All to count in final IndyCar race Rabbitohs to meet Eels
MOTORSPORT RUGBY LEAGUE
WELLINGTON: The IndyCar championship will be decided at the season finale at St Petersburg, Florida later this month.
New Zealander Scott Dixon has been unable to clinch his sixth title at the penultimate race in Indianapolis after finishing in eighth place.
Championship rival Josef Newgarden, who won the opening race of the doubleheader in Indianapolis, has finished fourth to trim Dixon’s series lead to 32 points.
‘‘We tried everything that race. You know we were flat out,’’
Dixon said, after starting from 15th on the grid.
‘‘Interesting day for us.
‘‘I think we’re 32 points out in the lead now. I think we have to be ninth or better come St Pete so still a lot of hard work here.
‘‘As always the NTT IndyCar series comes down to the final race, even without double points and the lead that we had, over a 100 points at one stage.’’
Dixon had led by as many as 117 points, but has finished outside the top five in four straight races and has seen Newgarden eat away at his advantage.
‘‘It’s nice to still be on the leading side of the points at this stage. It’s still a good margin,’’ he said.
‘‘They’ve been very good in St Pete, too, for many years so we’re definitely going to have our work cut out.’’
The Grand Prix of St Petersburg will be take place early on Monday, October 26, New Zealand time. — RNZ
SYDNEY: South Sydney hooker Damien Cook led his side to a 4620 win over Newcastle in their NRL elimination final in Sydney last night.
The Rabbitohs are now 80 minutes away from their third preliminary final in as many seasons.
The win booked them a date with the Parramatta Eels at Bankwest Stadium on Saturday night, where the winner will play Penrith in a preliminary final in Sydney the following week.
The Melbourne Storm are one win away from the NRL grand final for the sixth straight season after beating the Eels 3624 in their qualifying final in Brisbane on Saturday.
The Storm will now have a week off before facing the winner of next weekend’s semifinal between the Sydney Roosters and Canberra Raiders.
The Raiders advanced to the second week of the finals after beating the Cronulla Sharks 3220 in their elimination final in Canberra on Saturday.
Nathan Cleary scored a firsthalf hattrick and kicked a crucial field goal as the Panthers held on to beat twotime defending premiers the Sydney Roosters 2928 on Friday night. — AAP