A round up of other sports stories
McLaren suggest drivers may compete for Friday jackpot
MOTOR SPORT: Formula One drivers could compete for a €706,000 Friday jackpot as part of a revamp of grand prix weekends, McLaren chief executive Martin Whitmarsh has suggested.
"We (the teams) are looking at the whole format of a race weekend," he said after Sundays first night-time race in Singapore. "At the moment we have formulated a Friday testing format, but in reality no one is doing the normal disciplined testing. We are preparing for the race (instead). So we say, Is this good value? Does it help the show?'.
"Or do you perhaps do something where you say 'Let's cut it down to 45 minutes only'. Maybe you give a . . . different specification of tyres, a really hard tyre, and you create a mini-competition where everyone tries to set the fastest time and you give a million dollars to the winning driver?' It means there would be something to write about and it introduces the weekend.
Meanwhile, Williams made a loss of €31.4 million in 2007 compared to a deficit of €35.2 million in 2006, according to accounts filed by the Formula One team yesterday.
Williams are the only team not owned either wholly or in part by a car manufacturer or billionaire. The 2007 and 2006 figures compare against a registered profit of €46 million in 2005. However, that figure was inflated by deferred taxation and a one-off compensation payment for releasing British driver Jenson Button to Honda.
Ireland draw against Scots in seniors Home event
GOLF: Ireland opened their challenge to add the seniors Home International crown to the European title they won earlier in the year by being held to a share of the honours by Scotland at Tenby yesterday.
It was level pegging for most of the day with the foursomes and singles sessions both halved at the same time as England began their defence of the title with a narrow 5-4 victory over hosts Wales.
The foursomes all went to the wire. Mourne's Hugh Smyth and Bandon's John Carroll had a tense battle with Robert Stewart and Derek Murphy before prevailing by two holes. Adrian Morrow and Maurice Kelly were held to a share of the honours by Ian Hutcheon and John Fraser while Liam McNamara of Woodbrook and Nigel Duke, who came in as a late substitute for Arthur Pierse, went down on the last to Gordon MacDonald and Alexander Pirie.
Morrow got Ireland off to a cracking start in the singles with a 6 and 5 demolition of Robert Stewart and there were wins also for McNamara and Smyth. But with Kelly, Duke and Michael Coote all losing Ireland could only secure a halved match.
Meanwhile in the senior women's internationals at Little Aston, Birmingham, Ireland were overwhelmed 7½-½ by England as Wales beat Scotland 4-3. Only Sheena O'Brien Kenney salvaged a half point for Ireland.
