SportsNews
Supercars Bathurst 1000: Payne fastest in dramatic qualifying

Published
4 months agoon
By
Ekwutos BlogMatt Payne took provisional pole position for the Bathurst 1000 after a qualifying session of fine margins at Mount Panorama.
Payne and his Grove Racing Ford streaked around the 6.213km circuit in a time of 2m05.6452s to edge out fellow Mustang pilot Cameron Waters by a scant 0.0060s.
“It just seemed to hook up really nicely and it just seemed to turn really well at ‘The Grate’,” he explained after the lap.
“The previous practice we did not have such a good run on green tyres. I knew the car was better than that. I knew we were going to be in the top five, but P1 is pretty cool.”
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Payne fastest in dramatic Bathurst 1000 qualifying
GEN3 Toyota ‘Supracar’ displayed at Bathurst
Waters, who nearly had a crash at Forrest’s Elbow during the session, revealed he had also suffered a reliability scare in the early stages.
“It was a pretty intense session, I had an engine problem to start with and that cleared,” he said.
“Everyone is trying so hard, even in practice one, it was crazy how fast everyone was going. I am just lucky I am not one of the ones crashing.”
The session featured a pair of red flags, with the first coming with 23 minutes remaining on the clock as David Reynolds lost control of the rear of his Team18 Chevrolet Camaro at The Dipper, collecting the wall where team-mate Warren Luff had performed a miraculous escape earlier in the weekend.

David Reynolds, Team 18 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
© Autosport.com
David Reynolds, Team 18 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Photo by: Edge Photographics
The second came due to a crash at the same corner after Shell V-Power Racing driver Will Davison destroyed all four corners of his Ford Mustang on his final push.
This crash ruined Broc Feeney’s attempt to top the session, although he remained the highest-placed Chevrolet driver in third. Prior to the red flags being displayed, he had been 0.25s up on Payne’s benchmark.
The Triple Eight man was 0.0081s faster than 2023 polesitter Brodie Kostecki, who set the fourth fastest time and clattered the wall at Sulman Park, requiring a mid-session suspension change which cost eight minutes of track time.
Highlighting how close the session was, Kostecki’s time was 0.0194s away from Payne.
Championship leader Will Brown secured his shootout position in fifth, having spent the majority of the session out of the window, while Chaz Mostert was sixth.
Andre Heimgartner, Jack Le Broc, Anton de Pasquale and Richie Stanaway rounded out those who will contest Saturday’s shootout.
As a result of causing the red flags, both Reynolds and Davison saw their best times struck from the record, leaving them 21st and 16th respectively.
The Supercars will be back on track at 10:05am Australian Eastern Daylight Saving Time [12:05am BST], with a one-hour practice session for co-drivers only. There will be another hour’s practice at 1:10pm [3:10am BST] and the top 10 shootout is due to begin at 5:05pm [7:05am BST].
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SportsNews
Transfer: Atletico Madrid line up move for Ndidi

Published
18 hours agoon
February 17, 2025By
Ekwutos Blog
LaLiga giants, Atletico Madrid are still interested in Leicester City midfielder, Wilfred Ndidi.
Leicester City rejected offers for the Nigerian during the winter transfer window in order to fight for their survival in the Premier League.
According to Caught Offside, Atletico Madrid will move for Ndidi again at the end of the season.
Another Spanish club, Real Betis and Ligue 1 side, AS Monaco also have interest in the player.
Ndidi recently returned to action for Leicester City after spending around two months on the sidelines due to a hamstring injury.
Ekwutosblog recalls, the 28-year-old joined Leicester City from Belgian Pro League outfit, KRC Genk in January 2016.
He signed a new three-year contract with the former Premier League champions last summer.
SportsNews
Martin will “definitely” race in MotoGP’s Thailand GP

