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US Driver Guthrie Leads Dakar in Saudi Arabia After Stage Three Sweep for Ford

Rallying - Dakar Rally - Stage 2 - Yanbu to AlUla - Yanbu, Saudi Arabia - January 5, 2026 General view of Ford Racing's Mitch Guthrie and Kellon Walch in action during stage 2. (Reuters)
Rallying - Dakar Rally - Stage 2 - Yanbu to AlUla - Yanbu, Saudi Arabia - January 5, 2026 General view of Ford Racing's Mitch Guthrie and Kellon Walch in action during stage 2. (Reuters)
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US Driver Guthrie Leads Dakar in Saudi Arabia After Stage Three Sweep for Ford

Rallying - Dakar Rally - Stage 2 - Yanbu to AlUla - Yanbu, Saudi Arabia - January 5, 2026 General view of Ford Racing's Mitch Guthrie and Kellon Walch in action during stage 2. (Reuters)
Rallying - Dakar Rally - Stage 2 - Yanbu to AlUla - Yanbu, Saudi Arabia - January 5, 2026 General view of Ford Racing's Mitch Guthrie and Kellon Walch in action during stage 2. (Reuters)

Ford Raptors filled the top five places in the Dakar Rally as American Mitch Guthrie Jr won the third 421km stage in Saudi Arabia, his first victory in the top car category, and took the overall lead on Tuesday.

Guthrie ended the loop starting and finishing in AlUla with a 26 second overall lead over Czech driver Martin Prokop with Sweden's Mattias Ekstrom third.

"We started at the back and (co-driver) Kellon (Walch) killed it with the navigation," said Guthrie.

"There were a lot of tricky spots, but we ‌had no flat ‌tires. The car was great so ‌we ⁠just kept ‌moving all day, really."

Spaniard Carlos Sainz, a four-times Dakar winner still competing at 63, was in fourth place overall and compatriot Nani Roma fifth.

Brazilian Lucas Moraes was sixth with Dacia Sandrider teammates Cristina Gutierrez, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Sebastien Loeb seventh, 10th and 12th respectively.

Five-times winner Al-Attiyah had led the standings after Monday's ⁠stage but dropped to 11 minutes and 39 seconds off the pace.

Al-Attiyah, ‌who suffered two punctures, was the only ‍driver of Monday's leading six ‍to remain in the top 10. Toyota had filled ‍the top five places in Monday's stage.

Nine-times world rally champion Loeb also lost time with two punctures in the first 100km and no further spare tire after that.

"We’re driving at about 20% of our capacity just to avoid punctures and we still get them," said the Frenchman.

"You don’t see the ⁠punctures coming and with two flat tires and 300 km to go, I had no spare wheels left so we drove the rest of the stage at crawling pace.

"I’m just happy to be at the finish because at one point I really didn’t think we were going to make it".

In the motorcycle category, Spain's Tosha Schareina won the stage for Honda with Australia's defending champion Daniel Sanders retaining the overall lead on a KTM, one minute and seven seconds ahead of ‌Honda's Ricky Brabec.

Wednesday's fourth stage is 417km from AlUla with an overnight bivouac in the desert.

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Solanke Says Tottenham's Madrid Meltdown One in a Million

Tottenham Hotspur's Dominic Solanke celebrates scoring the 1-0 goal during the English Premier League soccer match of Tottenham Hotspur against Crystal Palace, in London, Britain, 05 March 2026. EPA/DANIEL HAMBURY
Tottenham Hotspur's Dominic Solanke celebrates scoring the 1-0 goal during the English Premier League soccer match of Tottenham Hotspur against Crystal Palace, in London, Britain, 05 March 2026. EPA/DANIEL HAMBURY
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Solanke Says Tottenham's Madrid Meltdown One in a Million

Tottenham Hotspur's Dominic Solanke celebrates scoring the 1-0 goal during the English Premier League soccer match of Tottenham Hotspur against Crystal Palace, in London, Britain, 05 March 2026. EPA/DANIEL HAMBURY
Tottenham Hotspur's Dominic Solanke celebrates scoring the 1-0 goal during the English Premier League soccer match of Tottenham Hotspur against Crystal Palace, in London, Britain, 05 March 2026. EPA/DANIEL HAMBURY

Tottenham Hotspur's meltdown against Atletico Madrid in Tuesday's Champions League last-16 clash was a one-in-a-million occurrence, according to forward Dominic Solanke.

