19 Oct 2009

7am sports heads

6:47 am on 19 October 2009

The British driver Jenson Button is the new world motor racing champion.

Button profited from two crashes on the opening lap of the Brazilian grand prix, and some bad luck for his teammate and main championship rival Reubens Barrichello to finish 5th, three places ahead of Barrichello, enough to seal the title.

The race was won by Mark Webber from Robert Kubica and Lewis Hamilton.

The New Zealand women's hockey team has won the Champions Challenge tournament beating the hosts South Africa 2-1 in the final in Cape Town.

The Black Sticks have now qualified for next year's Champions Trophy and the World Cup.

The Russian 6th seed Nikolay Davydenko has upset the top seed and world number two Rafael Nadal in straight sets in the final of the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament.