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Formula One: Max Verstappen (right) set the fastest time in testing in Barcelona on Wednesday, three days after he became Formula One’s youngest race winner on his Red Bull debut. The 18-year-old Dutch driver completed 118 trouble-free laps of the Circuit de Catalunya and ended the day 0.739 seconds faster than McLaren’s Belgian reserve Stoffel Vandoorne. “It was good to get back in the car,” said Verstappen. “The car is good to drive, very enjoyable and we achieved very good mileage.”

MotoGP: Spanish Suzuki rider Maverick Vinales has signed a two-year deal to replace compatriot and reigning MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo at Yamaha from 2017. Suzuki said separately that they had signed Ducati’s Italian Andrea Iannone to replace Vinales, who had his first MotoGP podium finish when he finished third in France earlier this month. Vinales, 21, will partner Italy’s Valentino Rossi.

Giro d'Italia: German veteran Andre Greipel claimed his third stage of this year’s Giro d’Italia after his Lotto-Soudal team powered him home on a pancake flat 12th stage yesterday. The Belgium-based outfit turned the last 15km of the 182km stage in the lowlands near Venice into a team time trial as the Red Express roared around the streets of Bibione. All eight riders stayed wheel to wheel, stretching the peloton, before Greipel took over and blasted to the line, using all his experience to hold off young Australian Caleb Ewan. Race leader Bob Jungels retained the Maglia Rosa after finishing safely in the bunch.

Rugby Union: Wallabies coach Michael Cheika signed a contract extension through until the 2019 Rugby World Cup yesterday and immediately set his sights on rebuilding Australian rugby to ensure success for the long term. Cheika took over from Ewen McKenzie at the end of 2014 after a troubled three years for the test team and enjoyed immediate success by guiding the Wallabies to last year’s World Cup final.