Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd has secured a deal with MotoGP rights holder Dorna Sports SL to supply YZR-M1 engines on an annual lease basis to teams participating in the MotoGP Championship.

Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd announced on Saturday at Doha, ahead of the Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar qualifying sessions, they would offer an engine lease supply for teams competing in the MotoGP World Championship, in an effort to increase the options of competitive engines in the premier class.

The agreement comes as a result of Yamaha’s work with Dorna and the sport’s governing body, the FIM, to further promote the MotoGP World Championship; the Japanese manufacturer engine lease program will initially operate for the 2014, 15 and 16 seasons.

 

Sir Nick Faldo will expand his golf development efforts in the Middle East with the launch of a new Faldo Series tournament in the United Arab Emirates. 

The Middle East Championship will be held at the Al Ain Equestrian, viagra Shooting and Golf Club in Abu Dhabi for the next three years, starting this year on April 17-18.

“We look forward to bringing the Faldo Series to Abu Dhabi for the first time and to continue giving opportunity to golfers across the Middle East,” said Faldo. “I thank Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting and Golf Club for sharing our vision and also the Emirates Golf Federation for its support.”

“We are delighted to have been chosen as the Middle East venue to host the Faldo Series,” said Michaela Forrester, Golf Manager of Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club. “We look forward to welcoming talented young golfers from the UAE and neighbouring countries to Al Ain in April.”

“It is fantastic that Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club have decided to host the prestigious Faldo Series tournament for the next three years,” added Khalid Mubarak, Secretary General of the Emirates Golf Federation.  “It is very much in line with our mandate to provide opportunities for young golfers in the UAE to learn more about golf and play in the top competitions against the best golfers in the region.”

Supported by The R&A, ISPS and the European Tour, talented golfers aged 12 to 21 will compete over 36 holes for the Faldo Series Middle East Championship at the Al Ain Golf Club on April 17-18.

Chicago Bulls point guard, Derrick Rose has entered the business world by becoming the new equity owner for Giordano’s pizza.

Beginning this month, Rose will appear in ads and promotions and at charitable event on behalf of the chain, which was acquired late last year by Chicago-based private equity firm Victory Park Capital Advisors LLC, led by Richard Levy. 

“I’ve grown up with my family eating Giordano’s pizza,” the Bulls point guard said in a press release. “I’ve always loved Giordano’s, so this was a uniquely personal opportunity for me.

“I’m working right now on my own signature pizza that we plan to introduce very soon. I’m actually pretty good in the kitchen,” Rose added.

Giordano’s has enlisted Rose as it begins rebuilding, including adding menu items, after a contentious period that included a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing and lawsuits among members of the family that owned the chain, claiming malfeasance.

The ICC board failed to after the ICC Board failed to ratify the universal mandatotry application of the Direct Review System (costs permitting) following India’s opposition .

The matter was discussed at the ICC’s executive board meeting, but was not put to a vote even though most member nations appeared to support the mandatory DRS.

The DRS will continue to be used in mutually-agreed arrangements in bilateral series.

The CEC had said it was pleased with the developments of DRS in its fourth year , which included new ‘hot spot’ cameras as well as independent ball-tracking research. {jcomments on}

Michel Platini has spoken back after the threat of a breakaway European Soccer League. ‘What they suggest is impossible’, ‘if they go ahead with it they will be thrown out’.

The possibility of a breakaway European Super League emerged again last week from members of AC Milan and Bayern Munich  and also by the European Club Association (ECA) after they voiced their anger at match scheduling and revenue sharing.

The ECA wants the issues addressed before its current deal with FIFA and UEFA expires in 2014. After this date clubs will no longer be legally bound to compete in the Champions League or release their players to compete in internationals.

Last week, AC Milan’s Umberto Gandini, an ECA Board member, was quoted as saying that players may have to choose between club and country in future.

“We are the ones who invest the money, we are the ones who develop the players, we are the ones who give the players a reason to play,” Gandini, a director of Serie A champion AC Milan, told Bloomberg.

“Without the clubs, what do you think they are going to do?”

Two FIFA Executive Committee members have been unveiled as speakers at the Leaders in Football conference later this year.

Dr Michel D’Hooghe and Jim Boyce will participate in a session entitled “Where now for the global game?”

D’Hooghe is Belgium’s Committee member, having held the role for many years. He is highly respected within the industry, holding the position of honorary president of the Belgian Football Association. Boyce is honorary president of the Irish Football Association and recently replaced Englishman Geoff Thompson on the Executive Committee.

David Davies, former Football Association executive director, will moderate the Q&A session. D’Hooghe and Boyce will be joined by Football Association chairman David Bernstein, who has confirmed he will be giving a one-to-one interview. Leaders recently announced the combination of five leading conferences covering Football, Performance, Sponsorship, Digital Sport and Horse Racing to create the “Leaders” Sports Summit at the home of Barclays Premier League club Chelsea FC on October 5-6.

The Football Association (FA) has increased ticket prices by up to 22 per cent on last year for next month’s FA Cup final, apoplectic the most expensive of which will cost as much as £115 (US$188.2), rather than £95 ($155.5) in 2010.

The cheapest tickets available stand at £45 ($73.6), a £5 ($8.2) increase from last year, while other tickets will be available at £85 ($139.1) and £65 ($106.4).

Both teams that reach the final on 14th May will receive 25,000 tickets each, with the remaining tickets going to members of Club Wembley, organisations affiliated to the FA and volunteers from grassroots football clubs across the country.

This weekend’s semi-finals have matched fierce Manchester rivals United and City together at Wembley on Saturday, before Bolton face Stoke the following day. The winners of each will compete the final in May, with Bolton or Stoke earning a place in the Europa League with victory.

According to media reports, the FA could expect to face criticism for the price hike, with the recession still having a major effect, especially as all four semi-finalists must travel down from the north of England – making the trip all the more expensive for soccer fans.

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has predicted chaos in the capital this weekend, with an army of fans from all four teams traveling to London, as well as the Virgin London Marathon also taking place – with up to 50,000 runners expected to take part, plus spectators.

Prize money for the US Open tennis championship will top US$22.6 million this year, an increase of US$1 million compared to 2009, the US Tennis Association has announced.

Both the men’s and women’s singles champions will collect a record US$1.7 million, as well as an additional bonus of up to US$1 million based on their performances in the US Open Series.

This year’s competition includes a 6.7 per cent increase in men’s and women’s singles prize money over 2009.

The US Open begins on 30 August at Flushing Meadows, New York.

The Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games has suffered another star withdrawal after it was announced Shelly Ann Fraser will not be competing as she wants to focus on next year’s World Championships.

The Jamaican sprinter, who is the fourth fastest woman in history, said the Games starts too late in the season (3 October) and has decided to opt out.

She said: “It is a problem for me. October is really late. It is a long season and trying to peak for the Commonwealth and then coming home in December to start training for a World Championships is too much to ask, especially for someone like me who is also a student. I will be in school. I don’t think I am going.”

The news comes after Fraser’s compatriot, Usain Bolt, also pulled out of the games to focus his attentions on the 2012 London Olympic Games.