Andersen Promotions, which operates the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship and Pro Mazda Championship, today announced a new technical partnership with leading high performance wheel manufacturer Motegi Racing.

Owned by Wheel Pros, one of the world’s largest suppliers of branded custom wheels, Motegi Racing has technical partnerships with teams in a variety of formulas including Formula One, Formula Drift and Global Rallycross. It will have a strong presence in this weekend’s Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, showcasing numerous partnerships including the pair of SpeedSource Mazda SKYACTIV-D P2 prototypes and factory SRT Vipers, all of the Ferrari 458 Italias in the GTD class, and the Alex Job and Patrick Dempsey Porsche GT Americas.

“We are very excited to enter into this new partnership with Motegi Racing,” said Dan Andersen, Owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions. “Motegi is highly regarded for its technology, expertise and quality, and their product will enhance the beauty of our new Dallara race car while providing outstanding performance. With our collaboration, we will be able to reduce wheel costs significantly for our teams and provide a state-of-the-art piece. I am extremely pleased with our arrangement.”

“This technical partnership underscores our commitment to the ladder system in U.S. open-wheel racing and the young future stars on their way to the IndyCar Series,” said Jody Groce, President of Wheel Pros LLC. “We are delighted to have the opportunity to introduce our forged aluminum wheel technology to the top level of the ladder after being already proven at the highest levels of sportscar GT racing with the Ferrari AF Corse GT factory team in the FIA World Endurance Championship, the factory Viper SRT in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship and the Ford factory OMSE team in Global Rallycross.”

The World Mountain Running Championships is set for the UK in 2015 after Betws-y-Coed, near Conwy, North Wales, was chosen as host by the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA).

The bid to bring the event to Wales was submitted by British Athletics and Conwy County Borough Council, in partnership with the Welsh Government and Welsh Athletics and the sport’s global governing body made the announcement on Saturday in Poland.

The championships will include senior men, senior women, junior men and junior women races as well as team events. There will also be a week-long festival of mountain running which will incorporate masters events, open races for all ages and abilities and educational seminars.

Cherry Alexander, British Athletics’ Major Events Director, said: “It’s great that the UK will be able to host another major athletics event. With both the IAAF World Championships and IPC World Championships also coming to London in 2017 and the IPC European Athletic Championships being hosted in Swansea in 2014, the World Mountain Running Championships being in North Wales in 2015 is yet another great opportunity to showcase all the disciplines of world class athletics here in the UK.”

The news has also been welcomed by Wales’ Economy Minister, Edwina Hart, who said: “I am delighted North Wales is to host this prestigious event, which will further cement the reputation of Conwy and North Wales as a great destination for mountain running and endurance events like this.”

Steve Brace, Welsh Athletics head of endurance, said: “We are delighted with the decision to award the 2015 World Mountain Running Championships to North Wales, proving once again Wales’ ability to attract top-class running events through the hard work of several key partners.

“The World Mountain Running Championships will be the latest in growing portfolio of world class events to be held in Wales, following the recent World Trail Running Championships in Llanrwst and the extremely successful Commonwealth Mountain and Ultra Distance Championships in 2011.

“With its rich heritage of mountain and fell running, north Wales is the perfect location for such as event and it will further enhance Wales’ growing reputation as a world-leading running destination.”

The Camellia Bowl, pharmacy a postseason college football game matching-up the Sun Belt Conference against the Mid-American Conference (MAC), has been formed ESPN Regional Television (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN, has announced.

The game, beginning in December 2014, will be played yearly at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Ala., before the Christmas holiday and be televised nationally on ESPN or ESPN2.

“The Raycom All-Star game helped shine a new light on the city of Montgomery, and we took notice,” said Pete Derzis, Senior Vice President & GM, ESPN Regional Television. “From stadium improvements and opportunities for quality hospitality, to the downtown hotel properties, rich history and the wonderful museums like the Rosa Parks Center, it all came together for us. We have two conference partners excited about the bowl, a community we believe is hungry for a quality postseason event and civic and business leaders that have a great can-do spirit.”

Johnny Williams, former Athletic Director at Troy University for ten years and Senior Associate Athletic Director at the University of Alabama for three years, will be the Bowl’s Executive Director. Williams is the current CEO of Creative Marketing Management (CMM) and his group will manage the event and day-to-day operations of the bowl.

The Cramton Bowl is a 25,000 seat stadium that has undergone significant renovations over the last few years, including a new press box facility, locker rooms and VIP hospitality accommodations.

“The Sun Belt Conference marks a significant moment in its history by partnering with the Mid-American Conference, ESPN, and the city of Montgomery for what will be a tremendously successful bowl game,” said Karl Benson, Sun Belt Conference Commissioner.  “Montgomery has all the ingredients for a great bowl game and experience for our student-athletes and fans – a great venue in the renovated Cramton Bowl, a vibrant downtown with many new hotels and restaurants, and a location in the middle of the SBC footprint that will make travel very convenient for fans throughout our league.  With every football season the SBC continues to show its strength and deserving place amongst college football’s best and soon a talented SBC team will represent our league well in this exciting new bowl game.”

“The Mid-American Conference is proud to partner in the creation of the Camellia Bowl beginning with the 2014 season,” said Dr. Jon Steinbrecher, Mid-American Conference Commissioner. “The historic Cramton Bowl will be a great venue for our student-athletes and fans.  Additionally, Montgomery’s entertainment district will provide a fun and lively bowl experience for all involved.  I want to thank all parties involved for their diligence in creating this event, especially Montgomery mayor Todd Strange.”

The Chinese city of Wuhan has been chosen to host a new women’s tennis tournament from 2014 that will replace the Pan Pacific Open, which has been held in Tokyo for three decades, the WTA Tour said.

China will host five tournaments from next season, including another new event in the special administrative region of Hong Kong.

China already hosts Beijing’s China Open, one of the WTA’s that stand just below the Grand Slams, as well as the Guangzhou International and the Shenzhen Open, which made its debut this year.

The tournament in Wuhan, a large city in central China most notable in tennis circles for being the hometown of former French Open champion Li Na, will be a second tier event with around US$2million in prize money.

The WTA, which opened its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Beijing in 2008, has also added another three events on its developmental tour in China for 2013 to bring the total to six.

The Pan Pacific Open has been held in Tokyo since 1984 and former champions have included Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Martina Hingis and Maria Sharapova among its former champions.

The 30th and last version of the event will take place from September 22-28 this year.{jcomments on}

Another global sporting event has been affected by growing political tension between China and Japan.

The territorial dispute between the two nations has led to the organising committee and promoter of the Tour of Beijing cycling event have asked Japanese cycling team, case Team Argos-Shimano, ambulance not to participate in the upcoming event.

The Tour of Beijing is a International Cycling Union endorsed event that will see 18 World Tour teams compete from October 9 to 13.

Earlier this month another team from Japan was turned away from the Tour of China.

Several other sporting events have been affected by the territorial despute.  Notable examples include the Shanghai Marathon refusing to accept industrial manufacturer Toray Industries as its major sponsor and all Chinese players being withdrawn from the Yonex Japan Open badminton tournament.{jcomments on}

Extreme Sailing Series owner, clinic OC Thirdpole has merged with Patrice Clerc & Associates (PCA) to create a new sports marketing company called OC Sport.

As part of the deal, asthma OC Sport will own 100% of the Extreme Sailing Series – acquiring a slice of the event that has been owned by Swiss investors including Ernesto Bertarelli since 2010. The deal has also involved Matignon Investissement, doctor a  company that takes minority stakes in high-growth entrepreneurial companies.

Since the loss of iShares as title sponsor at the end of 2009, the Extreme Sailing Series has been kept alive through private investment. The investment by Alinghi’s Ernesto Bertarelli is described by OC Sport as ‘significant’ – and it has  funded the growth of the event from a European tour into a global series. Investment also allowed OC to acquire the rights to the Extreme 40 class in September 2010, allowing the events organisers to control the evolution of the boat.

The new President of the Board of OC Sport, Patrice Clerc commented: “Extreme Sailing Series will remain a core part of the OC Sport overall strategy, as a global event it takes us in to some exciting markets and iconic cities. The recent owners have done an excellent job of developing the product to be one of the benchmark events in professional sailing, and we are looking forward to taking it even further in the future.”

As well as the Extreme Sailing Series, the sailing side of OC Sport looks after the Artemis Offshore Academy and activation of Nespresso’s sponsorship of sailing including the America’s Cup. OC Sport is also involved with the MOD70 Tour – including the selection of venues and have been key to the development and running of the Barcelona World Race. OC Sport also owns the rights to ‘The Transat’ offshore race.

However, since the merger with Thirdpole in September 2010, the company has been heavily involved with other outdoor sporting events including cycling, biathlon and marathons. The new deal will see the sports marketing consultancy and athlete management side of the business bolstered.

The new part of the OC Sport is PCA and its subsidiary Ocho Sport. PCA is based in Paris and was founded by Patrice Clerc, Benoit Coville and Sam Primaut in 2009. It is described as: “a leading consultancy service offering strategic and operational support for brands involved in sport and leisure.”

Patrice Clerc will become President of the Board of OC Sport. He has extensive experience in the creation, management and development of major sports events over the last three decades and as Chairman of Amaury Sport Organisation from 2000 to 2008 has been involved with events like the Tour de France, the Dakar Rally, the Paris Marathon and the French Golf Open. From 1984 to 2000 Clerc was Managing Director of the Roland-Garros French Open.

