Some of the sailors solidified their standings while some tied after they competed in the third leg of the race at International Rolex Regatta that wrapped up on the 28th of March at St. Thomas Yacht Club, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Next race on the schedule is BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival, which will take place from the first of April to the third. This race is also the final leg of 2011 Cape Air Caribbean Ocean Racing Circuit. The overall winners will be named after the final leg finishes. Jaime Torres from Puerto Rico aboard his Smile and Wave (his Beneteau First 40) continues to lead the class. The second position is tied with St. Maarten’s Frits Bus (on Melges 24, Coors Light ) along with Luis Juarbe’s Henderson 30 (Soca).  Both the sailors share the position with 5 points each. J/27, Magnificent 7 (St. Thomas, Paul Davis) has been able to maintain the lead in Spinnaker B class.

Paul Davis stated that theirs is the only St. Thomas boat that has competed in all the C.O.R.C. regattas that have taken place. It was their impressive performance in all four regattas that gave them this leading position. As for Jonathon Lipuscek, (J/105, Dark Star) from Puerto Rico, he is still in the lead in the Racer-Cruiser class even after not participating in the International Rolex Regatta.  On the other hand, in performance cruising class Puerto Rico’s Bernardo Gonzalez (Beneteau First 35, Bonne Chance) was defeated by St. Croix’s Tony Sanpere ( J/36, Cayennita Grande)  in International Rolex Regatta. Now both the boats are tied with 3 points each. Meanwhile the Jib & Main Class is being led by Puerto Rico’s Dwight Rodriguez (Beneteau First 38S5, Toda Via). Also Fraito Lugo (Orion) from Puerto Rico is leading the IC24 Class with just 2 points over Carlos Sierra (Fuakata). To make things more interesting in the race, the Cape Air C.O.R.C. organizers will be giving out round trip tickets for one person to visit anywhere in Caribbean Cape Air flies.  The ticket will be given at the award ceremony that will be held as every leg of the series finishes.  The winners of this ticket in the races till now are Cayennita Grande’s Sanpere (won in Puerto Rico) and Magnificent 7’s Davis (in St. Croix).

The tickets to be given out for BVI Spring Regatta and the International Rolex Regatta will be presented in Tortola. It will be at BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival that The Cape Air C.O.R.C will conclude. The festival will be taking place from the first of April to the third. Sailors who have scored first position in each class of Cape Air C.O.R.C will be receiving the ticket for a round trip anywhere in Caribbean Cape. Also all the yachts that have competed in all the four regattas will be getting foul weather gear. To be eligible for the prizes it is compulsory for the sailors to participate in three regattas- one in Puerto Rico, one in the U.S. Virgin Islands and one in the BVI.

Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham is the latest attraction in racing circuits in America. This race course in Alabama is all set to host Porsche 250 which is a Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. The event will take place on the 9th of April. The park is located about 20 miles away from Birmingham and the race course is a 2.38 mile road. It has 17-turn circuit that has elevation changes with high-speed kinks and challenging chicanes. Fans that come to watch the racing event are in for a treat. They will not only see these professional drivers battling it out for the number one position, but also magnificent structures like dragonflies, oversized spiders and lions which will be decorated in the setting. The park like setting of the course is not only unique but remarkable as well.

George Barber from Birmingham has raced his Porsches to set a record of 63 wins in 1960s. After taking up the dairy business of their family George Barber turned to his passion and started restoring motorcycles. His collection then became very famous and came to be known as the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum. The museum now has around 900 modern and vintage motorcycles along with racing cars. The museum also has 43 Lotus race cars, all the vehicles add up to make the museum the largest in the world. The first big public event that took place in Barber Motorsports Park was the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series. It took place four months after the park was inaugurated in the month of January in the year 2003. The Porsche 250 will be the third event in the 12 events that will take place in the series this year. The time limit for this race will be three hours as the track will have a total of 70 laps. One thing that fans will be looking forward to is the performance by Memo Rojas and Scott Pruett. The duo has won three final races that took place last year and this year as well the victory in the Grand Prix of Miami and the Rolex 24 At Daytona has made them very tough competitors.

The Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series is presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 which is the most cutthroat racing championship in Northern America. The grids for the race are set by the virtue of times and speeds that were earned during the qualifying sessions that were held for 15 minutes for Grand Touring (GT) class cars and Daytona Prototype (DP). The Rolex Sports Car Series is a very renowned race that attracts racers from all around the world who are looking for tough competition and a rush of adrenalin. Also Rolex has been supporting athletes and has been a part of prestigious races like The 24 Hours of Le Mans, Rolex 24 Hour at Daytona, the Rolex Sports Car Series and the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup.

After participating in the Rolex 24 Hour at Daytona and winning the famous race, Chip Ganassi will be chasing fourth series title. Dario Franchitti, on the other hand is trying his best to be the league champion for the fourth time and be the first one to do so. The managing director of Chip Ganassi racing team, Mike Hull stated that even thought the team has worked really hard and won the most coveted Rolex event in the beginning of the year, they still have a lot more to do. Dario Franchitti along with Scott Dixon was the winner of last 4 Indianapolis 500s. The first win for Dario Franchitti came in the year 2007, when he was a part of Michael Andretti’s team. Scott Dixon was winner of two titles which is one less than Sam Hornish Jr. and Dario Franchitti, who have won the series three times in the history of racing series. Last season it was Chip Ganassi’s team that accomplished an unparalleled feat as the team won Daytona 500, Indy 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same season.

