2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Background
The 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix was the 18th and final round of the 2008 Formula One World Championship and was held on 2 November 2008, at the 4.309 km (2.677 mi) Autódromo José Carlos Pace, in São Paulo, Brazil. Heading into the final race of the season, McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton was leading the Drivers' Championship with 94 points; Ferrari driver Felipe Massa was second with 87 points, seven points behind Hamilton. A maximum of ten points were available for the final race, which meant that Massa could still win the title if Hamilton finished in sixth place or lower.


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Background
Otherwise, Hamilton would be champion. In the event of a points tie, Massa would win the championship on a count-back, having more wins. Behind Hamilton and Massa in the Drivers' Championship, Robert Kubica was third with 75 points in a BMW, and Massa's Ferrari teammate Kimi Räikkönen was fourth with 69 points. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari were leading with 156 points and McLaren–Mercedes were second with 145 points, 11 points behind, with a maximum of 18 points available.


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Background
If the two Ferrari drivers finished in the top six, the team would secure the Constructors' Championship, even if the McLaren drivers were to finish as the top two. Prior to this race, Hamilton was criticised by many pundits for not maintaining his composure at the Japanese Grand Prix. The Times columnist Edward Gorman said that Hamilton should win the championship, but:


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Background
Alternatively Hamilton may suffer another one of his rushes of blood to the head and do something utterly unnecessary at Interlagos, just as he did in Japan eight days ago and in Brazil last year, and throw it all away ... Suddenly defending even a seven-point lead sounds a tall order.


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Background
Former Formula One team owner Eddie Jordan created controversy when he said that "if Massa tries to take him out as he did in Japan in order to steal the title then Lewis has to be ready for it," adding "If he tries that on then Lewis has to turn his wheel into Massa to ensure he does not finish the race either – he has to take his wheel off." Both Hamilton and Massa rejected the comments; Massa said "Playing dirty has never been part of my game. I don't want anything to do with it. The only thing on my mind is winning the race."


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Background
The weekend marked David Coulthard's final race. Coulthard's Red Bull RB4 was decorated in the colours of "Wings for Life", a charity dedicated to raising awareness of spinal cord injuries. Coulthard said "I'm dedicating my last race to the vision of making paraplegia curable". Red Bull Racing received approval from the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, Formula One's governing body, to run Coulthard's car in different colours than his teammate Mark Webber.


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Background
This was also the last Formula One race broadcast by ITV in the United Kingdom and Telecinco in Spain; the rights went to the BBC and La Sexta, respectively, for 2009. Also, this was the last race for the Honda team before they announced its withdrawal from Formula One due to the global economic crisis.


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Practice
Three practice sessions were held before the race; the first on Friday morning and the second on Friday afternoon. Both sessions lasted 90 minutes. The third session was held on Saturday morning and lasted an hour. The two sessions on Friday were affected by occasionally damp conditions, which made the track moderately slippery. Massa was quickest with a time of 1:12.305 in the first session, less than two-tenths of a second faster than Hamilton. Räikkönen was just off Hamilton's pace, followed by Kubica, Heikki Kovalainen, and Fernando Alonso. Webber was seventh, still within a second of Massa's time.


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Practice
In the second practice session, Alonso was fastest with a time of 1:12.296, less than six-hundredths of a second quicker than second-placed Massa. Jarno Trulli took third place, ahead of Räikkönen, Webber and Sebastian Vettel. Hamilton only managed ninth place, locking his McLaren's wheels and struggling for grip. Kovalainen was only quick enough for fifteenth position. The Saturday morning session was held on a much warmer track, which reached temperatures as high as 36 °C (97 °F). Alonso was again quickest, posting a time of 1:12.141, narrowly faster than both McLaren drivers. Massa, Vettel, and Nick Heidfeld rounded out the top six positions. Räikkönen only managed twelfth, failing to improve on his times set early in the session.


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Qualifying
The qualifying session on Saturday afternoon was split into three parts. The first part ran for 20 minutes and eliminated the cars from qualifying that finished the session 16th or lower. The second part of qualifying lasted 15 minutes and eliminated cars that finished in positions 11 to 15. The final part of qualifying determined the positions from first to tenth, and decided pole position. Cars which competed in the final session of qualifying were not allowed to refuel before the race, and as such carried more fuel than in the previous sessions.


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Qualifying
Tomorrow, I will be focusing on my own race: it will be a tough afternoon but I'm comfortable with the fuel strategy we chose; the guys in front are probably on a different strategy. But we're in a good position to finish in the same place as we are today – and that's got to be our aim. We don't need to do anything spectacular.


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Qualifying
Massa clinched his sixth pole position for the season, and his third consecutive pole at Interlagos, with a time of 1:12.368. He was joined on the front row of the grid by Trulli, in his best qualifying performance of the season. Räikkönen qualified third, though he was happy with beginning the race on the racing line behind his teammate. Hamilton qualified fourth, half a second behind Massa, having battled both Ferrari drivers for time during the first two qualifying sessions.


