My time at Blogger has sadly come to an end. Unfortunately, it cannot provide some of the resources that I really need to stand out. With this change of appearance and website, there will also be a change in my writing. I won't just be releasing results and letting you know who did what and when. The name of the blog is analysis and this is something I haven't really done much of.
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Thank you.
Sunday 11 August 2013
Sunday 4 August 2013
Iversen's Italian Job
Niels-Kristian Iversen has continued his fantastic year in Grand Prix Speedway by winning his first ever meeting, in Terenzano, Italy. Britain's Tai Woffinden finished second with Emil Sayfutdinov third, meaning the championship race has been cut down to five point with four meetings remaining. The surprise performer of the night, Matej Zagar, finished fourth which increases his chances of a top eight finish.
The first two were reversed in the semi-finals as Woffinden beat Iversen in the first one, making it four consecutive wins for Woffinden. Nicki Pedersen was the man to miss out, finishing third, with Leon Madsen's first GP of the season ending in a semi-final exit. Zagar won the second semi-final with Sayfutdinov, who scraped through the heats, managed to overtake Jaroslaw Hampel on the penultimate lap to also creep in to the final. The last GP winner, Darcy Ward, again made it in to the semi-finals but couldn't beat any of his opponents.
It was the most open GP of the season with 12 of the 17 riders picking up a race win. The first heat of the night was restarted due to wildcard, Nicolas Covatti, moving at the start but all four returned to see Zagar pick up the three points. Sayfutdinov could only finish fourth in the opening with Pedersen second. There were wins for Iversen, Ward and Hampel in the first four heats. Gollob was disappointing with a fourth place, behind Hancock's second in heat two. Madsen, who is replaced the injured Andreas Jonsson, began with a third in heat three. Woffinden managed a second place in his first heat in the fourth.
Krzysztof Kasprzak won heat five with Pedersen and Sayfutidnov also picking up their first heat wins of the night. But Zagar had the best start of the night, winning heat eight to make it two wins in two. Woffinden made it two second places in heat six with Iversen going from first to fourth in heat eight. Ward managed to gain second after his win in a tough eighth heat.
There was drama in heat ten when it was initially restarted even though the start did look fine. Pedersen was the one who missed out after having a great start to begin with. It looked disastrous as Pedersen ended up being fourth in the restart with Greg Hancock winning it. But the heat wasn't over and the riders were called back from their garages as replays showed that the tapes hadn't gone up equally and the referee decided to restart the heat once more. Typically, Hancock ended up finishing fourth with Pedersen winning his second heat of the night, in the end.
The drama continued in to heat-11 as Iversen would lose control of his bike and crash in to Sayfutdinov. Fortunately, both were okay and Iversen was rightly excluded from the restart. It turned out to be a win for Woffinden over Sayfutdinov, a pattern of the meeting. There were two surprise wins in the third section of the night as Ales Dryml would win heat nine and Madsen heat-12, with Gollob scoring a second fourth place in that same heat.
Heat-13 would suffer a huge delay after the wildcard, Covatti, crashed out in the first corner and looked to land horribly on his chin. Treatment took a while before he left in an ambulance with only a wrist injury thankfully. The restart was won by Woffinden after Ward had gone down on the third lap but managed to continue. Iversen and Hampel would also win their second heats of the night with Hancock finally picking up his first victory in heat-15.
