Great Britain’s Para-ice hockey team finished fourth in the Women’s World Challenge after losing 4-1 to Team Europe in their final match in Skien, Norway.

Captain Emily Louise McLean was on target for GB, but a hat-trick from Lena Schroder and one from Alexandra Bendiksen completed a convincing win for Europe.

It means Breanna Wagner’s GB side end the tournament with one win and three three defeats from their four matches.

The United States, Canada and Team Pacific also took part in the event, now in its third year, with the teams playing each other once in a round robin format over four days.

Team USA won gold for the third time after ending their tournament with a 3-0 victory over Canada, who took silver for the third year in a row, with Europe claiming bronze.

Despite a tire disadvantage, the 23XI Racing driver appeared to find an extra gear on the final lap when he surged ahead of both Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney.

33.379s — Tyler Reddick‘s final lap time, which was half a second faster than anyone else on the track (and was even quick enough to land fourth place in Saturday qualifying). It was an astonishing charge that appeared to come out of nowhere, cutting under Hamlin in Turn 1 before blowing the doors off Blaney with a high-side pass in Turns 3 and 4.

“I didn’t know how bad we were going to bleed,” said Reddick about his tire deficit. “I drove into turn three (on the restart) … out of desperation (and) I kind of held serve. I was very shocked by that. Then as laps just kept winding down, it didn’t truly feel like we were at a big tire deficit. You come to this place, you know tires are a premium.

“Early in the race we saw the 8 [Kyle Busch], a number of other cars, on three/four-lap tires stay out and get their doors blown off. I was completely shocked we were able to stay in the mix like we were. Yeah, going into (Turn 1), I made the right guess. I got the bottom. I got clean air. I got up in front of the 11 [Hamlin]. I had a good run on the 12 [Blaney].”

Race winner Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, The Beast Killer Sunrise Toyota Camry

Photo by: Ben Earp / NKP / Motorsport Images

As the leaders headed for the final set of corners, Blaney chose to run middle which left the top wide open for Reddick.

“I was just blown away that I had that kind of momentum going into turn three,” explained Reddick. “I thought there was no way Blaney was going to leave me the outside. He must have thought that I was just going to absolutely dive bomb it off in there to try to get around him. Once I saw him kind of shade down, I hit the gas and forgot about everything else. Came out on the other side in the lead. It was just crazy.”

It’s quite the turnaround from one week ago when Reddick’s Las Vegas race ended in a bizarre rollover crash through the infield grass. Seven days later, he’s secured the second of four coveted spots in the finale. Reddick has never placed higher than sixth in the Cup standings, but he is now guaranteed to finish no worse than fourth in 2024.

ABU DHABI – Ismail Naurdiev was surprised when the UFC pink slip came through his email in 2020.

He went 2-2 with the promotion before he was released. But a little more than four years later, he’s back on the promotion’s roster – winning fights once again.

At UFC 308 on Saturday at Etihad Arena, Naurdiev (24-7 MMA, 3-2 UFC) dominated seasoned veteran Bruno Silva (23-12 MMA, 4-6 UFC) en route to a unanimous decision victory.

“It feels amazing,” Naurdiev told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference. “I feel so grateful to be back, especially a win against that kind of opponent. It’s for sure something big and will bring me up in the rankings.”

Naurdiev, 28, went 4-3 during his time between UFC stints, competing mainly for BRAVE CF in the Middle East. Over the course of that time, Naurdiev said he learned a lot and has a much different approach to the fight game.

“I’m much, much stronger,” Naurdiev said. “I’m much more mature (and) much, much better and faster right now. The first run in the UFC, I was too young and too excited. I didn’t really have a right team and right coaches who were telling me how to do, what to do. I was also too naive, doing all that crazy stuff and things. Now, I have a very good team, a great team. I trust them. There was a plan. They told me, ‘Please, man. You remember your last run in the UFC. This time, listen to us. Just follow the plan and you will see everything works out.”

