Motor Racing: Jean Todt is to stand this year for a third term as president of Formula One’s governing body, the International Automobile Federation (FIA). The 71-year-old Frenchman made the announcement in a letter to FIA club presidents, which he also posted on his Twitter feed. Todt, a former Ferrari boss who led the team to multiple championships with Michael Schumacher, took over from Max Mosley, a Briton, in 2010 and won a second term in 2014. “Over coming months, my team and I will lay out our detailed programme for the term ahead,” he said.
Cycling: Spain’s Gorka Izagirre held off the peloton to claim the eighth stage of the Giro d’Italia as Luxembourg’s Bob Jungels retained the overall lead yesterday. Movistar rider Izagirre attacked from a group of four breakaway riders in the climb leading to the finish and never looked back. Italian Giovanni Visconti (Bahrein-Merida) took second place, five seconds behind with Spaniard Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) finishing third, 10 seconds off the pace. Jungels (Quick Step-Floors) finished safe in the main pack, which was led in the finale by Thibaut Pinot’s FDJ team as the main favourites looked to avoid splits in the last ascent.
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Golf: World number two Rory McIlroy (picture) will have an MRI test on his troublesome back in Belfast tomorrow in an effort to identify the cause of his discomfort. Speaking after the second round at the Players Championship, McIlroy acknowledged that he had aggravated his back. “I’ve been struggling with it a bit lately, sort of felt it for the first time last Sunday,” the Northern Irishman told reporters. “I’m going for a MRI scan on Monday (tomorrow) just to make sure it’s not serious and then I’ll see what we do from there.”
Tennis: Rafael Nadal ended a seven-match losing streak against Novak Djokovic in emphatic fashion by thrashing the world number two 6-2 6-4 yesterday to reach the final of the Madrid Open and move within a step of a third consecutive clay-court title. Real Madrid great Raul and all-time top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo were among those watching in the stands in the Caja Majica on a scorching day in the Spanish capital in as Madrid fan Nadal continued his rampant start to the year.
Basketball: Washington Wizards and Boston Celtics will go the distance in their NBA Eastern Conference play-off semi-final. The Wizards made home advantage count in game six of the seven-match series on Friday night, winning 92-91 at Verizon Center to level the series. There was little to separate the teams throughout but John Wall’s three-pointer with 3.5 seconds remaining won it for the hosts and took his match tally to 26 points. Boston will have home advantage in tomorrow’s decider, with Cleveland Cavaliers awaiting the winners of the TD Garden clash.