Substitute Nicolas Vicentin rode instead of Covatti in heat-16 but would end up breaking a chain and not completing the heat that was won by Hampel for his third victory of the night. Gollob completed his miserable night with a victory in heat-18 before Ward won his second heat of the in the 19th with Sayfutdinov only managing third. Woffinden took full advantage by winning heat number three in the final heat, but Hancock's fourth place meant Sayfutdinov just about qualified for the semi-finals. Championship standings after eight rounds:
1. Emil Sayfutdinov (Rus) 107
2. Tai Woffinden (Gbr) 102
3. Jaroslaw Hampel (Pol) 85
4. Nicki Pedersen (Den) 83
5. Chris Holder (Aus) 82 (Injured for rest of season)
6. Niels-Kristian Iversen (Den) 77
7. Matej Zagar (Slv) 75
8. Greg Hancock (Usa) 71
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9. Tomasz Gollob (Pol) 68
10. Freddie Lindgren (Swe) 61
11. Krzysztof Kasprzak (Pol) 59
12. Darcy Ward (Aus) 55
13. Martin Vaculik (Svk) 44
15. Andreas Jonsson (Swe) 39
16. Antonio Lindback (Swe) 34
The first two were reversed in the semi-finals as Woffinden beat Iversen in the first one, making it four consecutive wins for Woffinden. Nicki Pedersen was the man to miss out, finishing third, with Leon Madsen's first GP of the season ending in a semi-final exit. Zagar won the second semi-final with Sayfutdinov, who scraped through the heats, managed to overtake Jaroslaw Hampel on the penultimate lap to also creep in to the final. The last GP winner, Darcy Ward, again made it in to the semi-finals but couldn't beat any of his opponents.
It was the most open GP of the season with 12 of the 17 riders picking up a race win. The first heat of the night was restarted due to wildcard, Nicolas Covatti, moving at the start but all four returned to see Zagar pick up the three points. Sayfutdinov could only finish fourth in the opening with Pedersen second. There were wins for Iversen, Ward and Hampel in the first four heats. Gollob was disappointing with a fourth place, behind Hancock's second in heat two. Madsen, who is replaced the injured Andreas Jonsson, began with a third in heat three. Woffinden managed a second place in his first heat in the fourth.
Krzysztof Kasprzak won heat five with Pedersen and Sayfutidnov also picking up their first heat wins of the night. But Zagar had the best start of the night, winning heat eight to make it two wins in two. Woffinden made it two second places in heat six with Iversen going from first to fourth in heat eight. Ward managed to gain second after his win in a tough eighth heat.
There was drama in heat ten when it was initially restarted even though the start did look fine. Pedersen was the one who missed out after having a great start to begin with. It looked disastrous as Pedersen ended up being fourth in the restart with Greg Hancock winning it. But the heat wasn't over and the riders were called back from their garages as replays showed that the tapes hadn't gone up equally and the referee decided to restart the heat once more. Typically, Hancock ended up finishing fourth with Pedersen winning his second heat of the night, in the end.
The drama continued in to heat-11 as Iversen would lose control of his bike and crash in to Sayfutdinov. Fortunately, both were okay and Iversen was rightly excluded from the restart. It turned out to be a win for Woffinden over Sayfutdinov, a pattern of the meeting. There were two surprise wins in the third section of the night as Ales Dryml would win heat nine and Madsen heat-12, with Gollob scoring a second fourth place in that same heat.
Heat-13 would suffer a huge delay after the wildcard, Covatti, crashed out in the first corner and looked to land horribly on his chin. Treatment took a while before he left in an ambulance with only a wrist injury thankfully. The restart was won by Woffinden after Ward had gone down on the third lap but managed to continue. Iversen and Hampel would also win their second heats of the night with Hancock finally picking up his first victory in heat-15.
Substitute Nicolas Vicentin rode instead of Covatti in heat-16 but would end up breaking a chain and not completing the heat that was won by Hampel for his third victory of the night. Gollob completed his miserable night with a victory in heat-18 before Ward won his second heat of the in the 19th with Sayfutdinov only managing third. Woffinden took full advantage by winning heat number three in the final heat, but Hancock's fourth place meant Sayfutdinov just about qualified for the semi-finals. Championship standings after eight rounds:
1. Emil Sayfutdinov (Rus) 107
2. Tai Woffinden (Gbr) 102
3. Jaroslaw Hampel (Pol) 85
4. Nicki Pedersen (Den) 83
5. Chris Holder (Aus) 82 (Injured for rest of season)
6. Niels-Kristian Iversen (Den) 77
7. Matej Zagar (Slv) 75
8. Greg Hancock (Usa) 71
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9. Tomasz Gollob (Pol) 68
10. Freddie Lindgren (Swe) 61
11. Krzysztof Kasprzak (Pol) 59
12. Darcy Ward (Aus) 55
13. Martin Vaculik (Svk) 44
15. Andreas Jonsson (Swe) 39
16. Antonio Lindback (Swe) 34
Sunday 28 July 2013
14th World Matchplay Title
Phil Taylor has continued his 100% record in World Matchplay finals to lift the trophy for an unbelievable 14th time, also extending his unbeaten run in Blackpool to six years. It was a fantastic final between himself and European Champion, Adrian Lewis. Taylor managed to maintain an average of around 111 throughout the match with Lewis, aided by countless 180s, averaging around 106.
