Keep pace

Formula 1
Massa on Top

There's something about Brazilians and racing. You might be forgiven for thinking that the land of the Amazon is all about football, but champion racer Felipe Massa easily breaks that stereotype. A year after having a titanium plate inserted into his skull following a near-fatal accident, he's recovering his poise. Meanwhile, here is some interesting trivia about the man. Of course, he loves football, and Pele. He also loves watches, and has a collection of fifty. And to top an already interesting life, he's also a friend and fan of guitar virtuoso Eric Clapton, whose biography, he says, gave him the strength to come out of his injury.

Equestrian
The Real McCoy

He's been a British Champion Jockey every year since 1995, has won more than 3,000 races and pretty much every jump jockeying event ever. This Sachin Tendulkar of horse racing is Irishman Tony McCoy. When he won the ultimate prize in horse racing, the 165th Grand National, earlier this year, he became the only racer to win every prize going. Along with his horse 'Don't Push It', Tony realised his boyhood dream when he won the Grand National. It took him 16 attempts to get it right. But he has plans to participate again next year, instead of resting on his laurels.

World race
Ring around the world

Three years after the last one, the Barcelona World Race is back! The second instalment of the sailing regatta gets underway on December 31 and is expected to finish in late March 2011. Around-the-world sailing trip, this doublehanded (with a crew of two) regatta is a challenging one. For one, it's virtually non-stop with just six breaks along the way. Then, the distance involved is huge, spanning 25,000 nautical miles (46,300 km). The course is from Barcelona to Barcelona via three capes: Good Hope, Leeuwin and Horn, and Cook Strait, putting Antarctica to starboard. Fifteen teams are participating, hoping to better the record of the first-time winners, who made the trip in 92.5 days.

Equestrian
Photo Finish

The recent $5-million Breeder's Cup Classic lived up to its reputation by dishing out one of the most nail-biting finishes of all time. The photo-finish between a legendary horse and a relative newbie was not at all what anyone had anticipated. Zenyatta, the winner of all the 19 races she had run in so far, had become a superstar in the lead-up to the 20th and final race of her career, along with her jockey Mike Smith. Even in the run up to the finishing line, Zenyatta was in front, narrowly edging out the younger horse Blame, ridden by Garrett Gomez. But Zenyatta lost her momentum just before the end and Blame got enough of a nose-in to be adjudged the winner after a photo-finish. If it was a major upset for the veteran Zenyatta, Blame's victory was a testament to the 38-year-old Gomez's assured guiding. Watched by 72,000 edge-of-the-seat spectators, this race was a classic.

Ducati bows out
You won't be seeing any of Ducati's offerings in the Superbike World Championship in the near future. The bike maker has decided to pull out of next year's edition, thus bringing to an end its 22-year-old association with the championship. A company that was once the biggest backer of the race which began in 1988, plans to concentrate more on MotoGP after signing up the Italian riding star Valentino Rossi from Yamaha.