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Jumping out of a plane may not be everyone's idea of preparing for a tennis tournament but Cameron Norrie has always done things a bit differently.

The British number two, who has a Scottish dad and Welsh mum, was born in South Africa and brought up in New Zealand before playing college tennis in the United States.

While many of his peers took the more conventional route from junior tennis to the professional Futures circuit, Norrie chose to combine his sport with studying for a sociology degree, in order to have a more "normal life".

Now, less than two years after turning professional, the 23-year-old left-hander - who calls his favourite shot a 'squirrel' - has stormed up the rankings to 41st in the world and reached his first ATP final. in January.

Norrie - who plays at the French Open, which starts on Sunday - tells BBC Sport about his Olympic dreams, being recognised in public for the first time and what happened the first time he met Andy Murray.

'Life is not all about tennis'

Norrie is often frank in his assessments - he ditched economics for sociology because "it was slightly easier", describes Wimbledon as "just another tournament" and says that what he learned from training with former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro was "honestly, nothing".

It is, perhaps, the result of three years of college life at Texas Christian University - where he says he grew up a lot - and demonstrates the sense of perspective that comes with broader interests.

"College tennis was huge for me, to give me the chance to mature a little bit and have more of a normal life," he said.

"Life on Tour is pretty tough when you are 17, 18 - travelling the world by yourself for the majority of the time. With college tennis, you have a decent social life, you can compete hard with your mates and you are working hard with them. You have interests outside of tennis too, which is huge.

"It was nice to have [studies] to switch off from the tennis, and to be able to go out with your mates and have a good time and then you are ready to practise the next day. I felt I found a good balance with that and it helped me a lot as a person."

Norrie thinks more players should consider the college route.

He said: "Life is not all about tennis. You want to be a pro tennis player from a young age but it takes so many steps - mentally and physically - just to get to the top of the game. So why not go and get a free education and live a more normal life?

"Learn about yourself, just grow up. If you still want to play your tennis, you have so many more years to play and you are going to save a lot of mental scarring from taking a lot of losses in the Futures.

"You lose at college and then you back are with your girlfriend the next day and everything is good. You don't lose any money, everything is paid for."

Filling the void - studying and skydiving

Norrie turned professional in June 2017, with one year of his studies remaining, and he admits it was hard to adjust.

"I struggled a little bit with that - getting used to the Tour life. Just hotel room after hotel room, you are by yourself," he said.

"When I first started, it was tough for me to find the other thing to fill the void.

"It's pretty tough to fill the time on the road when there is not much to do and you have to rest. I've kind of fallen into the trap of doing almost what every other tennis player does - a couple of other hobbies; I'm pretty into music and watching Netflix."

But he says he may start doing some online study courses "to keep busy" and last August he filled his time between tournaments by doing a skydive.

He should, perhaps, do a few more, as he reached the last four of the Los Cabos Open in Mexico that week.

"It was an unbelievable experience. It's not like it was a physically taxing - you just jump and you're done," he said.

"I had a good week that week - I made the semis, so I don't think it affected me too much; it was sick. We landed on the beach, so that's pretty soft."

Olympics in 2020 are 'big goal'

Last year Norrie made the headlines for what Britain's former captain John Lloyd called "one of the most impressive debuts of all time" in the Davis Cup.

Then 114th in the world, he came from two sets down to beat Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut, who was ranked 91 places above him.

He says having played college tennis meant he was used to the team environment of the Davis Cup.

"I did feel very comfortable because I've played in that format before, those kind of crowds, that kind of atmosphere in college already," he said. "So I've felt that before - not only playing for yourself but for your team - something greater than yourself."

And now Norrie, who switched allegiance from New Zealand to Great Britain in 2013 because of a lack of funding, has set his sights on more team tennis and hopes to be selected for next year's Tokyo Olympics.

"I've always wanted to play at the Olympics. It was always a big goal for me," he said. "It is just something different - you are going to play all these tournaments every year and the Olympics will be different and special."

Apart from the gulf in ranking, what made his Davis Cup performance even more impressive was that he was playing his first professional matches on a clay-court surface.

He will be back on the red dirt next week at the French Open, where he will be hoping to go further than last year, when he reached the second round.

"[The Davis Cup] did give me some confidence and I know I can play well on clay," he said.