The first four legs of the final would go with throw, including Taylor hitting an 88-checkout on the bull in leg three, before Lewis broke in the fifth leg to go 3-2 in front. All five legs of the second session would go with throw, meaning that Lewis now had a 6-4 lead. The third session was definitely the turning point when Taylor won all five legs, with checkouts of 130 and 123 in legs 12 and 13, to move 9-6 in front.
It didn't completely ruin Lewis at this point though and he did manage to find a break that allowed him to make it 10-8 before 11-9 at the end of the fourth session. That became 11-10 before Lewis made a crucial mistake. After hitting single-20 with his first dart he decided to go for single eight to leave double top instead of single-16 for the double of the same bed. But because the first dart had lay in such a way, Lewis had no chance of finding double top and ended up hitting the first dart before hitting the floor. This allowed Taylor to move 12-10 in front and added another nail in the Lewis coffin.
The mistake hurt Lewis and Taylor smelt blood, he managed to win the following three legs of the fifth session to make it 15-10. Lewis began to fight back once again in the sixth session. After both players missed two darts to win the 16th leg, Lewis managed to finish off ten before finding a terrific 127-checkout to reduce the deficit to 15-13. Lewis would then miss two darts to move within one of victory and Taylor all but sealed the match with a terrific 136-checkout to make it 17-13. It was a rather more common tops finish for Taylor to win the match and claim his colossal 14th victory.
It was also a poignant final as commentator John Gwynne was hanging up his microphone for good. The sporting world wishes Gwynney a fantastic retirement and thanks him for his incredible time as a voice of sports.
The first four legs of the final would go with throw, including Taylor hitting an 88-checkout on the bull in leg three, before Lewis broke in the fifth leg to go 3-2 in front. All five legs of the second session would go with throw, meaning that Lewis now had a 6-4 lead. The third session was definitely the turning point when Taylor won all five legs, with checkouts of 130 and 123 in legs 12 and 13, to move 9-6 in front.
It didn't completely ruin Lewis at this point though and he did manage to find a break that allowed him to make it 10-8 before 11-9 at the end of the fourth session. That became 11-10 before Lewis made a crucial mistake. After hitting single-20 with his first dart he decided to go for single eight to leave double top instead of single-16 for the double of the same bed. But because the first dart had lay in such a way, Lewis had no chance of finding double top and ended up hitting the first dart before hitting the floor. This allowed Taylor to move 12-10 in front and added another nail in the Lewis coffin.
The mistake hurt Lewis and Taylor smelt blood, he managed to win the following three legs of the fifth session to make it 15-10. Lewis began to fight back once again in the sixth session. After both players missed two darts to win the 16th leg, Lewis managed to finish off ten before finding a terrific 127-checkout to reduce the deficit to 15-13. Lewis would then miss two darts to move within one of victory and Taylor all but sealed the match with a terrific 136-checkout to make it 17-13. It was a rather more common tops finish for Taylor to win the match and claim his colossal 14th victory.
It was also a poignant final as commentator John Gwynne was hanging up his microphone for good. The sporting world wishes Gwynney a fantastic retirement and thanks him for his incredible time as a voice of sports.
