Scott Dixon and Scott McLaughlin will have to fight their fight through the field to secure a top result at round two of the IndyCar Championship in Florida.
Scott Dixon Photo: Icon Sportswire
Both New Zealand drivers were unable to reach the final stage of qualifying in St Petersburg on Sunday (NZ time).
Six-time series champion Dixon, who finished third in last weekend's season opener in Alabama, snuck through to round two of qualification with the sixth fastest time in group one.
The 40-year-old, though, was not quick enough to earn a spot in the third and final stage and had to settle for eighth fastest.
In his rookie season, three-time Supercars champion McLaughlin narrowly missed out on spot in the second stage of qualifying and was set to start from 14th.
Colton Herta claimed pole position for Monday's race.
Adesanya set for title defence rematch
The latest world title defence for New Zealand mixed martial artist Israel Adesanya is almost locked in.
UFC president Dana White told ESPN contracts were being finalised for the middleweight champion to fight Italy's Marvin Vettori at UFC 263 on June 12.
NZ UFC star Israel Adesanya. Photo: Photosport/USA Today
Adesanya defeated Vettori, who had won his last five fights, via split decision in 2018.
The Nigerian-born New Zealander lost his most recent fight against light heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz in March but the defeat did not affect his status as middleweight champion.
White told ESPN that the Adesanya-Vettori winner would then face former champion Robert Whittaker.
The location of UFC 263 had not been announced yet.
- Field Level Media
Energy issues hit Valencia ePrix
Mercedes driver Nyck de Vries won a wet and farcical Valencia Formula E race to take the championship lead after half the field ran out of energy and stopped or crawled to the chequered flag.
Portugal's Antonio Felix da Costa had been leading from pole position at the Ricardo Tormo circuit on Sunday (NZ time), after a safety car start due to the conditions, but slowed on the final lap and handed the lead to de Vries.
Formula E Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Swiss driver Nico Mueller, who started 22nd, was second for Dragon Racing/Penske with Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne, last on the grid due to a breach of the tyre rules that stripped him of pole, making it a double podium for Mercedes.
New Zealand's Nick Cassidy came home fourth for Envision Virgin Racing, with countryman Mitch Evans down in 21st for Jaguar.
The race had five safety car periods and an extra lap, throwing awry teams' energy management strategies, and only 12 classified finishers according to provisional results.
Another ePrix was scheduled for the Valencia circuit on Monday.
- Reuters, RNZ
Reds caught out by Covid lockdown
The Queensland Rugby Union (QRU) is in negotiations with the state government to allow its Super Rugby team to return home without having to undergo 14 days of hotel quarantine ahead of their championship final on May 8.
Perth was sent into a three-day lockdown because of a single case of Covid-19 at midnight on Friday, a few hours after the Reds had lost their final match of the regular season to the Western Force in the city.
Queensland Reds coach Brad Thorn. Photo: Photosport
Under Queensland's health regulations, anyone arriving in the state from Perth from Saturday is obliged to undergo a two-week quarantine at an approved facility.
The Reds squad travelled from Perth to Sydney by charter flight on Saturday and would negotiate the final leg of the journey back home to Brisbane.
The QRU said it had held "positive conversations" with the government to allow some flexibility in the isolation requirements.
The Reds finished top of the Super Rugby AU standings to secure the right to host the final against the winner of a playoff between the ACT Brumbies and Western Force in Canberra next week.
- Reuters
England women defend Six Nations crown
England sealed a third consecutive Women's Six Nations title by edging France 10-6 in an absorbing game at Twickenham Stoop.
Poppy Cleall charged over the try line in the final minute of the first half and Emily Scarratt added the extras to make amends for two earlier penalty misses.
England playing the Black Ferns at Twickenham in 2017 Photo: Photosport
France came out firing in the second half and reduced the gap to one point through the boot of Caroline Drouin as the error count of a nervy English side climbed.
But the Red Roses wrestled back the momentum in the closing stages and Scarratt's last-minute penalty sealed victory.
The format of the competition was changed this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, with England and France facing off in the final as the winners of two three-team groups, rather than the usual six-team round-robin format.
Earlier, Ireland sealed third place with a 25-5 win over Italy in Dublin.
- Reuters
Chelsea edge Hammers
Timo Werner ended his goal drought in timely fashion to earn Chelsea a crucial 1-0 victory over West Ham United in the battle for a top-four finish in the English Premier League.
The German had gone 14 games without scoring for club and country but produced a clinical finish shortly before halftime as Chelsea took the points at the London Stadium.
Photo: AFP
Victory enabled Thomas Tuchel's fourth-placed side to open up a three-point gap over West Ham for whom two successive defeats have dented their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.
Joe Willock scored an equaliser in the dying seconds of stoppage time as Newcastle United earned a 1-1 draw against Liverpool to boost their English Premier League survival hopes.
Liverpool had opened the scoring at Anfield inside three minutes when Newcastle defender Ciaran Clark failed to clear a cross, allowing forward Mohamed Salah to control the ball and fire a left-footed half-volley into the roof of the net.
Newcastle had a stoppage time goal disallowed by VAR for offside but the visitors did not relent and eventually snatched a point through Willock's goal from virtually the last kick of the match.
Meanwhile Watford secured promotion to the Premier League with two games to spare, after a 1-0 win over Millwall in the (second-tier) Championship at Vicarage Road.
Ismaila Sarr's 11th-minute penalty proved enough as Watford guaranteed one of the two automatic promotion spots alongside Championship leaders Norwich City, who booked their top-flight spot last weekend.
- Reuters