For James Walker who was racing as the third driver in the endurance race of Rolex 24 At Daytona, the dream to successfully complete the race met its end soon after four hours of the initiation of the race. The Jersey racer was forced to leave the Daytona following engine problems suffered by his JLowe Racing Porche. The Rolex 24 At Daytona series had a league of top runners Brit Tim Sugden in his #64 Porsche together with others racing during the early hours of the GT class.

His team mate’s efforts got the Porche in the 17^th place while the race was witnessing a war of GT cars. Eric Lux who was first in the team to steer the Porche registered the place in the top six soon enough after which another team driver Tim Sugden took over the wheel. Tim Sugden also maintained the pace and the position during his stint.

James Walker who was the third to take over the steering wheel of the Porche for the first time during the race, also paced up and remained in the front runners before bad luck struck after only a few laps of the race, forcing the team to take a trip to the garage for repairs of the vehicle. However, when the team could not get the car functioning right for the rest of the endurance race, their car Porche was shown the way out of the race. Apparently the engine of the car gave up without any warnings which had the Jersey drivers leave the race mid way.

Speaking about the setback a disappointed James Walker said that the car had given impressive performances during the build-up and that there was nothing that the racers could notice prior to the mishap and therefore it could not have been prevented. He went on to add that the entire Jersey team of JLowe had put in the maximum efforts to complete the race successfully and the fact that they could not even be in the race for long due to this unexpected setback is a big shame and very disappointing for the team.

However, the Jersey racer kept his spirit alive and said that he had thoroughly enjoyed his first stint as an endurance racer in his Porche car. After a disappointing race weekend James Walker is now gearing up to head back to so as to prepare for the 2010 season of the race. The driver said that the team is really buckling up for the upcoming season. James Walker who has had the experience of driving several different cars had registered a fifth position on the charts in the 2009 formula Renault Championship.

The agonising setback which swept the team off the grounds into the pit and later out of the Rolex 24 At Daytona’s GT Class endurance race although proved out to be the worst for the team but the positive racers are not ready to brood over the loss. They all seemed to be pumped up for the upcoming events and looked all the more promising and committed to their goals and more victories in the Rolex races

The eleventh leg of the 2009/2010 Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping Series witnessed an outstanding performance in Vigo, Spain on Saturday night by Australia’s Edwina Alexander who scored maximum points and laid a strong claim over the series. The audience applauded aloud and was swept with the swift moves that Edwina Alexander made during the 2009/2010 Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping Series. The series leg saw an overwhelming participation from 11 horses. Edwina Alexander who was accompanied by 15 year old horse Cevo Socrates who like a true companion played his role well and earned admiration from one and all. The 15 year old played with wisdom too good for his age and was bestowed with the appreciation for his classy and super confident moves on court.

Together the duo spread the magic of their performance and ended up boosting Edwina Alexander’s position to the fourth place on the series charts. Edwina Alexander like a true winner left no stone unturned when it was about winning the leg. The lady got up early on the D-Day and reviewed her 2008 Grand Prix winning performance to recall her winning moves. The delighted Edwina Alexander said that although her present horse Socrates is very different from her 2008 winning ride Itot, but the videos reminded her exactly what she was in the need to know and the effort finally paid off.

Edwina Alexander, who shone at the 2009/2010 Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping Series after quite a few losses in previous series, also gave the credit to her determined ride Socrates. The lady is all spruced up for the remaining two qualifying rounds and appears to be all the more confident to take the title by her strive. She went on to add that she did not know what to anticipate from her horse Socrates given the fact that he had been away from all the action for eight long months. However, she was delighted to see the brilliant performance from the horse. Socrates has had a smooth career graph. The horse won the Zurich Grand Prix 2008 as well as the Gothenburg Grand Prix 2009 and went on to add another title to his name by bagging third position in Valkenswaard. Edwina Alexander could not keep herself from gushing about her winning ride and said that she was thrilled to have paired with Socrates. Edwina Alexander has qualified for the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping final that is scheduled to take place in Geneva this April.

While Switzerland’s Beat Mandli who remained the winner of the third leg held in Lyon, France last November bagged the position of the runner-up, Judy–Ann Melchior did Belgium proud after she picked up her first points of the season and remained third with her mare Cha Cha Z. The 2009/2010 Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping Series is the 32^nd season of the event that commenced in the year 1978. The series carries forward the tradition of brilliance that Rolex stands for while keeping the approach of the event very fan-friendly. The series gives a chance to the horses and to their riders to give their best performance and be at par with excellence. The next round of the event will be held at Gothenburg, Sweden during February 25 – 28, 2010.