Hamilton's Maiden Mercedes Victory
Lewis Hamilton takes the chequered flag for the fourth time in Hungary and wins his first race in a Mercedes car. It was a race where Hamilton was fairly unthreatened throughout and ended up winning at a canter. Kimi Raikkonen overtakes Fernando Alonso in to second in the overall standings after staving off an attack from Sebastian Vettel to finish second. There was also good news for Williams as a tenth place for Pastor Maldonado meant that they had now secured their first point of the season.
Romain Grosjean looked very competitive in the early going and was in contention for a podium until a drive through penalty ended that attempt. Nico Rosberg got beaten up on the first lap and ended up retiring late on with a blown engine.
Alonso had his usual good start, overtaking Rosberg and challenging with Vettel and Grosjean. Felipe Massa also tried to get around the Mercedes and there ended up being contact which sent Rosberg off the track before rejoining in 12th. Mark Webber and Jenson Button were also winners from the first lap, landing seventh and eighth respectively.
With Hungary well known for its lack of over-taking. Most of the talk was about the strategy and the pit stops. Hamilton pitted on lap nine and crucially came out ahead of Button, who had began on the medium compound not the soft. Vettel would pit on lap-11 but come out behind the McLaren which caused the Red Bull a problem. Alonso would pit on lap-13 before both Lotus cars came in on lap-14 with Grosjean coming out behind both Hamilton and Vettel, leaving Webber in the lead.
The first retirement of the race came on lap-20 when Adrian Sutil suffered a hydraulic leak. Webber pitted on lap-24, giving Hamilton the lead again. Meanwhile, Button's tyres were going and it allowed Vettel, Grosjean and Alonso to overtake the McLaren. There was contact between Grosjean and Button which caused the McLaren to pit in an incident that was to be investigated after the race. The Lotus also pitted on lap-26, possibly also due to the incident as well as just a tyre change.
Grosjean looked to have overtaken Massa fairly on lap-29 to gain sixth but because he went off track just after the manoeuvre, he was brandished with a drive through penalty on lap-37. Esteban Gutierrez became the second retirement of the race to continue his miserable debut season. Button also managed to overtake Massa to gain seventh on lap-31.
Hamilton pitted on lap-32 and just came out behind Webber, which would have played in to Vettel's hands. But Hamilton managed to overtake Webber two laps later as both Alonso and Vettel decided to pit. The Red Bull once again ended up behind Button but it didn't cost him as much time this time around as he managed to overtake the McLaren on lap-37 to go fifth.
Valtteri Bottas became the third retirement on lap-45 when his car looked to break down near the finish line. Hamilton pitted for the third and final time on lap-51 and came out behind the two Red Bulls before Hamilton aggressively overtook Webber. Vettel would pit on lap-55 and gained third place when Webber pitted on lap-60.
Rosberg's race came to an end on lap-66 because of that engine failure. Force India's disappointing weekend came to an end when they also decided to retire Paul Di Resta who had had a truly miserable weekend. Race result:
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 2. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus), 3. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), 4. Mark Webber (Red Bull), 5. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), 6. Romain Grosjean (Lotus), 7. Jenson Button (McLaren), 8. Felipe Massa (Ferrari), 9. Sergio Perez (McLaren), 10. Pastor Maldonado (Williams), 11. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber), 12. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso), 13. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), 14. Giedo van der Garde (Caterham), 15. Charles Pic (Caterham), 16. Jules Bianchi (Marussia), 17. Max Chilton (Marussia) DNF: Adrian Sutil (Force India), Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber), Valtteri Bottas (Williams), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Paul Di Resta (Force India)
Romain Grosjean looked very competitive in the early going and was in contention for a podium until a drive through penalty ended that attempt. Nico Rosberg got beaten up on the first lap and ended up retiring late on with a blown engine.
Alonso had his usual good start, overtaking Rosberg and challenging with Vettel and Grosjean. Felipe Massa also tried to get around the Mercedes and there ended up being contact which sent Rosberg off the track before rejoining in 12th. Mark Webber and Jenson Button were also winners from the first lap, landing seventh and eighth respectively.
