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AUTO RACING
Honda will withdraw from Formula One at the end of the 2021 season as it shifts to a goal of carbon neutrality, the Japanese car manufacturer said Friday.
Honda is the engine supplier for the Red Bull and AlphaTauri teams. It had resumed competition in F1 in 2015, originally with McLaren, but Honda-powered cars never managed to become regular title challengers in an era dominated by Mercedes.
Red Bull Racing said it was “disappointed” but noted the success of the partnership with Max Verstappen scoring Honda’s first victory since 2006 at the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix, followed by three other wins and 13 podium finishes.
Team principal Christian Horner said they respect Honda’s decision “to re-deploy their resources.”
“Their decision presents obvious challenges for us as a team but we have been here before and with our strength in depth we are well prepared and equipped to respond effectively, as we have proven in the past,” Horner said in a statement.
Honda president Takahiro Hachigo addressed the decision during an online news conference Friday.
“In Formula One, we have reached our goal of scoring victories, and achieved certain results,” Hachigo said. “Now we will put our strength into innovation in the new field of power units, carbon-free energy and achieving carbon neutrality. This could be a challenge as difficult as Formula One.”
GOLF
SCOTTISH OPEN: Australian golfer Lucas Herbert carded seven birdies and one bogey in a 6-under 65 to lead the Scottish Open by one shot on Friday going into the weekend.
Herbert contemplated quitting the game as he struggled during the middle of the 2019 season, but finds himself in contention for his second European Tour title after winning his first in January in Dubai. At 11 under par, he’s a shot ahead of Robert Rock, and two ahead of two more Englishmen, Ian Poulter and overnight leader Lee Westwood.
Poulter added a second round of 66 to his opening 67 at the Renaissance Club for a halfway total of 9 under which was matched by playing partner Westwood.
Westwood could follow a brilliant 62 on Thursday with only a 71.
COLLEGES
MINNESOTA: The University of Minnesota plans to have 98 fewer athletes on its nonrevenue teams next school year. According to data obtained by the Star Tribune, the athletics department is trimming 41 female players from women’s athletics in addition to the 57 men cut by the elimination of men’s track and field, tennis and gymnastics.
Besides eliminating the three men’s teams pending Board of Regents approval, the Gophers expect to have smaller rosters for eight women’s and two men’s teams, according to athletic department data. Six men’s teams and one women’s team are predicted to add to their rosters.
The Regents are expected to discuss the men’s program cuts at their next meeting Oct. 8-9. While supporters and athletes work to save the sports, Regent Michael Hsu said the cuts are being made too quickly
“I really don’t understand what they’re trying to do,” Hsu said. “I think it’s premature. I would like to see us preserve all of our sports until such time as we get back to a normal environment, and then decide what we’re going to do.”
The coronavirus pandemic is expected to cause major revenue losses for the university and officials are looking for many ways to save money.
ROAD RACING
ATHENS MARATHON: The Athens Marathon has been canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The marathon had been scheduled for Nov. 8. It follows the legendary route purportedly run by the ancient Greek messenger Pheidippides from Marathon to Athens to announce victory over the Persians in the Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C.
The classic marathon route has grown in popularity since the 1970s and the event now includes 10-kilometer and 5-kilometer races.
The Greek track federation says it had considered holding only the marathon with fewer participants and compulsory COVID-19 tests for all runners but its proposal to Greek health authorities had not been answered.
The federation says participants will be contacted and offered a refund or to transfer their participation to 2021. It says it will organize a virtual race in November that will be open to all.
LONDON MARATHON: Ethiopian runner Kenenisa Bekele withdrew from the London Marathon on Friday because of a left calf injury.
Marathon officials had billed Sunday’s race as a showdown between Bekele and longtime rival Eliud Kipchoge, the world-record holder.
The 38-year-old Bekele, a three-time Olympic champion on the track, said in a video message that he felt pain in his calf two weeks ago. He had hoped to get through it, but said Friday that he can’t.
“It’s really impossible to race on Sunday. I am not ready because of not solving this minor issue,” Bekele said. “I have tried my best to solve it.”
Bekele said he initially felt pain when he “pushed a little bit hard in training.” He said he’s “disappointed for my fans” and vowed to return next year.
Kipchoge set the world record (2 hours, 1 minute, 39 seconds) in Berlin in 2018. A year later, Bekele won the same race and was just two seconds off Kipchoge’s mark.
Athletes will compete on a 26.2-mile (42.2-kilometer) closed-loop course consisting of 19.6 clockwise laps around St. James’ Park. The traditional course along the River Thames was scrapped because of the coronavirus pandemic. Only elite men and women are competing and no spectators are permitted.
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