In December last year Chip Ganassi added two talented American drivers to his team:   Charlie Kimball and Graham Rahal.  After picking Indy championship ring last week Dario Franchitti stated that their team could not duplicate what they did last year and the important thing is that they should not look backward. To make things more interesting new rules have also been introduced in which the driver will qualify only if he posts a timing that is close to pole winner as compared to last season. Except for Indianapolis’ traditional 33-car field all other fields are going to be capped at 26. Also the drivers from different series are being invited for a race that has a purse of $5 million against the Indycar drivers. The race will be taking place in Las Vegas. The series will also get benefit from NBC-Comcast merger for its promotion. The CEO of the league, Randy Bernard thinks that the races that are shown on Comcast will be better for promotional activities and would benefit the event. The owner of IndyCar racing, Roger Penske is also following the trend of making changes in the team.

Brazilian Castroneves, who has won the Indycar series thrice will be ditching his red, black and white car and will be driving a new shiny ride that was sponsored by Shell. He will be using this car in many races this season which includes the IndyCar series. One thing that is constant is the perception of who will be leading the race. The top two favorite contenders are Penske and Ganassi.  In last two seasons only three winners out of 34 were not in either of the teams, it tells a lot about who is dominating the tracks. All the teams have been trying to break this long dominating spell by the two teams. Brazilian Tony Kanaan stated that his team along with some other teams is prepared enough to go on the track to challenge the two teams.

After winning two of the most important championships, along with LPGA’s Rolex Player of the Year award in the year 2010, Yani Tseng has set her eyes on the upcoming titles. She will be returning to Coachella Valley for the Kraft Nabisco Championship this week as she defends her title. The 22 year old player climbed up to the top spot after dethroning Jiyai Shin in tournaments that were held at the starting of the year. Till now she has been able to hold on to her top spot with consistent performance. Yani Tseng confessed that she always wanted to be on the top spot. Last year the young Taiwanese player was on the second spot. She started her quest for the top spot as she participated in Taifong Ladies Open that was played in Taiwan. Afterwards Yani Tseng won the Ladies European Tour in Australia, Women’s Australian Open and ANZ Racv Ladies Masters. She then opened the season with LPGA after her win at Honda LPGA Thailand.

Yani Tseng won titles at RICOH Women’s British Open and Kraft Nabisco. She was also awarded the Rolex Player of the Year. She is the second youngest player to get this title after Nancy Lopez. She stated that winning the player of the year award along with the major championships was not even a part of her plan. She also said that she just wanted to play her best and work hard for the top spot. The victory at Kraft was very special to the Taiwanese player because of her connection to the desert. After she lived in Beaumont, which is just half an hour away from Rancho Mirage, Yani Tseng moved to Orlando. She stated that every time she visits the place she feels like she is at home and she is relaxed most of the time. She also praised the people and the courses here and said that winning the tournament was always special. Another important moment in her life that took place when in middle of the press conference an earthquake struck a place that was about 100 miles to south of Rancho Mirage. Everybody at Mission hills also felt the tremors. Yani Tseng, who grew up in Taiwan a region used to earthquakes, laughingly said that she was more worried about her trophy.

With her wins at Women’s British Open and the Kraft she has six LPGA victories and three of them are major titles in golf. Yani Tseng’s approach towards the major championships seems to be different than the other players. In an interview she confidently stated that she gets more and more focused with each shot and does not worry if she hits a bogey as everyone will make mistake. She also said that she is normally very relaxed when she plays any major titles and is able to generate confidence as she plays. As of now Yani Tseng is working on defending her title that she won last year. She stated that she never thought that this could happen to her when she was a child and now she is on the top spot she feels that her dream has come true.

Will Wester and his crew made a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean so that they could compete in the International Rolex Regatta. For the crew it was their first experience of sailing in this part of the world. The two victories on Sunday added to the score line that was already perfect. The three day regatta was highlighted as Wester’s Grand Soleil 43 Antilope was very impressive in nine-boat IRC 2 class. The exciting event finally concluded on Sunday at St. Thomas Yacht Club. Will Wester will be taking back a Rolex watch which was also given to the top performers in CSA Spinnaker class, IC-24 one-design class and the IRC 1 class winner.  The crew aboard Antilope was mainly from Holland and Belgium in which Bouwe Bekking, the veteran who is the skipper of Volvo Ocean Race, was the tactician of the boat. The boat was steered by Philippe Bergmans who is an Olympian. Will Wester stated that this visit was their first to this part of the world and he was very excited to be here. He has been winning Cowes Week for the past two years with his powerful boat: Antilope. He also said that the atmosphere was fantastic as the race committee had set up some very good courses for the race.

Phil Lotz’s Club Swan 42 Arethusa, which was the closest competitor of Antilope fell to third position and 2 fourth place finish. The second place went to Oceanis 44 Three Harkoms (James Hudleston) which was just one point ahead of the competitors on the third place. Ed Baird, who is a seasoned professional, did take back a lot from the experience from this Rolex event. He stated that it was Richard’s and his first experience sailing in this course. They said that even though they have sailed all over the world, they have not seen a course that has so many rocks as well as islands in such close proximity.

The event was also very challenging as the wind conditions were changing and it was difficult to foretell what was going to happen. William Bailey, in 16-boat IC-24 one-design class along with nine USVI boats that were competing, was the skipper of INTAC JV team and took them to the overall victory. They represented territory last summer at Central American and Caribbean Games. Thomas Barrows stated that Peter Stanton was probably the best bowel person in Caribbean as he grew up on J24s.

Since the first day in the competition, it was Mark Plaxton’s INTAC/CROWLEY that was able to lead in six-boat CSA Spinnaker 1 class. After coming out victorious in two of the races on Sunday he scored second place in six race score line. This is what kept Andrea Scarabelli (Melges 24 Budget Marine) along with David West (Melges 32 Jurakan) in second and third position in the event.