With Hungary well known for its lack of over-taking. Most of the talk was about the strategy and the pit stops. Hamilton pitted on lap nine and crucially came out ahead of Button, who had began on the medium compound not the soft. Vettel would pit on lap-11 but come out behind the McLaren which caused the Red Bull a problem. Alonso would pit on lap-13 before both Lotus cars came in on lap-14 with Grosjean coming out behind both Hamilton and Vettel, leaving Webber in the lead.
The first retirement of the race came on lap-20 when Adrian Sutil suffered a hydraulic leak. Webber pitted on lap-24, giving Hamilton the lead again. Meanwhile, Button's tyres were going and it allowed Vettel, Grosjean and Alonso to overtake the McLaren. There was contact between Grosjean and Button which caused the McLaren to pit in an incident that was to be investigated after the race. The Lotus also pitted on lap-26, possibly also due to the incident as well as just a tyre change.
Grosjean looked to have overtaken Massa fairly on lap-29 to gain sixth but because he went off track just after the manoeuvre, he was brandished with a drive through penalty on lap-37. Esteban Gutierrez became the second retirement of the race to continue his miserable debut season. Button also managed to overtake Massa to gain seventh on lap-31.
Hamilton pitted on lap-32 and just came out behind Webber, which would have played in to Vettel's hands. But Hamilton managed to overtake Webber two laps later as both Alonso and Vettel decided to pit. The Red Bull once again ended up behind Button but it didn't cost him as much time this time around as he managed to overtake the McLaren on lap-37 to go fifth.
Valtteri Bottas became the third retirement on lap-45 when his car looked to break down near the finish line. Hamilton pitted for the third and final time on lap-51 and came out behind the two Red Bulls before Hamilton aggressively overtook Webber. Vettel would pit on lap-55 and gained third place when Webber pitted on lap-60.
Rosberg's race came to an end on lap-66 because of that engine failure. Force India's disappointing weekend came to an end when they also decided to retire Paul Di Resta who had had a truly miserable weekend. Race result:
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 2. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus), 3. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), 4. Mark Webber (Red Bull), 5. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), 6. Romain Grosjean (Lotus), 7. Jenson Button (McLaren), 8. Felipe Massa (Ferrari), 9. Sergio Perez (McLaren), 10. Pastor Maldonado (Williams), 11. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber), 12. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso), 13. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), 14. Giedo van der Garde (Caterham), 15. Charles Pic (Caterham), 16. Jules Bianchi (Marussia), 17. Max Chilton (Marussia) DNF: Adrian Sutil (Force India), Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber), Valtteri Bottas (Williams), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Paul Di Resta (Force India)
Power of the Jackpot Hits Blackpool
It will be an all Stoke final in the 2013 World Matchplay after both Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis progressed from their semi-finals. Both produced fine performances to lead virtually throughout their matches, leaving Lewis to try and create history if he is to win the tournament. In his previous 13-World Matchplay finals, Taylor has not been beaten.
Lewis managed to see of Michael Van Gerwen in a rematch of the European Championship semi-final, which Lewis won. Lewis got off to a flyer hitting checkouts of 121 and 119, after the pair had initially shared the opening two legs, to go in at the first break 4-1 in front. Van Gerwen managed to pull it back to 4-3 and then 5-4 after Lewis missed a dart to win the ninth leg, but Lewis managed to win the tenth the make it 6-4 at the second interval. Van Gerwen missed three darts to win the 12th leg and allowed Lewis to to make it 8-4. But the Dutchman fought back and a 164-checkout meant he had taken the remaining three legs of the third session to pull it back to 8-7.
Van Gerwen would then make it four consecutive legs as he levelled the match. Lewis managed to stem the tide with a 106-checkout before winning the last two legs of the fourth session to again lead at 11-9. That became 12-9 before Lewis would miss two darts to win leg-23 and Van Gerwen posted a checkout of 84 on the bull before finding a 112-checkout to level the match once again. But Lewis again maintained his lead to make it 13-12 at the fifth break. Van Gerwen would finally take the lead in the match with a stunning 121-checkout to make it 15-14 and then missed two darts to go within a leg of victory, allowing Lewis to level the score. Lewis then took the following two legs to win the match 17-15 and progress through.