Igor Tudor's side conceded three times in the opening 15 minutes, two of the goals following calamitous errors by goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky who was immediately substituted.

A slip by Micky van de Ven also led to Atletico's second goal as Tottenham imploded before staging something of a comeback to eventually lose 5-2.

Solanke's goal at least gave Tottenham a glimmer of hope before next week's second leg in London, but he said it had been hard to recover from such a ⁠dreadful start.

"Obviously the ⁠first 20 minutes was difficult, very difficult circumstances which are one in a million," Solanke told Sky Sports on Thursday. "You never prepare for that. You prepare all week to go into a game, have a game plan and then stuff like that can happen, which is rare.

"That gave us a bit of ⁠mountain to climb, but I think overall, we try to take some positives. We know we've still got another game,” Reuters quoted him as saying.

Kinsky's slip for the first goal and then stray pass for the third saw him hauled off by Tudor, who has found himself under an intense spotlight after losing all four games since being named as interim manager after the sacking of Thomas Frank.

He will still be in charge for Sunday's away trip to Solanke's old club Liverpool when Tottenham will be desperate to avoid a ⁠seventh successive ⁠defeat in all competitions -- a run that has left them hovering just above the Premier League relegation zone.

"We've been so good in the Champions League this year but we know we haven't been anywhere near good enough in the league," Solanke said. "It's hard to put a finger on it, just changing one thing. I think we need to be better in every department. We're trying to stay positive and want to change it around.

"We need to be brave, we need to be strong and have full belief."

Tottenham are 16th in the Premier League table, one point above West Ham United and Nottingham Forest.

Sports

Bayern Faces Tough Leverkusen Test in Bundesliga after 6-1 Win and Injury Concerns

Bayern Munich's players celebrate at the end of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 1st leg soccer match between Atalanta BC and FC Bayern Munich at the Bergamo Stadium in Bergamo, Italy, 10 March 2026. EPA/MICHELE MARAVIGLIA
Bayern Munich's players celebrate at the end of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 1st leg soccer match between Atalanta BC and FC Bayern Munich at the Bergamo Stadium in Bergamo, Italy, 10 March 2026. EPA/MICHELE MARAVIGLIA
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Bayern Faces Tough Leverkusen Test in Bundesliga after 6-1 Win and Injury Concerns

Bayern Munich's players celebrate at the end of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 1st leg soccer match between Atalanta BC and FC Bayern Munich at the Bergamo Stadium in Bergamo, Italy, 10 March 2026. EPA/MICHELE MARAVIGLIA
Bayern Munich's players celebrate at the end of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 1st leg soccer match between Atalanta BC and FC Bayern Munich at the Bergamo Stadium in Bergamo, Italy, 10 March 2026. EPA/MICHELE MARAVIGLIA

Bayern Munich is heading to Bayern Leverkusen in the Bundesliga after contrasting Champions League games in midweek for the two clubs.

Bayern was on rampant form in a 6-1 win at Atalanta overshadowed by injuries in the first leg of their round of 16 matchup, while Leverkusen had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Premier League leader Arsenal which kept its hopes alive.

Bayern leads the Bundesliga by 11 points with nine games remaining, The Associated Press reported.

Key matchups There aren't many tricky away trips for Bayern in the Bundesliga these days, but Leverkusen is one of them. Bayern hasn't won there in the league since October 2021, though Vincent Kompany's team did get a victory in a Champions League playoff last year.

Hoffenheim is flying high in third, which would be its best finish since Julian Nagelsmann coached the team in 2017-18. Saturday's opponent Wolfsburg is having a nightmarish campaign in the relegation zone as Dieter Hecking becomes the team's third coach of the season.

