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Valencia Grand Prix
This weeks Formula One review is on a more personal note as I was very lucky to be able to go to the first ever Valencia Street Circuit F1 race. Two tickets, one for me the other for my F1 crazy husband, in the not so cheap seats of Tribune 22. So what did I think? The thrill of being at an F1 race is something else, as the cars fly past you at up to 315kph it is awesome. It was great to see my favourite Massa take podium, with Hamilton in second and Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber) in third. I thoroughly enjoyed myself despite being amongst thousands of Spanish Alonso fans who insisted on booing home boy Hamilton every time he appeared on the screens. But then we had the last laugh as Nakajima took out the Renault driver in the first lap. I don’t think cheering the Williams driver on subsequent laps endeared us to those sat around us. In fact the man and his girlfriend sat next to us got up and left after the fifth lap! 390 euros for 5 laps of racing they obviously had more money then sense. They hadn’t even taken advantage of the three day access the tickets gave you to the circuit, only turning up 10 minutes before the main event started. The weekend was packed full of racing from Formula BMW, Formula 3, GP2 and the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. It would have been nice to see a home driver win the F1 but with Hamilton nearly not racing due to health issues and Button (Honda) and Coulthard (Red Bull) bringing up the rear for the majority of the race it was not on the cards.
Valencia circuit organisers now have until 2010 to finish the circuit for the next European Grand Prix as the race heads off to Germany for 2009. But will they get it all sorted. I would hate to be a party pooper but there are still many things that have to be resolved before 2010 not least the parking. There was insufficient free parking for the number of fans arriving in the city. If you pay 390€ to go to an event you expect to be able to park for free. Not get charged 36 euros to use the overflow car park and still have to walk a good 2 miles to get on the free bus which then drives another couple of miles to the track. Also the lack of shade took its toll on some fans. People were hiding behind refreshment and merchandising stands in search the smallest amount of shade.
But all in all it was a fantastic day and well worth the money. I can’t wait until 2010 and have already put my piggy bank on the shelf to save up for seats with the beautiful people above the pit lane!!
Next race Belgium - Spa Francorchamps - 7 September 2008
Mel Collins
Done us Proud
 Well Team GB certainly pulled out all the stops at the Beijing Olympics and did us proud. All the athletes had worked exceptionally hard in the lead up to the games and the medal count is testimony to that. Forty seven medals including 19 gold’s was a tremendous effort by the men and women out in China. I was glued to the TV throughout the two weeks cheering on the rowers, swimmers, runners, gymnasts, cyclists and everyone in between, too many to mention. Particular mention has to go to Rebbeca Addlington who was only at the games to gain experience ready for the 2010 London games yet managed to take 2 gold medals making her the first woman to win a British swimming gold for 48 years and smash a world record. Triple gold medallist, Chris Hoy showed what he was made of in the velodrome winning three gold medals. Hoy becomes the first person in 100 years to have won 3 gold’s at the same Olympics. Congratulations to all the medal winners.
We couldn’t talk about the Olympics without mentioning Usain Bolt (Jamaica) and Michael Phelps (USA). The 21 year old Jamaican runner won gold in both the 100 and 200 metres, smashing the world record in both. Phelps, who quite literally blew the competition out of the water, won 8 gold medals and set 7 new world records and 1 new Olympic record.
The standard this year was incredible and just makes 2010 all the more exciting.
Rank
| Country
| Gold
| Silver
| Bronze
| TOTAL
| 1
| China
| 51
| 21
| 28
| 100
| 2
| USA
| 36
| 38
| 36
| 110
| 3
| Russia
| 23
| 21
| 28
| 72
| 4
| Great Britain
| 19
| 13
| 15
| 47
| 5
| Germany
| 16
| 10
| 15
| 41
| 6
| Australia
| 14
| 15
| 17
| 46
| 7
| South Korea
| 13
| 10
| 8
| 31
| 8
| Japan
| 9
| 6
| 10
| 25
| 9
| Italy
| 8
| 10
| 10
| 28
| 10
| France
| 7
| 16
| 17
| 40
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Mel Collins
ONCAS Golf Society (ONCAS)
Alicante Golf, 10th August.
