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Motor Racing: Britain’s Gary Paffett (picture) will leave his role as McLaren test and reserve driver at the end of the season when the Formula One team switches from Mercedes to Honda power. The former DTM (German touring car) champion, who will continue to race in that series with a Mercedes team, was leaving after eight years as a tester and hundreds of hours in the simulator. “I’ve loved working for McLaren and hope my feedback and input over the years has been beneficial,” the 33-year-old said. “The engineers I’ve worked with have been kind enough to say that it has. I have many friends at McLaren, and I wish them the very best of luck for the future.”
Basketball, NBA: The New York Knicks ended a run of seven games without a win by seeing off the Denver Nuggets on Sunday. A poor first quarter had the Knicks on course to make it eight in a row but they conceded just one basket in the second and went on to win 109-93. Carmelo Anthony led the scoring with 28 points. Kobe Bryant ended with 44 for the Los Angeles Lakers but it was an achievement in defeat as they were beaten 136-115 by the Golden State Warriors. Stephen Curry top-scored with 30 for the Warriors who are 8-2 for the season.
Cricket: England will play four tests, five one-day internationals and two Twenty20 matches on a 10-week tour of South Africa during the 2015/16 summer season. The schedule of matches was confirmed by Cricket South Africa (CSA) yesterday, with the opening fixture a Boxing Day test against the number one-ranked Proteas in Durban. England will have been in the country for two weeks already having played two three-day warm-up matches against a South African Invitational XI in Potchefstroom and Pietermaritzburg.
Rugby Union: All Blacks loose forward Victor Vito is returning to New Zealand after suffering a calf strain and will miss next weekend’s final tour match against Wales in Cardiff. The big number eight rampaged home from 40 metres out to score a spectacular opening try in the tourists’ 24-16 win over Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday before being replaced by Liam Messam just before half time. Vito will not be replaced in the squad and reigning World Player of the Year Kieran Read is likely to start in the middle of the back row at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.
Horse Racing: Argentine-bred stayer Quechua won the $1.35 million (US$1.08 million) Singapore Gold Cup on Sunday, denying War Affair his chance of completing the city-state’s elusive Triple Crown. Ridden by Australian jockey Corey Brown, Quechua dashed clear of his rivals in the straight to win the 2,200 metre Group One event at Kranji Racecourse. Emperor’s Banquet finished second, one and half lengths behind the winner, to give South African trainer Patrick Shaw his second one-two finish in the race, which dates back to 1924. Cheetah On Fire came third with last winner’s Tropaios fourth.
Cycling: Olympic champion Dani King is recovering at home following her crash earlier this month after an 11-day hospital stay came to an end. The 23-year-old, who won women’s team pursuit gold at London 2012, was being treated in hospital following a training crash in which she suffered five broken ribs and a collapsed lung. King, who spent two nights in intensive care immediately following the crash, was required to stay in hospital to ensure her lung was fully drained of the fluid which had collected, her agent said.