Patrice Clerc commented on the OC Sport deal: “Our current business centers around helping our clients define a strategy to develop their sport or leisure activities whilst evaluating performance and measuring the impact of the strategies, as well as advising and supporting them in their media and marketing activation campaigns. We are very motivated by this merger as OC ThirdPole has built an outstanding track record in the field of sports event management on a global level, and together we feel we have enormous potential to develop as an outdoor sports focused company.”

Rémi Duchemin, will keep the title of CEO in the new OC Sport. He said about the merger with PCA: “The experience of Patrice Clerc and his team will be hugely effective as we move forward with our business goals of developing our existing properties and projects, as well as growing our current portfolio of 20 events and 120 clients – brands and public authorities – around the globe. The combined talent and experience of the new team created by the merger will allow us to accelerate our business plans, permitting us to inspire even more people through professional sailing and outdoor sports.”

The new business will fully own the existing operating companies of PCA, its subsidiary Ocho Sport, and OC ThirdPole, in France, Switzerland and the UK and maintain full-time offices in each country. OC Sport employs around 70 staff.

For the first time in European Tour history ticket sales had to be stopped early for an event after the final two rounds of next week’s Irish Open were sold out.

The tournament’s return to Royal Portrush for the first time since 1947 has attracted a field including world number two Rory McIlroy and fellow Northern Irishmen Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell.

Triple major champion Padraig Harrington and U.S. PGA winner Keegan Bradley are also due to take part in the June 28-July 1 event in County Antrim.

“We are preparing for a crowd around the 100,000 mark for the week…and with a particularly large spectator audience expected for the weekend we felt it prudent to stop selling tickets for Saturday and Sunday,” championship director Antonia Beggs said in a news release on Thursday.

Portrush is the home town of Clarke who claimed his first major victory in the British Open at Sandwich last July.

Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) Chief Executive Alan Clarke added: “This year’s Irish Open is sure to be one of the biggest in the competition’s history with advance ticket sales reaching unprecedented levels and record crowds expected in Co. Antrim.” said Clarke.

“While in previous years, it may have been possible for spectators to turn up on the day and purchase tickets on the day, we would strongly urge people not to try this on Saturday and Sunday as the event is completely sold out at the weekend and there is absolutely no chance of being admitted without a ticket.

Former cricket tycoon Allen Stanford has been sentenced to 110 years in jail after being found guilty of leading a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of around $7bn.

The former Texan banker was handed the sentence after US District Judge David Hittner in Houston said he was guilty of “one of the most egregious criminal frauds ever presented to a jury in federal court.”

Stanford, drugs 62, apoplectic became known outside of the US when he provided financially for international cricket competitions in the UK and the Caribbean.

His agreement to stage Twenty20 cricket in England collapsed and was followed by investigations by US regulators.

It is believed that around 30,000 investors fell victim to Stanford’s Ponzi style scheme that centred on his banking operation in the Caribbean island nation of Antigua.

Prosecutors said Stanford wasted investor money on failing businesses, yachts and cricket tournaments. He secretly borrowed as much as $2bn from his bank.

Assistant US Attorney William Stellmach said: “From beginning to end, he’s treated his victims like road kill.

“Allen Stanford doesn’t deserve anyone’s sympathy, and he doesn’t deserve your honour’s mercy.”

Stanford, who denied the charges, ran a statement in court on Thursday that said: “I’m not here to ask for sympathy or forgiveness or throw myself at your mercy.

“I did not run a Ponzi scheme. I didn’t defraud anybody.”

Stanford was arrested in 2009 and has spent the last three years in detention after failing to achieve bail.

In 2006 he was listed as the 605^th richest man in the world by Forbes Magazine.

The National Hockey League (NHL) has entered into a licensing agreement with vineyard vines, a company founded by brothers Shep and Ian Murray, who will design and distribute a line of men’s and women’s accessories that include ties, tote bags, and belts for the organisation.

“We’ve had an incredible response from our existing team products and are thrilled about our new licensing arrangement with the NHL,” said Lindsey Worster, Vice President of Brand Communications. “This launch came at the perfect time with hockey in full swing and the holiday gift giving season upon us. Now our customers and NHL fans can bring their team spirit with them wherever they go.”

The summers on Martha’s Vineyard are not far from the frozen winter ponds of Boston, where hockey is a religion, so it was only natural that the colorful New England styling of vineyard vines products would align with the National Hockey League.

Jim Haskins, NHL Group VP of Consumer Products, said: “The NHL is proud to be associated with a brand that is renowned for its product excellence. The NHL vineyard vines tie collection will present expertly crafted workmanship in neckwear with a fun fashion approach that our fans are going to love.”

Product from all 30 NHL teams plus former teams from NHL’s Vintage Hockey nostalgia collection including the New York Americans and Hartford Whalers will be sold on vineyardvines.com, at vineyard vines retail stores, the NHL Powered by Rebook flagship store in New York City and on Shop.NHL.com, the official online store of the NHL operated by e-commerce provider Fanatics.