Maybe F1 is the only crowd that was bigger than at Brands last year,” he said.Fogarty’s first Superbikes victory on British soil was at Donington Park on 19 April, 1992. After falling in the first round, he saw off the factory mounted riders on an over-the-counter Ducati 888 Corsa. He has since cemented his relationship with Ducati, only interrupted by two frustrating years riding a Honda, with that hat-trick of titles. Last year he ran alone, but this season he teams up with Troy Corser, who became Australia’s first Superbike world champion in 1996 at the age of 24.Corser’s will be a formidable challenge, as will that of the Texan Colin Edwards and his Honda team-mate, Aaron Slight, but Fogarty’s competitive spirit has already surfaced in pre-season testing, where he was fastest at Kyalami.”I’m feeling really confident, really strong,” Fogarty confirmed.”The bike’s a lot like the one I had in ‘95, which was the easiest to ride. It’s not changed that much since the end of last year, but we’ve gone back to some of the things we had in ‘95 – smaller forks, smaller fuel tank, and just getting a better feel for the bike.

It’s very similar, but I’m quite happy with it.”So long as he remains content and occupied – “I’ve got to do something” – Fogarty will carry on racing “If I’m still winning I’ll continue next year But if I’m struggling and not winning I’ll quit this year Just see how the year goes really So as long as I’m still winning races I’m going to carry on. Anyway that’s what makes racing easy – just winning really.”On Sunday, the easy rider is back.WORLD SUPERBIKES 1999: 28 Mar South Africa, Kyalami; 18 Apr Australia, Phillip Island; 2 May Great Britain, Donington; 16 May Spain, Albacete; 30 May Italy, Monza; 13 June Germany, Nurburgring; 27 June San Marino, Misano; 11 July United States, Laguna Seca; 1 Aug Europe, Brands Hatch; 29 Aug Austria, A1 Ring; 5 Sept Netherlands, Assen; 12 Sept Germany, Hockenheim; 10 Oct Japan, Sugo.. CONTROVERSY HAS always been a part of the sport of figure skating and this year’s World Championships in Helsinki have sparked one. International Skating Union rules forbid judges from talking to each other, but Canadian television on Wednesday filmed the Ukrainian and Russian judges talking to each other during the pairs final.
What they said is unknown and Penny Dain, an ISU spokeswoman, said neither the referee or the assistant referee would comment on the incident. However, following usual practice, the event scores and procedures were to be reviewed yesterday.The Russians Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze won the pairs in a decision that brought loud complaints from many spectators, who preferred Shen Xue and Hongbo Zhao after the Chinese pair presented more elements than the Russians. Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze prevailed on the strength of their straight 5.9s for presentation.Earlier in the Championships there was also much criticism of Maria Butyrskaya’s win in one of the women’s qualifying rounds.

The Russian fell badly and made several errors but was marked above performers who skated cleanly.On the sidelines of the World Figure Skating Championships, the ISU is putting on a promotional push for synchronised skating, a discipline that is more about fitting in than standing out.In synchronised skating, teams of 16 to 20 members undertake five compulsory formations – circles, lines, blocks, wheels and intersections. It’s like combining a marching band with a chorus line and sending them out on the ice.The ISU holds its first World Championship in synchronised skating next year in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and hopes the event will help legitimise what some traditionalists regard as a slightly vulgar entertainment rather than a proper sport.. EVEN THE news that the reliable left-handed batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul has once more been ruled out by a lingering shoulder injury could not diminish rekindled West Indian optimism on the eve of the critical third Test against Australia, starting at the Kensington Oval today. The 24-year-old Chanderpaul was included in the squad only to have to withdraw yesterday because of the injury he has carried since the end of the South African tour in February. He is the accredited No 3, with an average of 42.05 in his 35 Tests, and his continued absence will be keenly felt by a team with batting that relies too heavily on captain Brian Lara.
It was Lara’s magnificent 213 that inspired a thoroughly unexpected victory in the second Test in Kingston and levelled a series in jeopardy of developing into another one-sided embarrassment for West Indies’ cricket. Prolonged despondency as a result of a 5-0 thrashing in South Africa and their lowest Test total – 51 – in the first Test against Australia was replaced by instant euphoria, a mood change no more obvious than yesterday morning when the mounted police had to be summoned to disperse the enthusiastic crowds encircling West Indies’ final practice session. Banners of support span main roads in Bridgetown, the radio call-in programmes are filled with optimistic predictions and tickets are sold out.Carl Hooper, like Chanderpaul from Guyana, does return to the West Indies team after missing the first two Tests while away in Australia with his wife and seriously ill infant son.