2003

Home hero Dani Pedrosa was left fuming after finished just fourth in last Sunday's 125cc Spanish Grand Prix, blaming rival Stefano Perugini for his poor performance in front of his home fans.

The Fulfilment Factory Monarchs make their bow in the 2003 Premier Knockout Cup this Friday when King's Lynn come to Armadale for the first time. The Stars have made an exceptional start, sitting at the top of the table.

Over the Jerez weekend it was announced that, following a request from the MotoGP riders, the 'neutralisation' procedure announced before the start of the season for use in rain-interrupted races has been scrapped.

Simon Andrews and the Red Piranha Racing team travel to Scotland for the fifth round of the British Supersport Championship at Knockhill this weekend with high hopes of another podium position after their best result yet at the last round at Oulton Park.

Australian Mark Webber has taken a slight dig at his Jaguar team following their lack of support for his team-mate, Antonio Pizzonia.

CAS Honda riders Gordon Crockard and Yoshitaka Atsuta were in scintillating form at Hawkstone Park on Sunday, round four of the 2003 British Motocross Championship.

Tony Kanaan and Robby Gordon placed their Andretti Green Racing Dallara-Honda's on the front row in a cold and blustery "Pole Day" qualifying session on Sunday for the 87th running of the Indianapolis 500.

In celebration of his historic win at Knockhill last Sunday in the 2003 British F3 Championship gripped by Avon Tyres, Nelson Piquet Jnr.

Coventry Bees owner Avtar Sandhu has paid tribute to the Ochiltree family following their departure from Coventry International Motor Speedway. Sandhu, who bought out Midlands Sports Stadiums last year, has confirmed that the Ochiltree family's 56-year connection with Brandon is now over.

M J Church Kawasaki's Marko Kovalainen rode to a strong fifth overall at round four of the British Motocross Championship on Sunday, while his team mate Carl Nunn (pictured) ended the day at Hawkstone Park in Seventh after an up and down day.

Current Formula 1 World Championship leader, Kimi Raikkonen, attended the Ice Hockey World Championships in Finland on Sunday 11th May.

Hull Vikings will race a specially chosen Select Team on Wednesday 28 May. This team will be made up largely of ex-Vikings and other riders popular with the Hull fans.

The MotoGP circus welcomed the arrival of yet another new partner this week, with Austrian notebook computer manufacturer Gericom joining the show in the wake of the weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.

Much to everyone's surprise, Yamaha Dixon's 125cc star Billy MacKenzie was back in action on Sunday only eight days after dislocating his ankle while competing at the Grand Prix of Europe.

Adult debutant Oliver Sandiford-Smith was the sensation of Hawkstone Park on Sunday, the nervous youngster - who turned 15 years old just two weeks ago - arriving at the Maxxis British Championship unsure if he could even qualify, but would finish his first race in a magnificent fourth.

MG XPOWER girls Liz Buncombe, Rachel Palmer and Catherine Taylor Dawson spend most of their weekends with MG sunbathing and dancing on top of the MG XPOWER support vehicles, but in midst of all this at Brands Hatch they managed to take a well earned break and discuss their role for MG.

For WilliamsF1 driver, this weekend's grand prix could legitimately be classified as the first of three 'home' races in 2003, as it takes place in his adopted place of residence.

While Nobuatsu Aoki gave the Proton KR team a well deserved top ten finish at Jerez yesterday, all eyes remain on the teams long awaited V5 four-stroke project, which the team hope will make its debut next time out in France.

Having qualified an amazing one-two for yesterday's Spanish Grand Prix, Ducati riders Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss nearly eliminated each other even before the race began after a heart-stopping incident on the formation lap, which wasn't caught on camera - and left both of them injured before

Valentino Rossi scorched to his fifth GP victory at Jerez yesterday, in front of 128,000 fanatical fans, and in doing so increased his championship lead to 14 points over rival Max Biaggi, some 6.3 seconds behind the Repsol rider in second on Sunday.

"I think actually the car, the other night when we did the first few laps, was slightly faster. There is a problem with the electronic throttle, which we have installed, which tends to make a lot of spikes in the boost because it operates directly the butterfly.

Nelson Piquet Junior [Piquet Sports] wins round 8 of the British F3 championship at Knockhill; Jamie Green [Carlin] is second; Michael Keohane [Promatecme] third; Steven Kane [T-Sport] takes the Scholarship class win - seventh overall. Race results - Rd. 8 - Knockhill:

Drivers / Co-drivers: Marcus Gronholm and Timo Rautiainen (Peugeot), Carlos Sainz and Marc Marti (Citroen), and Richard Burns and Robert Reid (Peugeot). Team Principal: Corrado Provera (Peugeot). Interviewer: Anthony Peacock.

The leading MotoGP class World Championship standings after today's Spanish Grand Prix, at Jerez, round three of the championship.