiger Woods wanted to wake up to early Saturday morning as he and others completed the delayed second round.

Woods did well enough, playing the eight holes he had remaining at 1 under par to complete 36 holes at 5-under 139. He is in a tie for 17th place, four strokes behind the five leaders who are tied at 135: Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas -- the top 3 players in the world -- Cameron Smith and Abraham Ancer.

But there were some opportunities missed, as Woods failed to birdie the par-5 13th, let chances at the 12th, 15th, 16th and 17th slide by, and finished with a second-round 71.

"The golf course is playing long right now," Woods said. "The air is heavy. The ball is not really flying like it was yesterday. They definitely have sped up the greens overnight. They were a lot faster this morning, and you could hear the SubAirs [the suction system that removes moisture from the fairways and greens] out there today, so I think as the day progresses, they're only going to get a little bit faster."

Woods began the third round at 10:42 a.m. ET and is grouped with Rickie Fowler and Billy Horschel.

The 15-time major winner had the tough task of beginning the restart with a shot from the rough at one of the most difficult holes, the 505-yard, par-4 11th. Woods had hit his tee shot on Friday, and had 203 yards remaining from the left rough.

He managed to advance the ball to just in front of the green and got up and down for par. He missed a 15-footer for birdie at the 12th, was unable to go for the green at the 13th and settled for par, hit a good chip to save par at the 14th, then holed a 20-footer for birdie at the 15th after a poor approach. At the par-3 16th, Woods misread a 16-footer for birdie, and he let another chance slip at the 17th.

But he got up and down for a par from the left of the 18th green to stay within four of the leaders.

"I certainly thought I could have maybe got a couple more out of it, but I didn't," he said. "The golf course is going to get a little bit quicker and a little bit drier."

Nick Chubb is officially back.

The Cleveland Browns activated the Pro Bowl running back off injured reserve Saturday, clearing the way for his return Sunday against the Houston Texans.

Chubb has been out since Week 4 with a knee injury but practiced all week with the team. He has 335 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the season.

Through the first four weeks of the season, when Chubb was healthy, the Browns led the NFL with almost 205 rushing yards per game -- 25 yards more than any other offense. They also topped the league with 5.9 yards per rushing attempt.

Kareem Hunt, considered one of the top backup running backs in the league, stepped into the starting lineup while Chubb was out. But facing tougher defenses without Chubb, the Browns ranked just 24th with 96 rushing yards per outing over their past four games, while averaging only 3.9 yards per carry -- 26th in the league.

Quarterback Baker Mayfield said this week that having Chubb and Hunt together is what helps make the Cleveland rushing attack special.

"It's a huge part of our offense to be able to sub those guys in with fresh legs, and it wears on defenses," Mayfield said. "Later in the games when they are able to still be somewhat fresh, it is amazing how the grind and the ground game pounds on those guys."

As college basketball officials struggle to create a plan for the season, one of the sport's most influential voices is calling for a new start date to "save the season" and a delay of the NCAA tournament.

Rick Pitino, who took over at Iona earlier this year, tweeted on Saturday that college basketball should create "May Madness" and move the Nov. 25 start of the season to accommodate the multitude of delays and challenges numerous teams have faced amid COVID-19.

Save the Season. Move the start back. Play league schedule and have May Madness. Spiking and protocols make it impossible to play right now.

— Rick Pitino (@RealPitino) November 14, 2020

Pitino also called for the elimination of all nonconference games in favor of a league-only slate.

Pitino is echoing what other coaches have conveyed privately.

One high-profile coach recently told ESPN that the current situation for college basketball is "scary." Another coach in a non-Power 5 league said he thinks it's "impossible" for his league to play.

Multiple programs have already been sidelined by the NCAA's recommended 14-day quarantine for teams after a player, coach or staffer (Tier I participants, per the guidelines) tests positive. Iona is currently sidelined for two weeks following a positive test.

Contact tracing has also been a challenge.

With the season set to begin in less than two weeks, dozens of schools have not released their schedules for the 2020-21 season. On Thursday, the Ivy League canceled all winter sports, including men's and women's basketball, amid the ongoing pandemic.

NCAA guidelines strongly encourage schools to test three times per week on nonconsecutive days during the season. The NCAA also recommends a two-week quarantine for positive tests. Those guidelines sometimes compete with local and state regulations.

