Hamilton pole place for Shanghai showdown
SPORTS LOG
final qualifying yesterday.
Hamilton pipped Ferrari rival Vettel by just 0.186 secs and said: “I didn’t know if I would be ahead or behind him. I just tried to eke out a little bit more time.”
His Mercedes team- mate Valtteri Bottas starts from third while Kimi Raikkonen lines up in fourth in the second Ferrari.
Britain’s Jolyon Palmer was demoted to the back of the grid for ignoring a yellow flag warning after new boy Antonio Giovinazzi crashed in his Sauber, Scot Paul di Resta warmed up for the German Touring Car Championship by setting a new lap record at Hockenheim.
The 2010 champ clocked 1min 30.238secs in his Mercedes. The Bathgate racer said: “We’ve shown we have a fast car and are in a strong position.” Scot John McPhee starts in pole place for today’s second round of the Moto3 GP World Championship in Argentina.
The Oban racer powered his 250cc Honda round the 2.98-mile Rio track in 1min 40.094secs and said: “We did that on old tyres so it looks like we’ve good race pace.” Harlequins dashed Melrose’s bid to regain their own sevens trophy at Greenyards yesterday as the Londoners won 31-19.
A try by skipper Bruce Colvine and a penalty try gave the hosts the edge at the midway stage.
But Quins ran in three tries, including a double from Charlie Walker. Murdo McAndrew’s try was a consolation. Caledonia Pride’s WBBL basketball play- off hopes were dented yesterday after an 86-70 reverse to Sevenoaks Suns.
Tricia Oakes scored 15 points but the Scots never recovered from going 26-11 behind early on. Kenyan Julius Indongo has warned Scottish challenger Ricky Burns not to repeat claims he won his IBF world lightwelterweight belt by a fluke.
The African faces an unification fight with Burns at the SSE Hydro on Saturday but is irked by talk that his title win over Eduard Troyanovsky was just a f luke. Indongo, 34, said: “I’ve heard what they’ve been saying – that it was a lucky punch. It’s always easy to talk. Bring Burns in front of me and we’ll see who is best.” Dundee Stars gave Grand Slam-chasing Cardiff Devils a scare yesterday as they led 2- 0 in the final period of their Elite League ice hockey play-off.
But Devils upped a gear and blasted four unanswered goals for a 4-2 victory. Kevin Hart and Brett Switzer got Stars’ goals. Former world snooker champ Graeme Dott is two wins from a return to the Crucible after a 10-3 victory over Allan Taylor in the second round of qualifying at Ponds Forge. Grange are one game from sealing hockey’s first division title after a 4-1 home win ove r Hillhead. Chal lengers Kelburne beat Wat sonians 6-1.