Taylor also managed to start like a train against James Wade. A 106-checkout from The Power put him 3-0 in front before he took a 4-1 lead, after he missed two darts to win the fourth leg, in to the first break. Taylor would then extend that advantage to 6-1 and then 7-2 before Wade managed to win the final leg of the second session to go in 7-3 behind. That became 7-4 when Wade found a huge 124-checkout and it was then 7-5 when Taylor missed two darts to win the leg. Taylor also missed two dart to win leg-14 as Wade made it 8-6 before Taylor made it nine with the 15th leg.
Wade returned from the break with a fantastic 146-checkout, only to be cancelled out by a 124-finish from Taylor. But The Machine would reel off the remaining three legs to complete his comeback from 7-2 down to level the match at 10-10. Two double 20's from Wade to perform an 80-checkout levelled the game again in leg-22 before needing to win the 25th leg to make it 13-12 in Taylor's favour. That would be the last leg he would win though as Taylor took the next four legs, with Wade missing four darts to win leg-28, to win the match 17-12 and book his place alongside Lewis.
Lewis managed to see of Michael Van Gerwen in a rematch of the European Championship semi-final, which Lewis won. Lewis got off to a flyer hitting checkouts of 121 and 119, after the pair had initially shared the opening two legs, to go in at the first break 4-1 in front. Van Gerwen managed to pull it back to 4-3 and then 5-4 after Lewis missed a dart to win the ninth leg, but Lewis managed to win the tenth the make it 6-4 at the second interval. Van Gerwen missed three darts to win the 12th leg and allowed Lewis to to make it 8-4. But the Dutchman fought back and a 164-checkout meant he had taken the remaining three legs of the third session to pull it back to 8-7.
Van Gerwen would then make it four consecutive legs as he levelled the match. Lewis managed to stem the tide with a 106-checkout before winning the last two legs of the fourth session to again lead at 11-9. That became 12-9 before Lewis would miss two darts to win leg-23 and Van Gerwen posted a checkout of 84 on the bull before finding a 112-checkout to level the match once again. But Lewis again maintained his lead to make it 13-12 at the fifth break. Van Gerwen would finally take the lead in the match with a stunning 121-checkout to make it 15-14 and then missed two darts to go within a leg of victory, allowing Lewis to level the score. Lewis then took the following two legs to win the match 17-15 and progress through.
Taylor also managed to start like a train against James Wade. A 106-checkout from The Power put him 3-0 in front before he took a 4-1 lead, after he missed two darts to win the fourth leg, in to the first break. Taylor would then extend that advantage to 6-1 and then 7-2 before Wade managed to win the final leg of the second session to go in 7-3 behind. That became 7-4 when Wade found a huge 124-checkout and it was then 7-5 when Taylor missed two darts to win the leg. Taylor also missed two dart to win leg-14 as Wade made it 8-6 before Taylor made it nine with the 15th leg.
Wade returned from the break with a fantastic 146-checkout, only to be cancelled out by a 124-finish from Taylor. But The Machine would reel off the remaining three legs to complete his comeback from 7-2 down to level the match at 10-10. Two double 20's from Wade to perform an 80-checkout levelled the game again in leg-22 before needing to win the 25th leg to make it 13-12 in Taylor's favour. That would be the last leg he would win though as Taylor took the next four legs, with Wade missing four darts to win leg-28, to win the match 17-12 and book his place alongside Lewis.
Saturday 27 July 2013
Hamilton's Hat-Trick Pole
Lewis Hamilton surprised pretty much everyone, including himself, by snatching Pole position under Sebastian Vettel's nose. Hamilton had been complaining that his Mercedes car has lost pace going in to this weekend's Hungary Grand Prix, but it hasn't stopped him grabbing his third consecutive Pole position. Vettel looked vexed when he stepped out of his Red Bull to know he only managed second after dominating most of Q3.