In the American Athletic Conference, teams will test three times per week, but Temple must test its athletes seven consecutive days prior to competition under local rules in Philadelphia.

A non-Division I coach in Michigan, where state officials have labeled the sport as "high risk," said his league is preparing to have players compete in masks during games.

Both New Mexico State and New Mexico could be forced to relocate their teams this season due to state regulations on competition.

At UC Irvine, only six players were allowed to practice, each with his own hoop and basketball, for a chunk of the preseason.

Teams can't play a road game at Hawai'i unless they've received negative tests at least 72 hours prior to entering the island.

Ohio State recently withdrew from the Crossover Classic in South Dakota due to state guidelines of a 14-day quarantine for teams that travel to states with severe COVID-19 situations.

This week, South Dakota's positivity rate hovered above 50%, the highest rate in the country.

Per the ACC's new guidelines, any athlete who leaves campus for more than three days must quarantine for 24 hours before returning to practice or competition.

And then there is contact tracing, the most complicated and perhaps disruptive component for college basketball.

"Effective contact tracing is critical in breaking the chain of transmission and limiting the spread of infection for infectious diseases such as COVID-19," according to the NCAA's guidelines. "However, there is no federal oversight of contact tracing programs, and the number of contact tracers in this country is currently inadequate to effectively manage disease spread among individuals and groups of people with high-contact risk exposure. As a result, athletics departments, in consultation with institutional leadership, should consider evaluating the availability of and accessibility to local contact tracing resources."

In September, Dan Gavitt, the NCAA's senior vice president of men's basketball, conveyed the sport's need for flexibility. He said the announcement of the Nov. 25 start was fluid but added the "preference" was to host the NCAA tournament in its traditional slot in March and April.

However, after a source told ESPN this week that the NCAA might have more flexibility with the NCAA tournament, a spokesman responded that the game's power brokers continue to explore their options.

"Nothing has changed with regards to the committee's ongoing study of various contingency plans," David Worlock said.

Kim Collison tells Jessica Whittington and Euan Crumley why ultra runners across the country have gone the extra mile(s) in 2020 to secure themselves a slice of history

Before this summer, the pursuit of Fastest Known Times – or FKTs, for short – was already a popular pastime for ultra and trail athletes. The restrictions and changes brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, however, have been the catalyst for an extraordinary period of achievement by those who like to push the boundaries of endurance towards eyewatering levels.

In recent months, barely a week has gone by without a bulletin announcing another epic, groundbreaking feat.

The sharp rise in FKTs is all the more understandable when you consider the current circumstances. With all major races cancelled or postponed, targets have instead been moved and energy redirected towards goals which require no organisation other than from the athletes themselves.

Given that most of these attempts take place in extreme landscapes and weather conditions, meticulous planning and safety considerations are very much required but, essentially, the FKT process is as ‘simple’ as picking an established route or planned course, working out whether or not you will be supported by other runners and pacers, honing your fuelling strategy and then setting off. Don’t forget your tracker, though – you have to be able to prove what you’ve done, of course!

Whether it be scaling the peaks of the Lake District, Highland Scotland or Wales, traversing some of the UK’s best-known long-distance paths or even running all the way from Land’s End to John O’Groats, hardly an FKT stone has been left unturned. The same has been happening across the globe.

Kim Collison is one of those athletes who has written himself further into the fabric of his sport. On July 12, the British international broke the Lakeland 24-hour record, climbing 78 Lakeland peaks within 24 hours to break a 23-year-old record which had been held by Mark Hartell.

The challenge requires each peak to be more than 2000ft and in total Collison covered 153km with more than 12,000m (39,000ft) of ascent in 23 hours and 45 minutes, adding one more peak to Hartell’s record.

“It was something that I always thought about, but it was one of those things that I thought ‘maybe I haven’t got the ability or the talent quite to reach that lofty goal’,” says Collison, who is also a coach and mountain guide.

“I guess it wasn’t until last December, when I broke the winter Bob Graham record (another legendary fell running route in the Lake District) that I started to believe that I could potentially try this record.

“I was going to target the other two rounds – the Paddy Buckley in Wales and the Ramsay Round in Scotland – but with COVID and lockdown it meant they became out of the question.