In a tight Champions League qualification fight, fourth-place Stuttgart is unbeaten in four Bundesliga games as it takes on fifth-place Leipzig, which is unbeaten in five, on Sunday.

Players to watch Deniz Undav has scored in his last four Bundesliga games to take him to 15 goals for the season. Even if he's got half of Kane's tally of Bundesliga goals for Bayern, it's enough for second in the standings. Undav's run of form could help him make his case for a return to the Germany squad in time for the World Cup.

Nico Schlotterbeck could be one of the most in-demand defenders on the transfer market this off-season, with no obvious progress on renewing a Borussia Dortmund contract which expires next year, though a decision to let midfielder Julian Brandt leave might free up some funds. Dortmund plays Augsburg on Sunday.

Who's out Manuel Neuer's return from a calf injury lasted just 45 minutes last week before the Bayern goalkeeping great picked up another calf injury which kept him out of Tuesday's Champions League win at Atalanta. Jonas Urbig stepped in but was hurt in a heavy collision with an opponent, so third-choice Sven Ulreich may start.

Kane has missed two games with a calf issue but is set to return, though Alphonso Davies has pulled a hamstring and Bayern said Jamal Musiala was experiencing pain related to an ankle injury from last year. It wasn't immediately clear how seriously that would affect Musiala.

Off the field Two bizarre disciplinary cases are getting German fans talking. The national soccer federation is investigating Cologne for its announcer making comments over the PA system loudly condemning refereeing decisions that went against the team.

Second-division Preussen Muenster faces a disciplinary case over a masked fan who unplugged the referee's video monitor during a penalty review against the team.

Sports

Alonso Fears More Pain in China with Struggling Aston Martin

Fernando Alonso expects a difficult weekend in his Aston Martin in China. Paul Crock / AFP
Fernando Alonso expects a difficult weekend in his Aston Martin in China. Paul Crock / AFP
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Alonso Fears More Pain in China with Struggling Aston Martin

Fernando Alonso expects a difficult weekend in his Aston Martin in China. Paul Crock / AFP
Fernando Alonso expects a difficult weekend in his Aston Martin in China. Paul Crock / AFP

Fernando Alonso said Thursday he expects another difficult weekend wrestling with his new Aston Martin at the Chinese Grand Prix after failing to finish the season-opener in Australia.

Silverstone-based Aston Martin endured a horror start after serious issues with their Honda power unit and a lack of spare parts, said AFP.

Two-time world champion Alonso and teammate Lance Stroll had to endure extreme vibration in the chassis caused by the power unit, which was feared could cause the drivers permanent nerve damage.

"The situation unfortunately didn't change within four or five days since Melbourne, so it will be a difficult weekend," Alonso told reporters at the Shanghai International Circuit.

"We'll limit the laps in one or two sessions as we are short on parts. We need laps, to find the window on the chassis side.

"I'll be happy if we leave China with a more or less normal practice, more or less normal qualifying."

The Spaniard could not put a timeframe on when improvements might come.

"What can I do within the team? Work harder, help Honda as much as I can," said Alonso.

"We can allocate resources to help Honda with the power unit. We are one team, it is a bumpy start that I hope won't last too long.

"We are pushing, we have very talented people in the team, so I hope within a couple of grands prix, we can have a normal weekend.

"To be competitive will take more time. Once we fix the reliability, we will be behind on power and things."

The 44-year-old veteran has been in Formula One for more than two decades and has driven vastly different iterations of cars from the old V10 petrol engines through to the current complex hybrid configuration.

Despite the issues, he said was embracing the challenge of the new cars enthusiastically in what could be his final season on the grid.

His Aston Martin contract expires at the end of 2026.

"Do we enjoy driving these cars? Yes, because we love racing," Alonso said.

"I do four or five 24-hour races because I love racing and I love driving. So if you jump into an F1 car, you enjoy going fast.

"But it is a challenge, a different challenge.

"I was super lucky to race in (the last) era and I feel lucky to race in both."