The momentum in Formula One’s championship fight has appeared to shift significantly after Red Bull collected its third 1-2 finish and Brawn GP had it worst performance of the season at the German Grand Prix.
Mark Webber picked up victory No. 1 in race No. 132 on Sunday, edging teammate Sebastian Vettel for Red Bull to close in on Brawn GP in both championships.
Brawn GP driver Jenson Button’s lead over Vettel is down from 32 points to 21 with 80 points still available. Webber is 22.5 back from Button. Brawn GP’s constructors’ lead is down to 19.5 points.
Button won six of the first seven races but has since been shut out as Brawn GP failed to reach the podium for the first time this season…Â Details
While some of the most high technology kit ever seen in sailing was wheeled out of the shed in Villenueve, and San Diego, the Open Letter writers were at it again. This time drawing their respective lines in the sand as to where the 33rd America’s Cup must be sailed, and how big the yachts are allowed to be.
Like most things with this America’s Cup, all the parties seem to be able to do is agree to disagree, and then run to Uncle Herman or Auntie Shirley to sort it all out, and then come away with different versions of what the good Justices actually ruled.
First up from the Societe Nautique de Geneve
Mr. Marcus Young Commodore
The Golden Gate Yacht Club
#1 Yacht Road
San Francisco
California 94123
USA
6 July 2009
33rd America’s Cup
Dear Commodore,
We write to correct your erroneous letter of June 19, 2009 and to address news reports of a recent interview with Russell Coutts.
In the June 19 letter, you curiously claimed that …Â Details
Park City resident Kevin Rapf is keeping his record. “I’ve ridden at least once every month for the last 21 months, all in Utah,†Rapf says. “I’m trying to go a solid two years of snowboarding in the state.â€
Aside from being, well, just plain cool, Rapf’s diligence is pretty newsworthy. In spite of searing temp’s (the mercury nearly hit 100 F today in Salt Lake City), the Utah mountains still have snow. Even better? They still have skiable terrain!
According to Rapf, his summer skiing feat at Snowbird wasn’t that hard … Details
Tom Akin had a lot to say about sailing Flash, a TP 52, to Hawaii. His initial comments were, ‘I found out what is its like to be in a TP52 for seven days.
‘You sit in water, you eat in water, and you sleep in water. It’s wet. The beast is not as luxurious as my Santa Cruz 52. I was looking for a creature comfort and couldn’t find one.’
Akin, his crew and Jeff Thorpe, Criminal Mischief’s navigator, worked non-stop over a very short period of time to get Flash into racing condition. From the time the boat arrived in Long Beach, two weeks before the start, until the evening before they took off, the deck was strewn with rigging materials, sealants and tools. The work that they did paid off. With more than half of the Transpac fleet safely docked in Honolulu, Flash sits second in class and second in fleet.
Akin had nothing but praise for each and every individual who sailed Transpac 09 on Flash…Â Details