"I like longer rallies and the more physical tennis and I think that is the way clay plays. If I go there and compete as hard as I can, I'm going to be happy, that's where my head is at."

When he plays, watch out for the 'squirrel' - where he runs around a forehand and hits it short inside out, making his opponent run.

Filling the Andy Murray gap

Norrie is among a group of British players hoping to fill the void left by the impending retirement of former world number one Andy Murray.

The three-time Grand Slam champion announced in January he would quit tennis this year, although he has since had hip resurfacing surgery and has appeared to soften his stance.

In his absence, the next generation are getting ready to stake their claim as Britain's next big thing in men's tennis, led by the country's number one Kyle Edmund - who won his first ATP title last October - and closely followed by Norrie.

"It's going to be tough to get to number one in the world like Andy did, to fill that gap, but we'll try," Norrie said.

The first time he met Murray was at Queen's in 2017 - and he was grateful when the two-time Wimbledon champion made the first move.

"He came up to me and my coach and introduced himself," Norrie said. "I thought it was pretty humble of him to go out of his way and introduce himself, I have a lot of respect for him as a person as well as a tennis player.

"I mean I'm not really going to go, 'Hi, I'm Cameron Norrie, do you know who I am' kind of thing?"

Norrie is, however, getting more used to being recognised.

"I landed at Heathrow and some guy said, 'Yeah, I knew you were going to be top 100, keep going'; someone just walked past me as I was waiting for my taxi," he said.

"It really surprised me, it was a pretty sick feeling to have someone in the UK recognise me."

That will inevitably happen more with Wimbledon just six weeks away and Norrie is ready to embrace the pressure that brings.

"I have the home support so I am just going to use that to my advantage," he said. "You can't run away from the pressure, you know it's there.

"But it's just a tennis match at the end of the day, so I'm just going to go out there and enjoy. You are playing at Wimbledon, you can't complain."

Impressively, Vlada Voronina ended the group stage unbeaten, the notable result being the straight games win in opposition to Italy’s Valentina Roncallo (11-7, 11-9, 11-3), the leading name in the group. A place in the main draw secured, Vlada Voronina maintained her form, she accounted for Turkey’s Olga Yilmez (15-13, 13-11, 13-11, 3-11, 11-6).

Similarly, for Svetlana Dmitrienko, she remained unbeaten to top her group, the impressive win being in opposition to the principal name, Lithuania’s Auguste Melaikaite (11-8, 11-6, 11-13, 12-10); success in the initial phase was followed by success in the first round. Focused, she accounted for Ukraine’s Alina Vydruchenko is straight games (11-8, 11-3, 11-4, 11-6).

Listed the second highest ranked players in their respective groups, it was one step higher for the Russian duo; for Sarvinoz Mirkadirova, it was two steps. She started proceedings, the third highest rated but finished in first place ahead of Ukraine’s Yaroslava Prykhodo, Poland’s Anna Kubiak and Slovakia’s Zuzana Pekova. She ended matters level with Yaroslava Prykhodo, the top name, two wins each but because when the two met, Sarvinoz Mirkadirova had emerged successful (11-1, 11-7, 12-10), the decision went in her favour.

Somewhat of a close call to secure first place in the group; it was the same in the opening round. She needed the full seven games to overcome Romania’s Claudia Caragea (14-12, 13-11, 6-11, 7-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-7).

Group qualification concluded, the top 16 seeds receiving direct entries to the main draw, the one notable name to stumble in the opening round was that of Slovakia’s Ema Labosova; the no.10 seed, she was beaten by Sweden’s Alma Roose (11-9, 11-9, 11-6, 10-12, 11-7). Notably, the top eight seeds received direct entries to round two.

Play in the junior girls’ singles event concludes on Thursday 23rd May.

One, two, three for Korea Republic

Korea Republic’s Park Gyeongtae, Hwang Jinha and Kang Dangsoo all finished their initial stage group matches with wins but with totally different outcomes.

Park Gyeongtae beat Chinese Taipei’s Cheng Hao-Huan (11-7, 11-9, 11-4) to secure first place in his group;  Hwang Jinha accounted for Thailand’s Thyme Sanglertsilpachai to reserve second spot and thus progress to the main draw, Kang Dangsoo accounted for Singapore’s Beh Kun Ting (11-13, 13-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9) but had to settle for third position and was thus eliminated.