The Society had a disappointing turnout for visit to Alicante Golf with only eight members and four guests. Playing as three 4-ball match’s play began just before mid-day.
The Captain John (The Italian Stallion) Monticelli led off the first 4-ball and returned a creditable 35 points. The second, very strong, 4-ball was led by Bob (The Bandit) Smith and included (Clever) Trevor Clay. The third 4-ball was led by the lowest handicap player, Richard Finch, a regular guest who hopefully will soon decide to become a fully paid up member of the Society. Richard who plays off a 9 handicap finished with 36 points. Over a post match (very welcome) drink, members and guests exchanged stories about the highlights and lowlights of the day; Clever Trevor could have sunk putts with a broom handle on his front 9 holes of 24 points; Malcolm (Big Mac) McGuigan’s 75mm drive on the 18th; Peter (No-Pay) Gurney found numerous reasons not to pay out his side bets; and tales of lost balls, great drives and putts. After a few drinks and as the discussions continued so the recollections of the days play became more exaggerated. Some had played so well it seemed that it was only a question of time before Nick Faldo would call. With nine of the twelve players scoring 30 points or more, everyone agreed it had been a great day’s golf, enjoyed by members and guests alike. The spoils went to Bob the Bandit with 38 points (birdied the 18th for 4 points!) with Clever Trevor second (also with 38 points but second under Spanish golf rules) and the nearest the pin went to Peter No-Pay for his shot to 1.5m at the third hole (shame he missed the putt, no-one likes to see that).
ONCAS GS is a small, friendly Golf Society who plays once every two weeks, previously on a Sunday but from September the Society will be playing every other Wednesday at Alicante Golf, Alenda, Bonalba, El Planteo and Levante at Benidorm on a rotation basis. The society meets at Bar El Parque in Onil every Monday evening from 8pm (formal meetings every other week).
As a Society the green fees paid are very competitive and the Society invites new members, men and women, of all abilities to come and join us.
If you are interested and for further details call Malcolm on 607165792 or email at
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Javea Green Bowls Club – Weekly Round Up with Alan Phillips
Sponsored by MATRIX 35 finance
The Lux-Al sponsored Floodlit League was completed on Monday with Los Lobos coming out on top, see photo. The last match saw them playing Taylor Made, who in second place, were trailing by just 1 point. The game started fairly evenly and Taylor Made were leading 5-4, but then the next 6 ends saw them fail to pick up a single shot and Los Lobos eventually won comfortably. Congratulations to Gail & Harry Chick, Lynne & Derek Eldon, Martin Hughes, Tony Nicholls, Jan & Alan Phillips who picked up the Trophy and the 300 euro first prize. Taylor Made slipped to 3rd place and won 100 euro, while the Ever Hopefuls sneaked into 2nd place with a good last night win and picked up 200 euro. Our Chairman, John Ramage, thanked Lux-Al for sponsoring the event, Dave Sackman for his excellent running of the Competition, all of the competitors for their support and the staff at Javea Green for their hard work.
Next week sees the Hillbury 3-2-1 contested amongst Javea Green members and Ken Davey has organised the event so that it does not clash with Club mornings.
Our carpet was lifted this week and some small repairs were done on rinks 3, 4 & 5, where small runs had developed. New stitching on the two end seams was carried out and the opportunity to generally brush away dust & debris below the underlay, was also seized. Thanks to the members who assisted on Wednesday.
The draw for the Javea Green Iberian Open has been made and will be distributed to the local Clubs supporting this event shortly.
Enjoy your bowling.
Levante Golf Society
Villaitana Golf Club
Friday 8 August 2008
Well, that was some day for our first visit of the year to Villaitana Golf Club at Benidorm! The weather started out as sunny, hot and humid but turned very windy and eventually became dark and brooding before the rains came with a vengeance. Fortunately, we were able to complete the competition before the really nasty conditions prevailed. The course itself was, as a result of the weather and some very tricky greens, rather difficult; the frequent change of the yellow tees from their correct position to either the blue or white positions also contributed to an interesting day. Therefore, players who scored near to or under their handicap are to be congratulated for some very fine play. Date for your diary is 21 September 2008 at La Valle restaurant where Martin Gates is arranging a BBQ to watch the final day of the Ryder Cup; please contact Martin to book your place.