Nico Rosberg was fastest in both Q1 and Q2 but could only settle for fourth place behind the impressive Romain Grosjean. Fernando Alonso continued his relatively quiet season, despite sitting second in the standings, and will start fifth ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in the second Lotus. Felipe Massa sits seventh with Daniel Ricciardo continuing to push for Mark Webber's seat next season in eighth. Sergio Perez found some pace for McLaren to sit ninth with Webber not posting a time in Q3 due to a KERS problem and the Australian will sit tenth.
Adrian Sutil was the man to miss out on Q3 in 11th with Nico Hulkenberg just behind him. Jenson Button will be a little disappointed with 13th after seeing Perez's performance and also having been in the top ten at times during Q3. Christian Horner has publicly stated that Jean-Eric Vergne isn't ready for a big seat just yet and the Frenchman looks have vindicated those words by only managing to qualify 14th. There was a slight victory for Williams as both Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas making in to Q2 but will start 15th and 16th respectively.
Esteban Gutierrez continued his struggle in his debut season for Sauber, missing out on Q2 and starting 17th. But the biggest loser of the day was a very disappointed and bewildered Paul Di Resta who has it all to do tomorrow, starting 18th. Caterham beat Marussia at the back of the grid with both Charles Pic and Giedo Van Der Garde out-qualifying Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton.
Nico Rosberg was fastest in both Q1 and Q2 but could only settle for fourth place behind the impressive Romain Grosjean. Fernando Alonso continued his relatively quiet season, despite sitting second in the standings, and will start fifth ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in the second Lotus. Felipe Massa sits seventh with Daniel Ricciardo continuing to push for Mark Webber's seat next season in eighth. Sergio Perez found some pace for McLaren to sit ninth with Webber not posting a time in Q3 due to a KERS problem and the Australian will sit tenth.
Adrian Sutil was the man to miss out on Q3 in 11th with Nico Hulkenberg just behind him. Jenson Button will be a little disappointed with 13th after seeing Perez's performance and also having been in the top ten at times during Q3. Christian Horner has publicly stated that Jean-Eric Vergne isn't ready for a big seat just yet and the Frenchman looks have vindicated those words by only managing to qualify 14th. There was a slight victory for Williams as both Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas making in to Q2 but will start 15th and 16th respectively.
Esteban Gutierrez continued his struggle in his debut season for Sauber, missing out on Q2 and starting 17th. But the biggest loser of the day was a very disappointed and bewildered Paul Di Resta who has it all to do tomorrow, starting 18th. Caterham beat Marussia at the back of the grid with both Charles Pic and Giedo Van Der Garde out-qualifying Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton.
Jackpot Again For MVG
The second of tonight's semi-finals was confirmed yesterday in the other two thrilling quarter finals. European Champion, Adrian Lewis, had to fight tooth and nail to continue his fantastic recent form and progress through. It'll be a repeat of the European Championships semi-final as Michael Van Gerwen will be looking to exact some revenge after also making it through.
Lewis needed extra time to see off the formidable Andy Hamilton in a tough battle of the Stokies. The first four legs all went with throw due to Lewis missing six darts to move 3-1 in front. It looked costly as Hamilton broke in the fifth leg to leave the stage 3-2 in front. But Hamilton then missed three darts to hold in the sixth leg and then needed a colossal 170-checkout to level at 4-4. The Hammer then secured a fantastic 127-checkout to move in front once more, only for Lewis to level the match before the second break with a ton checkout, courtesy of two double 20's. After losing the first leg of the third session, Lewis would again move in front at 7-6, only for Hamilton to turn it around once more by winning the remaining two legs of the session.
