Thought you were good at go-karting?

Well, I’ve got news for ya, kid. And it probably won’t blow your socks off, but Max Verstappen is definitely better.

At an exhibition event at Silverstone in England, Verstappen was given a maximum of 35 laps to overtake 100 amateur karters.

After five laps, he had already overtaken 90 of them and comfortably moved through the rest by the end of the 14th, completing the challenge with 21 laps to spare. The Dutch four-time world champion has been getting humbled by Kimi Antonelli in this year’s Formula One, so the ego boost can’t have hurt.

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The number of home matches Saudi Pro League club Al-Taawoun will play in front of empty stands after the crowd at a match last week taunted Al-Hilal midfielder Ruben Neves with the death of his friend, Portuguese footballer Diogo Jota. The former Liverpool forward, who played with Neves at English Premier League club Wolverhampton and for Portugal, died aged 28 in a car crash in Spain in July 2025. Neves was a pallbearer at his funeral. The Saudi Football Federation fined the club $AU37,000. The taunts didn’t stop Al-Hilal from beating Al-Taawoun 6-0.

“The Giants have been advised by Toby Greene of his intention to move back to Victoria for family reasons with a view to joining the Geelong Football Club.”
A statement from the AFL’s GWS Giants released on Thursday morning. Greene was drafted in the 2011 AFL draft to join the Giants for the club’s first season in the league in 2012. He is a three-time All-Australian and has captained the club since 2023. Greene, originally from Victoria, is set to join the Geelong Cats.

In 1964, Australian Phyllis O’Donnell made history as the first-ever women’s surfing world champion. The world championships event was held at Manly Beach in Sydney.

🏍️ 20-year-old motorcycle racer Senna Agius is set to graduate to MotoGP in the 2027 season, extending Australia’s record of having at least one full-time rider on the grid to 43 years. MotoGP is the world’s premier motorcycle racing class. Agius has signed with KTM Tech3 and will be the only Aussie on the grid, with Jack Miller leaving to race in World Superbike, another racing competition.

🏉 Sydney Swans forward Joel Amartey will watch this Friday night’s preliminary final against the Fremantle Dockers from the sidelines despite being fit to play. Swans coach Dean Cox has opted to stick with the forward line of Logan McDonald, Charlie Curnow, and Hayden McLean after the trio kicked 14 goals between them in Sydney’s 53-point upset victory over the Brisbane Lions in a qualifying final two weeks ago. Meanwhile, midfielder Justin McInerney is set to return, having not played since injuring his hamstring in Round 13. The Swans, who suspended five players until the end of the season for breaching club standards last month, will go into the match as underdogs against the minor premiers.

🎾 The WTA Finals, the season-ending women’s tennis tournament for the world’s top eight singles players and doubles teams, will move to Charlotte in North Carolina from 2027 to 2029. The past two editions of the WTA Finals have been held in Riyadh and backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. That deal has ended, and this year’s tournament will be played at Indian Wells in California. Women’s Tennis Association chair Valerie Camillo says the tour will now run the tournament itself rather than use an outside promoter, with the aim of building it into the “Super Bowl of women’s sports”.

Calling all Mustang stans - there’s a hoodie out there for you

Hear us out: a limited-edition clothing collection has been doing the rounds and we think any racing (or generally, fashion) enthusiasts need to know about it. It’s a dream collaboration between Ford and Brixton - needless to say that both these brands are soaked in nostalgia, which really comes through in this collection.

So, if you’ve ever wanted a Ford trucker cap, or a Mustang baby tee, your chance to cop them is here.

Formula 1 has released its 2027 calendar, and the Australian Grand Prix has lost its season-opening slot to Bahrain while picking up the country’s first-ever sprint race.

Here’s what to know.

Melbourne’s Albert Park has hosted Formula 1’s season opener for the last two seasons. In 2027, the Australian Grand Prix will be the third race of the season, with the main race on Sunday, 4 April.

Bahrain reclaims the season-opening slot on 14 March, with Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah round a week later on 21 March. Due to regional conflicts in the Middle East this year, the Bahrain GP has been relocated to Malaysia and will take place next month, while the Saudi Arabian GP was cancelled altogether.

For the first time, Melbourne will also host an F1 sprint race. A sprint race is a shorter F1 race which takes around 30 minutes and is held the day before the Grand Prix on the same circuit.

The number of sprint races on the F1 calendar is increasing from six to 10 next year, with event organisers citing a 12% increase in the broadcast audience for race weekends with sprint rounds versus standard ones.

Other notable additions to the 2027 F1 calendar are Portugal and Türkiye.

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The International Olympic Committee has signed off on Rockhampton’s Fitzroy River hosting rowing and canoe sprint events for the Brisbane 2032 Games, ending months of debate over whether the central Queensland waterway was fit for elite competition.

Concerns had been raised about a range of issues, including the possible presence of crocodiles.

A stretch of the Fitzroy River in Rockhampton was named as the venue for some water events in March last year, when the Queensland Government released its Brisbane 2032 venue plan. The Fitzroy sits 630km north of Brisbane, where most of the events will be taking place.

The course at Rockhampton hosts club, school, and state-level regattas but has never staged a senior national championship.

Flatwater events, meaning rowing, canoe and kayak racing, need calm and straight water so no lane is advantaged by a current or a bend.

The Fitzroy’s water moves in and out with the tide, and critics argued that could make some lanes faster than others. Crocodiles in the Fitzroy River and a shortage of accommodation were also raised as concerns.

Last week, it was reported that national rowing officials from Britain, New Zealand, and Germany had questioned the course’s suitability at a World Rowing congress. In February, the City of Moreton Bay Council proposed the building of a $250 million sporting centre about 20km north of Brisbane as an alternative.

The IOC’s approval followed an independent technical assessment by the Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority, which oversees Games construction, with Dutch marine engineering firm WaterProof. On-water testing and modelling were used to project how the course would behave under different weather, water levels, and flood conditions. The assessment was also endorsed by World Rowing president Jean-Christophe Rolland and Paddle Worldwide President Thomas Konietzko.

On Thursday, Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said: “The Fitzroy has passed with flying colours. It’s official, signed, sealed and delivered.”

Rolland said: “We now know that the Fitzroy River is capable of providing fair competition conditions during the period of the Games.”

There are still plans to upgrade the existing course and make sure there is enough infrastructure to accommodate all of the Olympic athletes who will be competing in Rockhampton in 2032.