Published
2 days agoon
February 16, 2025By
Ekwutos Blog
Reigning MotoGP champion Jorge Martin is set to return to action in the Thailand Grand Prix after missing almost all of pre-season testing, Motorsport.com understands.
This Saturday marks one week since Aprilia’s new star rider was discharged by doctors following surgery on the right hand he broke at the start of the Sepang test.
Over the past week, the Spaniard has been resting at home, waiting for the fractures on his right hand and left foot (which did not require an operation) to heal.
Martin is expected to travel to Buriram later this month to contest the opening round of the season, scheduled on 28 February – 2 March.
“Jorge is doing well, progressing, and is planning to start training next week to be in better physical shape for Thailand,” said a person closer to the rider.
“He will definitely be at the first race, confirmed. Let’s see if he can prepare a little better physically before travelling. He has a medical appointment this [coming] week to check the progress of the fractures and determine if he can start training.”

Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing
© Autosport.com
Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing
Photo by: Aprilia Racing
With less than two weeks remaining until the Thai race, and his medical check-up expected on Monday or Tuesday, Martin will have only six-seven days remaining to get physically ready for the new season.
Apart from his own progress, Martin is believed to be excited about Aprilia’s results in the Buriram test, where team-mate Marco Bezzecchi set the third-quickest time and also showed strong pace on long runs.
“The best thing about Jorge is that he wants to know everything. Obviously, he regrets not being able to attend the tests, but we’ve been in constant contact minute-by-minute,” said Pablo Bonora, Aprilia’s technical director.
“Most of all, he wants to know our feedback on the parts we’ve tested, and it’s very interesting to listen to him because he has incredible energy.
“What we’ve focused on most is making a more manageable bike, and a lot of the improvement comes from the new 2025 engine, which has given us great feedback.”
When asked whether Aprilia was closing in on Ducati, Bonora said: “No, no, I don’t talk about others. Let’s skip that question [laughs].”
In the absence of Martin, Aprilia turned to its test rider Lorenzo Savadori to grab valuable mileage it would have otherwise lost.
“We’re happy with the test; we were clearly working for Jorge, with whom we’ve been in constant contact,” explained Savadori. “He wants to know everything, he asks about everything, everything.
“We’ve been working on a set-up that will allow Jorge to quickly get on the bike when he’s back here, at this same Thai track.”
While Aprilia is pleased with Bezzecchi’s work in pre-season testing, it is eager for Martin to get back at work.
“We’re waiting for Jorge because we need his confirmation, that’s for sure. For the first races, we will give him the base set-up we found during the winter,” Bonora said.
“Right now, his medical recovery plan is completely under control, and his sensations are improving day by day, so we can’t wait to have him with us as soon as possible.
“We hope that in these first races, he’ll quickly find confidence with the bike.
“To be honest, we’ll consider the first four races (Thailand, Argentina, Austin, and Qatar) as a test for Jorge. He lost the opportunity to test in Sepang and Buriram, and in MotoGP, when you switch from one bike [Ducati] to another [Aprilia], you need to find confidence.
“It won’t be easy, but we’ll do everything we can to help him. We saw that Marco quickly found confidence in Buriram, and that gives us confidence that we can provide Jorge with a good bike.”
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FA Cup: 14 teams qualify for fifth round [Full list]

Published
1 week agoon
February 10, 2025By
Ekwutos Blog
Three more teams have qualified for the FA Cup fifth round following the completion of ties on Sunday.
In the first game, Wolves defeated Blackburn Rovers 2-0 at Ewood Park.
Joao Gomes and Matheus Cunha scored within two first-half minutes, to seal the win for Victor Pereira’s side.
Plymouth recorded the shock result of the round, sending Premier League leaders, Liverpool out, with a narrow 1-0 win at Home Park.
Ryan Hardie stepped up eight minutes into the second half to drill home a penalty kick in emphatic fashion.
Aston Villa held on to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1. The Midlands club had taken a two-goal lead, thanks to Jacob Ramsey and Morgan Rogers. But new boy Mathys Tel pulled one back late in the game.
FULL LIST OF TEAMS IN FIFTH ROUND:
Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Brighton, Burnley, Cardiff City, Fulham, Ipswich Town, Manchester City, Manchester United, Millwall, Newcastle United, Plymouth Argyle, Preston North End, Wolves

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