The previous day Kang Dangsoo has lost the Japan’s Asuka Machi in three straight games (11-7, 11-4, 11-9) who had then suffered against Beh Kun Ting in four games (11-6, 7-11, 11-9, 11-6). Thus games ratio decided; first place for Asuka Machi (4:3), followed by Beh Kun Ting (5:4) and Kang Dongsoo (3:5).

First place for Jinnipa Sawettabut

Jinnipa Sawettabut delighted the home supporters; she beat Joanna Sung of the United States (11-2, 11-7, 11-5) to secure first place in her under 21 women’s singles group.

Impressive from Jinnipa Sawettabut, it was the same from Prithika Pavade of France; she accounted for Malaysia’s Tee Ai Xin (11-8, 11-9, 4-11, 11-8) to reserve first position in her group.

Success for Chinese Taipei

Contrary to original expectations Chinese Taipei’s Chien Tung-Chuan and Yu Hsiu-Ting both remained unbeaten to secure first places in their respective groups.

In their concluding matches, Chien Tung-Chuan recovered from a two games to nil deficit to beat Wong Xin Ru (4-11, 8-11, 11-2, 11-9, 11-7); rather less dramatically Yu Hsiu-Ting accounted for Camille Lutz of France (11-5, 11-3, 11-9).

Not a good morning for hosts

Defeats for the host nation’s Yanapong Panagitgun, Thyme Sanglertsilpachai and Wattanachai Samranvong meant no place in the main draw of the under 21 men’s singles event.

Yanapong Panagitgun lost to Belgium’s David Comeliau (2-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-6, 11-8), the effect being that Chinese Taipei’s Li Hsin-Yu finished in first place. Meanwhile, Korea Republic’s Baek Hogyun accounted for Thyme Sanglertsilpachai (11-9, 11-5, 11-8) to secure first place; a situation that applied also to Tai Ming-Wei, like Li Hsin-Yu from Chinese Taipei, who overcame Wattanachai Sanranvong (11-9, 11-2, 11-7).

Surprise first places

Unbeaten on the opening day of play, both Chinese Taipei’s Huang Yu-Jen and Singapore’s Beh Kun Ting maintained their form on the second morning of play. Each beat the top ranked player in their respective groups to secure first place and progress to the main draw.

Huang Yu-Jen beat Canada’s Jeremy Hazin (11-6, 2-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-6), Beh Kun Ting accounted for Italy’s Gabriele Piciulin (11-1, 11-5, 11-7).

Schedule of Play (Wednesday 21st & Thursday 22nd May

A total of 12 players aged 10 and 11 years attended, in addition to Ecuador the national associations of Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Uruguay were represented; the head coach was Ecuador’s Rafael Armendariz.

Thanks to the efforts of all concerned a most successful initiative was concluded, the accommodation and playing facilities met with the approval of all. Notably coaches exchanged ideas, the focus being very much directed towards improving the technical skills of the young players; footwork and consistency were high on the agenda.

Overall there was a most positive response, notably Peru’s José “Pepe” Perales and Brazil’s Julia Hatakeyama, alongside Colombia’s Jorge Gallego, all stated very clearly that they believed the week had been one of high value.

“I am very proud to have received such a high appointment by ITTF High Performance and Development, I am very well aware of the need to develop the skills of the future stars of South America and world table tennis.” Rafael Armendariz

Intense training, a highly competitive Challenge tournament concluded matters. Play organised on a group basis, in each event numbers limited to one entrant per national association, seven players in the boys’ singles event, four in the girls, Colombia’s Sebastian Bedoya and Ecuador’s Maybelline Menendes emerged the respective winners.

Both remained unbeaten, in the crucial contests to determine first place, Sebastian Bedoya beat Chile’s Jorge Garcia (11-8, 7-11, 11-7, 11-4), Maybelline Menendes overs Peru’s Noelia Colque (11-6, 11-5, 11-5). It was for the defeated their only loss, thus runners up spot was the end result.

All four players qualify for the Latin American Hopes Week and Challenge to be held later in the year; the remaining places will be filled by the winners of the under 11 events as the South American Under 11 and Under 13 Championships which commenced in Cuenca on Wednesday 22nd May.