“Luckily, I live on the side of a fell, right at the bottom, so even during lockdown I could run from my door and train – it was like having a training camp.

“I was actually thinking maybe if I could then peak towards the UTMB (Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc) race, that would be good, and then when that was cancelled it was like ‘okay, where do I re-evaluate my goals?’”

That re-evaluation pointed towards the Lakeland attempt – something which became an unforgettable adventure.

“The early parts of the Round were really good and smooth but then when I dropped into Wasdale about 14 hours in roughly, I suddenly started to get the energy lows and the stomach crisis that you get in ultra running and suddenly you are faced with this big wall of mountain that is really steep,” he explains.

“That was a particular low point. I came through that, got moving again and was able to add the extra summit in with the time up I had built in and then it came to the last leg.

“It was about 11pm and by that point I was really tired and fatigued. It was dark, I was struggling to climb the hills quickly enough to keep on to the schedule and I was starting to lose a bit of the buffer.

“Then the stress levels started to rise a bit because the mists came in and we could see about a metre in front of us with our head torches. You’re trying to run, not being able to see much of the ground in front of you, and trying to navigate because every second was quite vital, getting the right lines.

“If we had got it wrong and gone down into the wrong valley or on to the wrong mountain top, we could quite easily lose five or 10 minutes and that’s the record gone.

“All I had to do, though, was try and focus on following the people in front and keep moving and keep pushing. It wasn’t until the last summit that I felt ‘yes, this is going to happen today’. The feelings of joy start to flood in then, which is brilliant.”

The simple act of keeping going is crucial when it comes to these ultra attempts. However, there are also various skills required for maintaining momentum.

“I use quite a bit of visualisation before the event,” says Collison. “I am constantly going through the routes and the vision in my head and what it looks like. Then I try and pick out what I know are likely to be the hard points so I can plan those into my consciousness that I know, ‘this is going to be hard, how can I work through this?’

“Being mentally prepared for the lows, whenever they hit, can really help. Also trying to chunk it down into small parts, so just try and focus on each leg and then each top and then each little section and focus in on doing that bit the best you can, in the moment.

“I guess the other thing I’ll try and do is accept mistakes and go ‘okay, that has happened, move on, what do I need to do now to make it work on the day?’

“The other one really at the end was a lot of self-talk and using positive words to reinforce the actions that I wanted to happen. So every time I would start to slow down and the stomach and the brain is screaming at you to stop and go easy and give us a break, I think my key word at the time was ‘I am strong, you can do this’ just to try and up the pace again.”

“You need to be able to forget the pain … It is hard and takes a lot to complete an ultra, both physically and mentally”

Supported runners also have help on hand. In few other sports, however, can the camaraderie be stronger. In even fewer would you find the current record-holder actively helping someone to beat their time and yet, when it comes to FKTs, such a scenario is a very common occurrence.

“I guess part of the spirit is to help others achieve their dreams, their ambitions, and be supportive, because that usually comes back to you as well,” says Collison.

“It is really good to see other people achieve their dreams and push themselves and if you can be a small part of that, it is brilliant. Because we all know what it is like to challenge ourselves and push ourselves and that is what it is, it’s about trying to get the best out of yourself, whatever that may be. For some challenges, you need that support. It helps with the motivation, the positivity, the sharing the journey.”

Such things make for unforgettable moments, which makes Collison’s choice of a key attribute to have when it comes to covering big distances a little incongruous.

“Forgetfulness I would say is a really useful skill!” he grins. “You need to be able to forget the pain and suffering that is tied into it. It is hard and takes a lot to complete an ultra, both physically and mentally.

“But those aches and pains, they disappear, and all you’re left with is that feeling of pride and happiness, the smile that you get from a big achievement.”

This summer, there has been a lot of that going around.

WHAT IS AN FKT?

FKT is an abbreviation for ‘Fastest Known Time’. It is essentially a race without organisation and rules, a record set by an individual over a particular course or planned route.

Some of the most notable FKTs in Britain this summer:

Women's Six Nations champions England showed their quality in the second half to beat France 33-10 in Grenoble.

Alex Matthews and Jess Breach scored in quick succession to put England on top after the break.

Captain Emily Scarratt kicked the rest of the points as England beat France for the 10th time in 11 meetings.

The two sides meet again at Twickenham next Saturday.

More soon.