Hamilton would then make it four consecutive legs to move 10-7 in front which would become 11-9 at the fourth break. Lewis continued to worm his way back as the score went from 12-9 to 13-10 before Jackpot took the remaining two legs of the fifth session to move to within a leg of Hamilton. Hamilton then crucially missed two darts to win leg-26 and Lewis was now level. Hamilton responded with a 101-checkout and did sit 15-14 in front, only for Lewis to force a tie break. Lewis needed to find an unbelievable 161-checkout to level the match at 16-16 before finding a break, after Hamilton missed a dart at double, to move 18-17 in front. Lewis was now throwing for the match and managed to clear up-86 to emerge victorious.
Van Gerwen wasn't ever really in trouble against Dave Chisnall, but the world number nine did give him a match. Chisnall missed a crucial dart to break in the third leg, allowing Van Gerwen to retake the lead with a 105-checkout. The Dutchman did lead 3-2 at the first break before Chisnall managed to find a break in leg-7 and then produced a 112-checkout to move 5-3 ahead. It should have been six but he missed three darts and Van Gerwen swooped in with a 110-checkout. Van Gerwen then managed to the match at 5-5 after Chisnall missed a further dart to win the leg. The first three legs of the third session all went with throw before Van Gerwen broke in leg-14 only for Chisnall to break back and make it 8-7 to the Dutchman at the third break.
Van Gerwen found an edge, and two consecutive legs, to move 10-7 ahead only for Chisnall to find a brilliant 144-checkout to make it 11-9 after four sessions. The writing would end up being on the wall though as Van Gerwen reeled off the first three legs of the fifth session before then making it 15-10, leaving him one leg away as they left the stage for the final time. Chisnall did manage to hold the victory off for one more leg but Van Gerwen managed to check-out 20 to win 16-11.
Lewis needed extra time to see off the formidable Andy Hamilton in a tough battle of the Stokies. The first four legs all went with throw due to Lewis missing six darts to move 3-1 in front. It looked costly as Hamilton broke in the fifth leg to leave the stage 3-2 in front. But Hamilton then missed three darts to hold in the sixth leg and then needed a colossal 170-checkout to level at 4-4. The Hammer then secured a fantastic 127-checkout to move in front once more, only for Lewis to level the match before the second break with a ton checkout, courtesy of two double 20's. After losing the first leg of the third session, Lewis would again move in front at 7-6, only for Hamilton to turn it around once more by winning the remaining two legs of the session.
Hamilton would then make it four consecutive legs to move 10-7 in front which would become 11-9 at the fourth break. Lewis continued to worm his way back as the score went from 12-9 to 13-10 before Jackpot took the remaining two legs of the fifth session to move to within a leg of Hamilton. Hamilton then crucially missed two darts to win leg-26 and Lewis was now level. Hamilton responded with a 101-checkout and did sit 15-14 in front, only for Lewis to force a tie break. Lewis needed to find an unbelievable 161-checkout to level the match at 16-16 before finding a break, after Hamilton missed a dart at double, to move 18-17 in front. Lewis was now throwing for the match and managed to clear up-86 to emerge victorious.
Van Gerwen wasn't ever really in trouble against Dave Chisnall, but the world number nine did give him a match. Chisnall missed a crucial dart to break in the third leg, allowing Van Gerwen to retake the lead with a 105-checkout. The Dutchman did lead 3-2 at the first break before Chisnall managed to find a break in leg-7 and then produced a 112-checkout to move 5-3 ahead. It should have been six but he missed three darts and Van Gerwen swooped in with a 110-checkout. Van Gerwen then managed to the match at 5-5 after Chisnall missed a further dart to win the leg. The first three legs of the third session all went with throw before Van Gerwen broke in leg-14 only for Chisnall to break back and make it 8-7 to the Dutchman at the third break.
Van Gerwen found an edge, and two consecutive legs, to move 10-7 ahead only for Chisnall to find a brilliant 144-checkout to make it 11-9 after four sessions. The writing would end up being on the wall though as Van Gerwen reeled off the first three legs of the fifth session before then making it 15-10, leaving him one leg away as they left the stage for the final time. Chisnall did manage to hold the victory off for one more leg but Van Gerwen managed to check-out 20 to win 16-11.
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