Nour El Tayeb dives across the court against Annie Au

Nour saves two match balls before winning 13-11 in the fifth
By SEAN REUTHE in Hull

Egypt’s World No.3 Nour El Tayeb overturned two match balls to come through a gripping five-game battle with Hong Kong’s Annie Au at Hull’s Allam Sport Centre as she booked her place in the quarter-finals of the 2019 Allam British Open, PSA Platinum event.

Au hadn’t beaten El Tayeb since the 2010 PSA World Championships, but the World No.11 outplayed the Egyptian in the opening two games, winning the opener 13-11 on the tie-break, before following that up with an 11-7 triumph in the second.

A fired-up El Tayeb – who yesterday defeated Malaysian legend Nicol David in the final match of the eight-time World Champion’s career – finally got her game going in the third and fourth games as she came back to level, but she lost her focus to allow Au back into the encounter in the fifth.

Au moved ahead to hold two match balls, but El Tayeb dug in to come back and complete the win, and the tenacious 26-year-old will line up against World No.5 Joelle King in the next round.

“Ali [husband and men’s World No.1, Farag] and Raneem [women’s World No.1, El Welily] kept pushing me on,” said El Tayeb afterwards.

“They gave me the motivation to try harder after the second game. I don’t know if I wasn’t trying hard enough. When you get stuck in her game, it’s suffocating to get out of, so Raneem and Ali were trying to push me on.

“I told Ali that I could do it on my own, but apparently not yet. I thought I didn’t need him, but apparently I’m not over that. He gave me a big push, and just knowing someone is there and believes in you makes a lot of difference.”

King overcame England’s World No.12 Alison Waters in straight games to earn her spot in the quarter-finals, while World No.1 Raneem El Welily (pictured) dispatched United States No.1 Amanda Sobhy by the same scoreline.

El Welily, the 2018 British Open runner-up, has won her last three PSA tournaments – beating Sobhy in two of them – and she extended her unbeaten run to 15 matches with a 12-10, 11-6, 11-6 win in just 26 minutes.

“It was very important to take the first,” said 30-year-old El Welily. “I’m happy to be trying my best in every match and that is something that I have been working on with my coach, who is here with me, and was giving me the right tactics at the right time. Doing my best is the thing that I’ve been doing. I’m enjoying myself and just trying to do my best in every match, and wherever that takes me, I will be pleased with it.”

El Welily will play Egypt’s Nouran Gohar in the next round in what will be a repeat of last month’s El Gouna International final, in which the World No.1 triumphed. Gohar will now look to end a six-match losing streak to her fellow Egyptian after downing Hong Kong’s Joey Chan 3-0.

In the men’s draw, World No.34 Mazen Hesham advanced to his first major PSA quarter-final since November 2015 after he got the better of France’s Lucas Serme by a 3-1 scoreline.

Hesham (pictured) rose to a career-high ranking of World No.13 off the back a run to the semi-finals of the Qatar Classic that month, but a hip problem has seen him tumble down the rankings in recent years.

The 25-year-old looked to be back towards his best as he scalped World No.8 Diego Elias in the previous round, and he followed that up with victory over Serme to set up a quarter-final meeting with New Zealand’s Paul Coll, who beat World No.18 Fares Dessouky.

Hesham said: “I’ve been struggling badly, and I’m still struggling slightly, but there is hope at the end of the tunnel.

“I need to thank Omar Abdel Aziz, my coach, who persuaded me to come to Hull. I had such a bad season, I hadn’t had a good win against a top 10 player for three or four years. Omar is not just my coach, he cares, and really wants me to do well, so I kept pushing.”

Elsewhere, men’s World No.1 Ali Farag ended a three-match losing streak to World No.21 Marwan ElShorbagy to earn his place in the last eight for a fourth year in succession.

Farag, 27, has struggled to get the better of ElShorbagy over the past 18 months and lost to his compatriot in the final of the El Gouna International last year. However, after a nervy start to the match, Farag soon took control to win 11-8, 11-1, 11-2 in 31 minutes.

“It’s a very big win,” said Cairo-born Farag. “To play Marwan in the last 16 is a lot of pressure. I’m really happy with the way I dealt with it, the first game could have gone either way, I think that made a psychological difference, and I’m really happy with the way I pushed on after that.”

Farag will line up against the only person to beat him so far in 2019 – World No.9 Mohamed Abouelghar – in the next round, with Abouelghar beating France’s Gregoire Marche in straight games.

