Suzuka losers in weather stakes
THERE will be a twinge of familiarity about today’s typhoon-hit Japanese Grand Prix when Mercedes attempt to storm to a sixth consecutive constructors’ title.
And to the annoyance of Formula One bosses it will no doubt lead to calls for a schedule reshuffle after this Suzuka showdown was victim of a late cancellation for the third time in 15 years.
With the most powerful typhoon of 2019 wreaking havoc on Japan, circuit officials took the decision to postpone qualifying until just four hours before this morning’s race when it is hoped conditions will have improved.
The race in Japan has been hit by bad weather in the past, with qualifying staged on Sunday morning on two occasions, in 2004 and
2010.
It is an all-too-familiar setback for F1 but they will be unable to make any imminent changes after the 2020 calendar – which features a record
22 races – was given the green light this month.
An option for 2021, when the Japanese GP’s current contract expires, would be to move the race forward to the first half of the season where other Asia races, including China take place.
The lucrative contracts signed by rival circuits may make this difficult but scheduling a race in typhoon season in Japan is beginning to come back to bite F1.
Thousands of sandbags arrived at the track in a bid to prevent the 3.6-mile course from flooding. The paddock was effectively packed away with high winds battering the area.
Residents were instructed to stay inside yesterday and that included Lewis Hamilton, who ditched the idea spend his day off yesterday in Tokyo, 250 miles to the north east. JUSTIN HOLBROOK’S Saints were crowned Super League champions to deny Salford the dream ending to their fairytale season.
The Red Devils’ stunning march to the Grand Final was the biggest underdog story in Super League history.
They were relegation candidates at the start of the season, in danger of going bust not that long ago and have a squad made up of misfits and rejects.
Ian Watson’s men have defied all the odds and won an army of new fans along the way, with every neutral in the game rooting for them here.
But Saints, and Australia-bound coach Holbrook (right) had their own redemption story to write. And they refused to let Salford add to their recent reputation as big-game bottlers.
The huge favourites threatened to strangle the life out of the Red Devils early on, then weathered a Salford revival before hitting them with 11 unanswered second-half points.
Saints probably deserved it after finishing the regular season a record 16 points clear of their nearest opponents. But Watson’s side can hold their heads high after putting up a terrific scrap on the biggest stage of their lives.
They showed their early nerves in their first Grand Final with a mistake by captain Lee Mossop in the second tackle of the game.
This was quickly followed by Gil Dudson giving away a soft penalty and Saints would have been rubbing their hands in glee.
This, they knew, was their chance to avenge the agonies of two semi-final miseries last year and defeat in this year’s Challenge Cup Final.
And, with the early helping hand from Salford, they went hunting for glory like a pack of hungry dogs. They ruthlessly
KEVIN NAIQAMA
JONNY LOMAX went for an early strike that they hoped would deal a devastating blow to the Red Devils’ joy at being at Old Trafford.
Salford gamely withstood the one-way traffic until the 15th minute when the pressure finally told. Man mountain Alex Walmsley was once again playing like a front-row wrecking machine with Luke Thompson. Morgan Knowles sat on Walmsley’s shoulder as he charged towards the line and then took a short pass to dive over for the first try.
The punishment continued as Saints winger Regan Grace let rip with a superb 40-metre break.
It was a sign that more danger was lurking around the corner and so it proved with a splendidly worked second Saints try.
Hooker James Roby broke down the short side from a scrum, after a Ken Sio knock-on, and then swivelled backwards to
JAMES ROBY
DOM PEYROUX