If possible, Naurdiev wants to return Feb. 8 at UFC 312 in Sydney. But there’s a big decision he’ll need to make before accepting a fight. Saturday’s bout was at middleweight, but Naurdiev considers himself more of a welterweight.

“I saw an announcement for February in Sydney,” Naurdiev said. “That will be interesting for me. I wanted always to visit Sydney. … To be honest, no. Actually, I’m a welterweight. First of all, when we go back, I’ve got to discuss with my team. So what do we do next? Stay at middleweight or welterweight? Let’s see how my weight goes, if I’m heavy or not. We will see from there. But first I will enjoy my victory. ”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.

The topic of IndyCar taking a trip south of the Rio Grande has been a hot topic since NASCAR announced plans in August to have a race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez – the same track where Formula 1’s Mexican Grand Prix is held.

That stock car event will take place across 14-15 June next year on a shortened 14-turn layout, with drivers going right at Turn 4 instead of left, skipping Turns 5 and 6 of the full configuration.

It will be NASCAR’s first points-paying Cup Series race in Mexico City, with the Xfinity Series previously racing at the track four times between 2005-08.

There hasn’t been an IndyCar presence in Mexico since 2007, which came under the Champ Car era at the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit.

“We’ve been in discussions with IndyCar,” said Alejandro Soberón, the president of Mexico City GP promoter CIE.

“They were here before in Mexico. Next year, NASCAR is coming to Mexico. They’re going outside the United States for the first time. There’s a lot of excitement. It’s a completely different type of race and championship.” 

Another element that bolsters chances for an IndyCar return is the surge of interest in Pato O’Ward, a Mexico native from Monterrey who drives for Arrow McLaren. 

Race winner Sebastien Bourdais, Newman Haas Lanigan Racing

Photo by: Dan R. Boyd / Motorsport Images

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25-year-old O’Ward, who won three IndyCar races this past season and also came within two corners of winning the Indianapolis 500, completed his first FP1 running of the 2024 F1 season at his home event last Friday as one of two required young driver sessions.

Sliding into the cockpit of Lando Norris’s MCL38, he finished just 0.3s behind team-mate Oscar Piastri after logging 21 laps in the one-hour session.

It was shared that O’Ward received similar support as Sergio Perez, the only Mexican who competes full-time in F1, with over 3,000 fans attending a recent sponsor appearance at the Plaza Reforma 222 shopping mall in downtown Mexico City.

“We have set up conversations with IndyCar in January to think about 2026,” Soberón added. “Of course, Pato is a big factor in all that.”

India

While India still lead the way as it stands, back-to-back home losses to New Zealand have made it that much tougher for Rohit Sharma’s men to reach a third straight WTC final.

It is still in their hands, though, and victory in the third Test against the Black Caps combined with winning three Tests in Australia would guarantee them a place in the showpiece game next summer.

Australia

Following India’s slip ups against New Zealand, the equation is pretty simple for Australia: win five of their last seven matches and they’ll go to Lord’s for a chance to defend their title.

Four wins – should three of them come against India – should be enough but anything less than five and other results become a factor.

Sri Lanka

As with Australia, it’s a fairly straightforward scenario for Sri Lanka. Win all four of their remaining matches in the cycle and they will be in the final.

That won’t be easy against fellow contenders South Africa and Australia but three wins and a defeat might still be enough depending on results elsewhere.

New Zealand

An historic series win in India has kept New Zealand, Test champions in 2021, in with a chance of returning to the final.

Even victory in all four of their remaining Tests – one in India and three at home to England – would not assure them of a top-two place but it would give them a very good chance.

South Africa

As it stands, the Proteas require five wins from five to be completely sure of a berth in the final.

Four wins and a draw would give them a strong chance, while even four wins and a loss would not completely end their chances.

However, in both instances, they would need other results to go their way.

England, Pakistan, Bangladesh and West Indies are no longer in contention to reach the final.

But, of course, it is worth noting that it could all change again if any side is deducted points for a slow over-rate, as five teams have in this cycle, including both England and Australia during the 2023 Ashes.