Third round action at the Allam Sport Centre continues tomorrow (Thursday May 23rd) with play getting under way at 12:00 (GMT+1). Play will be shown on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour. 

Ali Farag at full stretch against Marwan ElShorbagy

Allam British Open 2019, University of Hull Sports and Fitness Centre, Hull, England.

Men’s Third Round (Top Half): 
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bt Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) 3-0: 11-8, 11-1, 11-2 (31m)
[7] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) bt Gregoire Marche (FRA) 3-0: 12-10, 11-2, 11-2 (40m)
Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt Lucas Serme (FRA) 3-1: 11-4, 11-6, 4-11, 11-7 (48m)
[4] Paul Coll (NZL) bt Fares Dessouky (EGY) 3-1: 11-5, 11-7, 9-11, 11-5 (66m)

Women’s Third Round (Top Half): 
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) bt [12] Amanda Sobhy (USA) 3-0: 12-10, 11-6, 11-6 (26m)
[7] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bt Joey Chan (HKG) 3-0: 11-5, 11-8, 11-3 (23m)
[5] Joelle King (NZL) bt [10] Alison Waters (ENG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-8, 11-6 (32m)
[3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt [11] Annie Au (HKG) 3-2: 11-13, 7-11, 11-9, 11-4, 13-11 (50m)

Men’s Third Round (Bottom Half, May 23):
[3] Simon Rösner (GER) v Omar Mosaad (EGY)
Zahed Salem (EGY) v [5] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
[6] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) v Cesar Salazar (MEX)
Daryl Selby (ENG) v [2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY)

Men’s Quarter-Finals (Top Half, May 24):
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) v [7] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY)
Mazen Hesham (EGY) v [4] Paul Coll (NZL)

Women’s Third Round (Bottom Half, May 23):
[4] Camille Serme (FRA) v [9] Tesni Evans (WAL)
Nele Gilis (BEL) v Tinne Gilis (BEL)
[6] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) v [15] Joshna Chinappa (IND)
[13] Victoria Lust (ENG) v [2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY)

Women’s Quarter-Finals (Top Half, May 24):
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) v [7] Nouran Gohar (EGY)
[4] Joelle King (NZL) v [3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
 

Report by SEAN REUTHE (PSA PR and Media Director). Edited by ALAN THATCHER.

Pictures courtesy of PSA

Posted on May 22, 2019

Exeter's England and British and Irish Lions winger Jack Nowell says the pain of losing last year's Premiership final has spurred them on this season.

The Chiefs topped the league for a second successive season and will host Northampton in Saturday's semi-final.

Having been champions in 2017, Exeter lost to Saracens in last year's final.

"The boys were extremely upset from it and coming through this year, it's been important for us to remember that," Nowell, 26, told BBC Sport.

"We've worked so hard to get ourselves in this position, another home semi-final, we've done that and worked so hard to get there it'd be a shame to let ourselves down in one game.

"We felt that we let our side down and the fans down as well and it's one pain that none of us ever want to have again."

'Last year the boys genuinely hurt'

Nowell has been key to Exeter's recent rise - he has started all three of the club's Premiership finals - scoring a try in Exeter's first loss to Saracens at Twickenham in the 2016 showpiece and also dotting down as the Chiefs beat Wasps 12 months later for their first title.

"In the first year we lost it, there wasn't the same level of pain because it was a remarkable year for us," explained Exeter's director of rugby Rob Baxter.

"It was the first time in the top four, a home semi-final, getting to a final and the first time in a final. The season ended with it having been a fantastic season for us, our best ever, more than we could have dreamed of.

"The following year winning it was a great experience, but last year the boys genuinely hurt.

"I looked around the changing room and it was silent. It was upset and it was a little angry and I would like to think those same players that probably felt they let themselves down a little bit last year will be some of the guys who start driving us over the next two weeks."

World Cup dreams

With a World Cup on the horizon, Saturday's semi-final and a potential final at Twickenham seven days later, are also a chance for players such as Nowell to stake their claim for a place on the plane to Japan.

Eddie Jones names his initial squad in June before whittling it down to the final party a month later.

Nowell, who was a fringe member of the 2015 World Cup squad, faces stiff competition for a place on the wing as he looks to add to his 35 England caps.

Chris Ashton, Joe Cokanasiga, Elliot Daly and Jonny May featured alongside him in the Six Nations this year while Bath's Anthony Watson is returning to fitness and Gloucester youngster Ollie Thorley has earned rave reviews.

