MOTOR CYCLING: Troy Bayliss won his second World Superbike title with a fifth-place finish in the opening race at Imola in Italy yesterday.

The Australian, who won the title in 2001, took the championship for the Ducati Xerox team a few miles from the manufacturer's Bologna factory.

Bayliss then won the second race ahead of Brazilian Alex Barros, who had won the first, as Britain's James Toseland edged ahead of Japanese rival Nori Haga in the battle for second in the series standings.

Bayliss had dominated the championship from the opening round and admitted his good start to the season had set him up well for the title.

"I'm really happy, I'm happy for myself, the team and for Ducati and our sponsors," he said. "We worked well at the start of the season, the second half of the season has been up and down, but we have won the title.

"I've got a great team and I am comfortable on the Ducati. It's not been easy to win the title, it's been tough."

Bayliss had been in contention for the race one win early on but settled for fifth as Barros won ahead of Toseland and Australian Andrew Pitt.

It was Barros' first World Superbike race win and also the first for his Klaffi Honda team.

Toseland moved into second in the series standings ahead of Haga, Pitt's team-mate on the Yamaha Italia machine, who finished the race in fourth.

Race two saw Bayliss take the victory by just over a second from Barros. Japan's Yukio Kagayama, a faller in race one on the Alstare Suzuki Corona machine, took third.

Pitt claimed fourth to go with his race one third and Toseland again got the better of Haga, fifth place in this race moving the British rider two points clear with one round and two races remaining.

ATHLETICS: South African Hendrick Ramaala captured the Great North Run half-marathon title in Newcastle for the third time yesterday.

Ramaala (34), had a slower run than his 1997 and 2003 victories, but crossed the line 19 seconds ahead of 2004 winner Dejene Berhanu of Ethiopia in one hour, one minute and three seconds from Newcastle to South Shields.

Former world half-marathon champion Berhane Adere of Ethiopia won the women's race at her fifth attempt, in 1:10:01.

Ramaala broke away in the last four kms to beat Berhanu and American debutant Dathan Ritzenhein, who finished third.

"It was the slowest of my three victories but it was much easier than in 2003 when I had to go all out in the finishing straight," Ramaala said.

"I wanted to run under 61 minutes but I couldn't do it. But I won for the third time and I am very happy with that."

Adere, who broke away in the last two kms, finished ahead of former champions Benita Johnson of Australia, who clocked 1:10:17, and Kenya's Susan Chepkemei, who was five seconds further back.

"I wanted to go faster and I could have pushed earlier, but I wasn't going for a time, I just wanted to win," Adere said.