London 2012 Spectators Invited to set New Carbon Offset World Record
Olympic and Paralympic Hopefuls Lead Call for Ticketholders to Neutralise Their Travel Carbon Footprint to the Games
In supporting the ambition for London 2012 to be the most sustainable Games possible, BP Target Neutral announced today that they are inviting London 2012 ticketholders, from across the world, to try and set a new world record for the most number of people offsetting their travel carbon to a single event.
In so doing, BP’s not-for-profit Target Neutral carbon management scheme is seeking to create awareness of the environmental impact of all journeys and will invite ticketholders to sign up to have their travel carbon footprint offset at no cost to themselves.
As the London 2012 official Carbon Offset Partner, BP Target Neutral will be providing the administration and funds to offset the carbon emissions from Games-related travel of ticketholders. The more people that sign up, the more Target Neutral can support low carbon development projects worldwide.
A personal invitation to participate will be emailed by The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) to ticketholders on Monday, October 3, inviting them to take part in this unprecedented world record attempt. Read more
Rubin Kazan vs. PAOK FC UEFA Europa League preview
Having won away from home on matchday one, Rubin Kazan will look to strengthen their position at the top of UEFA Europa League Group A with a win against PAOK FC.
The sides are meeting for the first time in UEFA competition.
Rubin came up against Panathinaikos FC in last season’s UEFA Champions League group stage, drawing twice; they have yet to score – or indeed concede – in 180 minutes of football against Greek sides.
In PAOK’s only previous games against Russian sides they played Rubin’s Premier League rivals PFC CSKA Moskva in last season’s UEFA Europa League round of 32; they lost 2-1 on aggregate, losing 1-0 at home and drawing 1-1 in Moscow.
Rubin have lost only one of their last 13 home games in Europe, 2-0 against FC Twente in last season’s UEFA Europa League round of 32, but that run includes eight draws as well as four wins.
PAOK have gone four games without a European away defeat (two wins and two draws) since a 1-0 loss at Villarreal CF in last season’s UEFA Europa League group stage.
Rubin’s 3-0 win at Shamrock Rovers FC on matchday one was their biggest away victory in the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League and matched their previous European best on their travels, a 3-0 success at Zalaegerszegi TE in the 2007 UEFA Intertoto Cup.
Otelul Galati vs. Benfica UEFA Champions League preview
Dorinel Munteanu will hope to recapture a moment from his youth when his FC Oţelul Galaţi side welcome Group C rivals SL Benfica to their home from home at Bucharest’s new National Arena.
As a 23-year-old FC Dinamo Bucureşti midfielder Munteanu, in his first taste of UEFA club competition, helped his team get the better of Benfica’s city rivals Sporting Clube de Portugal in the 1991/92 UEFA Cup first round.
The Oţelul coach will hope for something similar as he welcomes Jorge Jesus’ Benfica for what will be the first UEFA Champions League match played at the rebuilt National Arena.
The Romanian champions are looking to bounce back from their 2-1 defeat at FC Basel 1893 on matchday one, when Benfica earned a 1-1 draw against Manchester United FC in Lisbon.
Overlooking UEFA Intertoto Cup and UEFA Cup qualifying matches, this is Oţelul’s first home fixture in a UEFA competition proper since they took on Juventus in the 1988/89 UEFA Cup first round. They shocked the Bianconeri with a 1-0 victory, though the celebrations were cut short by a 5-0 second-leg reverse in Turin.
While Oţelul played that, their only previous home match in UEFA competition, in Galati in eastern Romania, they will stage their UEFA Champions League home fixtures in Bucharest. Read more
Trabzonspor vs. Lille UEFA Champions League preview
Trabzonspor face unfamiliar opponents in LOSC Lille Métropole for their first home game in the UEFA Champions League group stage in what will be the teams’ maiden meeting.
The Turkish team are the surprise early leaders of Group B having marked their debut in the competition with a 1-0 victory at 2010 winners FC Internazionale Milano on matchday one. French champions Lille also looked on course for three points as they took a 2-0 lead at home to PFC CSKA Moskva but the Russian side rallied in the last 20 minutes to rescue a draw.
Trabzonspor’s last home game against Ligue 1 opponents ended in a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Toulouse FC in the 2009/10 UEFA Europa League play-offs. A 1-0 second-leg win in France was not enough to keep the Turkish team in the competition.
They had more joy in the 1991/92 UEFA Cup second round against Olympique Lyonnais, winning 4-3 away and 4-1 at home.
Lille have previously faced Turkish opponents just once, coming out on top against Fenerbahçe SK in the 2009/10 UEFA Cup round of 32 thanks to a 2-1 win at home and 1-1 away draw.
Trabzonspor lost in the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round in 2005/06 having gone out in the third qualifying round the previous season. In a total of four home games in the competition since 2004/05, including this season’s third qualifying round, they have won two games, lost one and drew the other. Read more
Mazda Secures 2011 American Le Mans and Continental Tire Challenge Manufacturers Championships
As the 2011 racing season winds down, Mazda secured two manufacturers championships and just missed scoring a third by three-tenths of a second. This past weekend, Mazda teams delivered a pair of trophies –manufacturers championships in the American Le Mans Series LMP1, and the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Street Tuner (ST) class.
John Doonan, Director of Motorsports for Mazda North American Operations summed it up; “As any racer will tell you, championships actually take years to accomplish as you need to develop both the people and the products. We can’t thank our partners enough. The collective efforts from Dempsey Racing, Dyson Racing, Freedom Autosport, i-Moto Racing, Racers Edge, SpeedSource, and Team Sahlen has resulted in race wins in three series, a clean sweep of the ALMS titles for drivers, teams, and our Mazda MZR-R engine, and a Continental Tire manufacturers championship. This success was achieved through the same qualities as our street cars – great performance combined with quality, durability, and reliability.”
In the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) Mazda locked up all three 2011 LMP1 championships – manufacturers, team, and drivers, with a second-place finish at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The Dyson Racing LMP1Lola is powered by a turbocharged 2.0 liter four-cylinder Mazda MZR-R engine against Aston Martin with their V12 prototype. The Dyson team has scored two overall wins including a one-two in Baltimore where they also won the Green X Challenge. The ALMS season will conclude with the ten-hour Petit Le Mans Powered by Mazda at Road Atlanta on October 1st. Read more