"You're getting a chance to play more for your club in front of Eddie, other teams aren't getting a chance to do that," explained Nowell.

"Eddie always says that Heineken Cup games are closest to what a Six Nations or international would be, and I think semi-finals and finals are going to be very close to that as well.

"They're extremely difficult, so any chance to play for your club in front of the coaches is obviously a big one.

"If we're doing well and we play well in the semi-final and hopefully get through and win the final, that's only going to help you put your hand up."

Gloucester fly-half Danny Cipriani has been crowned the Premiership Player of the Season to secure an awards double.

The 31-year-old had already won the Rugby Players Association's annual award earlier this month.

He is only the second player, after Wasps' Jimmy Gopperth in 2017, to win both awards in the same season.

Sale's Faf De Klerk, Saracens' Alex Goode, Northampton's Cobus Reinach, Exeter's Matt Kvesic and Bristol's Steven Luatua were also nominated.

Saracens' Mark McCall won the Director of Rugby of the Season award, after leading the north London club to a third European Champions Cup title, with a Premiership semi-final play-off against Gloucester on Saturday to come.

Cipriani has been pivotal to the Cherry and Whites' revival in his first season at Kingsholm, assisting more tries - 13 - than any other player in the Premiership to lead his side to third place.

"You have to adapt to the style of the team and the coaches involved, and I can only speak highly of Danny's commitment to the team," said Gloucester head coach Johan Ackermann, who was also nominated for the director of rugby award alongside Exeter's Rob Baxter, Northampton's Chris Boyd and Bristol's Pat Lam.

"He's set up into the culture, he's open and of course he's made a serious impact on the field."

'Best skill I've seen from a fly-half'

Cipriani, who has won 16 caps for England, has only played twice for his country under head coach Eddie Jones on last summer's tour to South Africa.

But the former Wasps and Sale player still harbours hopes of forcing his way into Jones' preliminary World Cup training squad ahead of the tournament in Japan starting in September.

"He's probably got the best skill I've seen from a fly-half from an attacking point of view," Ackermann added. "He can kick well and he's extremely fast. He knows what he wants in attack and his distribution is top class."

Elsewhere, Sale's 20-year-old flanker Tom Curry, who established himself as England's open-side during this year's Six Nations, won the Discovery of the Season award.

Veteran Saracens scrum-half Richard Wigglesworth also won a special award after surpassing Steve Borthwick on the Premiership's all-time appearance list.

Sale's Denny Solomona and Northampton's Reinach shared the award for top try-scorer with 12, while Gloucester winger Ollie Thorley won the Try of the Season award for his score against Leicester.

Leicester fly-half George Ford won the Golden Boot award after amassing 201 points for the Tigers.

Premiership Dream Team: Alex Goode (Saracens); Santiago Cordero (Exeter), Henry Slade (Exeter), Mark Atkinson (Gloucester), Ollie Thorley (Gloucester); Danny Cipriani (Gloucester), Cobus Reinach (Northampton); Mako Vunipola (Saracens), Jamie George (Saracens), John Afoa (Bristol), Franco Mostert (Gloucester), Will Skelton (Saracens), Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins), Tom Curry (Sale), Matt Kvesic (Exeter).

Edsel Ford To Receive Landmark Award

Published in Racing
Wednesday, 22 May 2019 14:31

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Edsel B. Ford II was named winner of the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR as part of the 2020 NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee announcement Wednesday afternoon.

Ford is a member of the Ford Motor Co. board of directors and was selected over fellow nominees Alvin Hawkins, Mike Helton, Dr. Joseph Mattioli and Ralph Seagraves.

Ford reacted to earned the award Wednesday evening.

“It means a great deal to me. I’m honored to be given this award and I feel I have an ambassadorial role within Ford Motor Co. and NASCAR, so it’s wonderful,” Ford said. “I’m truly honored.”

Ford said he was surprised to be recognized.

“It was surprise. I love this sport. I love being around NASCAR,” he explained. “I told my boys when they were growing up I said, ‘From my experience the one group of people that won’t disappoint you are racers.’ I say that because they’re transparent, they’re frank, they bring their families to the races. I’ve known a lot of race car drivers all my life. I’m going to Jackie Stewart’s 80th birthday in two weeks, so I’ve known them a long time. My kids love racing as much as I do, so it’s fun.”