The Rolex 24 At Daytona 2010 saw an unexpected victory of Action Express amidst a lot of weather swings and setbacks. However, 2008-2009 British Radical UK Cup champion, Derek Johnston had to settle for the tenth position in the class. Derek Johnston, who became victorious in the inaugural Sunoco Rolex 24 At Daytona challenge was mighty excited before the race started. The man was awarded $ 100,000 for taking over the winner’s position in the Rolex 24 At Daytona Driver Challenge following which he had invited attention from all corners. He also delivered an impressive performance at the Roar before the Rolex 24. Derek Johnston was being seen as one of the most potential racers and all eyes were glued on to him for winning the overall Rolex 24 At Daytona. However, destiny unfolded a different game plan, granting Derek Johnston the 10^th position in the race.

Memo Gidley, one of the Derek Johnston’s team members paced up at the beginning of the Rolex 24 At Daytona and smoothly led the first hour of the race. In the following hours, Brad Jaeger and Fabrizio Gollin maintained their pace. But soon enough they suffered major setbacks when their car was caught in mechanical problems which resulted in Fabrizio Gollin forced to give their vehicle Doran Racing #77 a visit to the pit for repairs, a visit which lasted for over 90 minutes. The gearbox of the car was changed and the rear was reassembled. By the time the car got back to the track, much damage had been done. The unstable and unpredictable weather conditions also added to the agony. The setbacks continued to take place when Derek Johnston had to get the tyre of the car changed. In spite of major problems that the team faced during the race, they stayed united and reserved a place in top ten positions in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

The Rolex 24 At Daytona was won over by Action Express team with Joao Barbosa piping Scott Pruett by mere 52.303 seconds to win the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16. The team consists of Terry Borcheller, Ryan Dalziel, Mike Rockenfeller and Joao Barbosa.

Incidentally this was 48^th Rolex 24 At Daytona championship where 48 year old Derek Johnston participated. Derek Johnston won the Sunoco Driver Challenge by bagging the most points. The race was a driver’s challenge between the series fuelled with Sunoco in UK and Europe.In his own words, Derek Johnston regarded the whole Driver’s Challenge experience as an amazing one and considered Daytona’s organizing team as friendly and welcoming. Derek Johnston’s team members Fabrizio Gollin and Memo Gidley saw him as an asset for the team after he became victorious in the Daytona 24. He won the Radical UK Cup in an SR8 as well as the European series. Derek Johnston’s fancy for wheels got a boost when he started racing motorbikes in 1993. Apparently his talents witnessed a halt after he broke his leg and wrist during his third race. After another brief break he finally took up car racing and soon became a leading name in car racing world. He has now topped that with a stupendous performance at the just concluded Rolex 24 At Daytona, the most difficult of endurance races.

The 2010 Rolex Miami OCR witnessed the Skandia Team GBR making Britain proud by bagging away as many as six medals in the ISAF Sailing World Cup event which concluded on Saturday. It was a very befitting reply to the efforts that each sailor from the crew had been contributing with and the expectations that the fans have had from them.

While Nick Thompson and John Robertson’s sonar crew grabbed hold of gold and a silver medal, Ed Wright and Giles Scott took the score to an impressive 1-2 for Britain in the heavyweight Finn class. Ed Wright who was the defending Champion and the winner of the 2009 World Cup series had a straightforward achievement with his teammate Scott lending a helping hand to fend off his American competitors. Ed Wright was pleased that he managed through the tricky conditions, while Giles Scott confessed not making it to gold. However, after delivering a good performance and dominating the newest Olympic Sailing discipline for a week, Annie Lush, Lucy Macgregor and Ally Martin could not hit the top prize and had to settle with a silver medal.

Skandia Team GBR’s army of Finn sailors has been proving its mettle in the race and appears very tough to beat. Coach Matt Howard looked mighty pleased with the team’s progress and appreciated Scott’s performance in the double-points medal race. Nick Thompson’s hard work in the Laser class paid off as he had gained enough points to hit gold. But for the not so lucky, Annie Lush, Lucy Macgregor and Ally Martin, in the nail biting final race, the Elliot 6m women’s match resulted in losing the gold to USA. With not even one match dropped in the entire regatta, the Skandia Team GBR was in high spirits and confidently headed towards the final showdown. Winning two matches, they were just stone’s throw away from winning another gold. But the third race brought with it the turning point, when the umpire’s decision at the windward mark went against them, making way for Tunnicliffe’s victory resulting in a tie.

Speaking about their loss, Lucy Macgregor was seen disappointed and explained how she had began with a strong start, soon gained four boat lengths on her opponent, but was slapped with an unexpected loss of speed due to rope debris that had tangled around their boat. Following which, the Skandia Team GBR lost the decider by merely half a boat length and had to settle for the silver. The sixth and the final medal came in the form of a bronze which was bagged by the Laser Radial Sailor Alison Young, whose instant claim raised the bar for her performance. This first-timer in the major senior international event 2010 Rolex Miami OCR felt elated at her achievement and hoped to earn a place in the top 10.

The RYA Olympic Manager, Stephen Park admired the achievements of British sailors who had put in a lot of hard work but felt disappointed at the loss of Lucy Macgregor’s team. He went on to praise Nick Thompson and Ed Wright who had dominated the Finn racing and looked impressed with Alison Young’s performance.