Photograph of prize winners: Left to right;
Back row: Alan Overton, Warren Hutson, Graham Hutson, Peter Hunt, Brian NorburyFront row: Roger J Miller, Anne Edwards, Lee Underdown Alcalalí Angling Club Match Report 8th August 2008
Anticipating another blisteringly hot and sunny day, members of the Alcalalí Angling Club decided to stick to the stretch of the Rio Jucar that provides a bit of fun with smaller fish and so less hard work hauling keepnets out of the water at the hottest part of the day. So back to section B2/C1 at the Ion Bridge and although the weather was not as predicted, - a pleasantly hot day with a good breeze, a fair bit of cloud and even a few spots of rain followed by clear skies and sunshine - the fishing was exactly as expected! Mr Consistency, Siggy Grabow, is still in a class of his own on this part of the river, content to wait patiently for the bigger fish to come to his feed on the bottom, just off the far bank, he fished the same spot for the entire 5 hours taking a few good fish every now and again to build a winning weight of 32.5kg. In second place, Tony Fowler fished the whip throughout the match to take a lot of bleak and small carp and, although he didn't manage to beat his last match weight, this week's 19.2kg was enough to move up a place, just ahead of Lorraine Fowler who fished up in the water for small carp to net 17.8kg. Roger Ackers struggled on the upstream end peg, switching methods but still unable to find any 'bonus carp' this week, he came in fourth with 14.5kg.
Anyone interested in joining the club should contact Allan in the UK on 01903 774243 or by email -
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F1 Tables
Drivers' championship 2008
| Name
| Car
| Nat
| Points
| 1 Lewis Hamilton
| McLaren-Mercedes
| GB
| 70
| 2 Felipe Massa
| Ferrari
| Brz
| 64
| 3 Kimi Raikkonen
| Ferrari
| Fin
| 57
| 4 Robert Kubica
| BMW Sauber
| Pol
| 55
| 5 Heikki Kovalainen
| McLaren
| Fin
| 43
| 6 Nick Heidfeld
| BMW Sauber
| Ger
| 41
| 7 Jarno Trulli
| Toyota
| Ita
| 26
| 8 Fernando Alonso
| Renault
| Spa
| 18
| 9 Mark Webber
| Red Bull-Renault
| Aus
| 18
| 10 Timo Glock
| Toyota
| Ger
| 15
| 11 Nelson Piquet Jr
| Renault
| Brz
| 13
| 12 Rubens Barrichello
| Honda
| Brz
| 11
| 13 Nico Rosberg
| Williams-Toyota
| Ger
| 9
| 14 Sebastian Vettel
| Toro Rosso-Ferrari
| Ger
| 9
| 15 Kazuki Nakajima
| Williams
| Jpn
| 8
| 16 David Coulthard
| Red Bull-Renault
| GB
| 6
| 17 Jenson Button
| Honda
| GB
| 3
| 18 Sebastien Bourdais
| Toro Rosso-Ferrari
| Fra
| 2
| 19 Giancarlo Fisichella
| Force India-Ferrari
| Ita
| 0
| 19 Adrian Sutil
| Force India-Ferrari
| Ger
| 0
| 19 Anthony Davidson*
| Super Aguri-Honda
| GB
| 0
| 19 Takuma Sato*
| Super Aguri-Honda
| Jpn
| 0
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Constructors' championship 2008
| Team
| Points
| | | 1 Ferrari
| 121
| 2 McLaren-Mercedes
| 113
| 2 BMW Sauber
| 96
| 4 Toyota
| 41
| 5 Renault
| 31
| 6 Red Bull-Renault
| 24
| 7 Williams-Toyota
| 17
| 8 Honda
| 14
| 9 Toro Rosso-Ferrari
| 11
| 10 Force India-Ferrari
| 0
| 11 Super Aguri-Honda*
| 0
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Positions after European Grand Prix
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Sport 