Ford is the great-grandson of Ford founder Henry Ford.

“I think he’d be thrilled,” Edsel Ford II said. “He was a racer and he knew the benefit of automobile racing, so I think he would be thrilled. At least I hope he would be.”

Stewart, Gibbs, Labonte Lead Hall Of Fame Class

Published in Racing
Wednesday, 22 May 2019 14:43

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Two championship-winning drivers, one of stock car racing’s most popular wheelmen, a team owner and legendary crew chief make up the 11thclass of inductees to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

The announcement was made Wednesday afternoon.

Interestingly, three members of the class worked together for several seasons as three-time NASCAR premier series champion Tony Stewart and 2000 premier series champion Bobby Labonte having both driven for Joe Gibbs Racing and team owner Joe Gibbs. All three will be inducted to the Hall of Fame on Jan. 31.

The final two inductees are driver Buddy Baker and crew chief Waddell Wilson.

In addition, NASCAR announced that Edsel Ford II earned the 2020 Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR

The NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel met Wednesday in a closed session at the Charlotte Convention Center to narrow the 20 Hall of Fame nominees down to a class of five.

The Class of 2020 was determined by votes cast by the Voting Panel, including representatives from NASCAR, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, track owners from major facilities and historic short tracks, media members, manufacturer representatives, competitors (drivers, owners, crew chiefs), recognized industry leaders, a nationwide fan vote conducted through NASCAR.com and, for the sixth year, the reigning Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion (Joey Logano).

Fifty-seven votes were cast, with two additional Voting Panel members recused from voting as potential nominees for induction (Ricky Rudd and Waddell Wilson). The accounting firm of EY presided over the tabulation of the votes.

Stewart received a whopping 88 percent of the vote with Gibbs getting 72 percent. Wilson (72 percent), Baker (70 percent) and Labonte (67 percent).

The top vote getters to miss the cut were eight-time NASCAR touring champion Mike Stefanik, Ray Fox and Hershel McGriff.

Baker led the fan voting that was conducting via NASCAR.com. Following Baker in the fan vote were Neil Bonnett, Harry Gant, Labonte and Stewart.

Dodson Joins Vizion For Charlotte ARCA Debut

Published in Racing
Wednesday, 22 May 2019 15:45

CONCORD, N.C. – Twenty-year-old Devin Dodson will make his ARCA Menards Series debut during Thursday night’s General Tire 150 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Dodson, from Bishopville, Md., will drive the No. 35 Toyota for Vizion Motorsports at the 1.5-mile quad-oval as he makes his first start in the series.

“I’m looking forward to joining Jenn and all the folks with Vizion Motorsports for my first start at Charlotte with the ARCA Menards Series,” said Dodson. “We’ve talked about doing some other races, but for now, Charlotte is the only one we have for sure on our schedule. It’s one I’m really excited about, though. I know it’s going to a big challenge, but it’s one I’m looking forward to tackling.

“Going into Charlotte, I really do feel confident in the team and the car. It’s going to be the biggest track I’ve raced on, but I’m excited for the high speeds and the intensity that will come with that,” Dodson continued. “I can’t thank everyone involved enough for making this happen and hope we can give them all a great showing as I get my foot in the door with ARCA.”

Dodson made five NASCAR K&N Pro Series starts last season with Jefferson Pitts Racing, split between the East and West divisions. He earned three top-10 finishes in those appearances, including a career-best sixth in the first Twin 100 in Tucson, Ariz., with the West.

Team owner Jenn Brown noted she’s looking forward to helping Dodson develop his skills as he advances up the racing ladder and into the national spotlight for the first time.

“We’re excited to have Devin join us for this weekend’s General Tire 150,” said Brown. “He tested with us at Charlotte not too long ago, and he definitely has the skillset and the natural feel for the car that it takes to be successful. His feedback is already impressive for his age and we’re hoping for a successful outing with him on Thursday night under the lights.”

Dodson noted that his goals for his ARCA debut are straightforward: gain knowledge and finish.

“We don’t want to do anything too crazy; my goal is to finish on the lead lap and take this journey in baby steps,” Dodson noted. “I want to get through the race – race hard – but learn a lot and get prepared for the future.

“If we can do that and challenge for a top-15 spot, I’ll feel really good about where we’re at.”

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