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Qualifying
Hamilton's slow pace in the final qualifying session compared to the first two suggested he was carrying more fuel than his title challengers. Hamilton's teammate Kovalainen qualified fifth. Alonso, Vettel, Heidfeld, Sébastien Bourdais and Timo Glock rounded out the top ten. Kubica only managed 13th, having struggled with overall grip for much of the day. Coulthard, in his final Formula One race, qualified 14th; Rubens Barrichello, in 15th, was quicker than Honda teammate Jenson Button in 17th. The Williams and Force India drivers qualified at the back of the grid, covering positions 16 to 20 with Button.


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
The conditions on the grid were damp before the race, the air temperature at 28 °C (82 °F); rain or thunderstorms were expected. The Grand Prix, which had a race day attendance of 149,600, was due to begin at 15:00 local time (UTC-2), but was delayed by ten minutes when heavy rain hit the track at 14:56. Every team but one changed the tyres on both their cars from dry-weather tyres to intermediate tyres. Kubica's car was the exception, remaining on the dry set-up. Following the formation lap, Kubica returned to the pit lane, his team changing the car's tyres to intermediates. This meant he driver would start the race from the pit-lane.


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
Massa retained his pole position lead into the first corner, followed by Trulli, Räikkönen, Hamilton and Kovalainen. Coulthard was hit from behind by Nico Rosberg into turn two, spinning him around. The Red Bull car then collided with Rosberg's Williams teammate Kazuki Nakajima. This damaged the suspension and forced Coulthard to retire in his final race. Piquet spun off at the next corner, his car hitting the barriers. Kovalainen was passed by Alonso and Vettel mid-lap, dropping him to seventh. The accidents of Coulthard and Piquet prompted the deployment of the safety car at the end of the first lap.


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
The track conditions began to dry early on; Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella was the first driver to stop for dry-weather tyres, pitting at the end of lap two. He remained in 18th position. Racing resumed on lap five when the safety car pulled into the pit-lane. Rosberg and Button both made pit stops on lap seven, each changing to dry-weather tyres. Bourdais, Glock, Adrian Sutil and Nakajima followed a lap later. By lap 11, the rest of the field had changed to dry-weather tyres. Fisichella benefited from pitting the earliest for dry tyres, moving up the order to a high of fifth position.


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
Nakajima spun on lap 13, losing five seconds on the lap. On lap 15, Massa set a new fastest lap of 1:16.888, and extended his lead over Vettel. Hamilton remained behind Fisichella, and though his McLaren car appeared quicker, he was unable to pass the Force India driver until lap 18. Glock passed Fisichella two laps later. Trulli and Bourdais collided on lap 20 into turn one, sending the Toro Rosso driver across the grass. Bourdais lost six places and rejoined in 13th place. Trulli's Toyota teammate, Timo Glock, passed Fisichella later on in the same lap for sixth.


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
Massa and Sebastian Vettel traded fastest lap times; Vettel's 1:14.214 on lap 25 was surpassed by Massa's 1:14.161 a lap later. However, Vettel made a pit stop soon after, having been lighter-fuelled than his Ferrari opponent. He rejoined in sixth position, behind Glock. Kovalainen passed Trulli and Fisichella in separate manoeuvres, gaining seventh position. On lap 36 Massa set the fastest lap of the race, a 1:13.736.


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
Timo Glock was fuelled so he could complete the race without stopping again, when he made a pit stop on lap 36. Massa was the first of the championship frontrunners to pit, on lap 38; Alonso and Hamilton made pit stops two laps after. When Räikkönen made a pit stop on lap 43, Massa had regained the lead, ahead of Alonso. Räikkönen rejoined ahead of Hamilton in third place. Fisichella's stop was marred by transmission problems, dropping him to 18th position when he resumed. Vettel made a pit stop again on lap 51, his team fuelling him to the finish. He rejoined in fifth. By lap 54, Massa had extended his already comfortable lead over Alonso to 9.6 seconds. Vettel was closing in quickly on Hamilton, the McLaren driver needing to finish no lower than fifth to win the championship.


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
ALLEN: [Massa] has done everything he needed to do and we wait now to find out who will be the World Champion of 2008. Can Hamilton do anything? Can he run it up the inside of Vettel? Only a few corners to go now, and desperation starts to creep into Lewis Hamilton. BRUNDLE: Räikkönen's third and... is that Glock? Is that Glock going slowly? It is! That's Glock! ALLEN : Oh my goodness me, Hamilton's back in position again! A hundred thousand local hearts sink in the grandstand. It's handed the place back to Hamilton. He comes through, and if I'm absolutely right, I'm sure, he's going to claim fifth place, which is all he needs to do to become the 2008 Formula One World Champion.


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
James Allen's and Martin Brundle's commentary of the final few corners.


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
Light rain began to fall on lap 63. Heidfeld made a pit stop and his BMW pit crew changed his tyres to intermediates, echoing their strategy at the Belgian Grand Prix which had granted the German a podium position. Kovalainen made a pit stop on lap 65; Alonso and Räikkönen made a pit stop a lap later. Hamilton and Vettel halted their battle for fourth position when they came into the pit lane to change onto intermediate tyres on lap 66.


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
Glock chose to remain on his dry-weather tyres and rose from seventh to fourth place as those ahead of him made pit stops. Massa made a pit stop on lap 67, meaning that all of the frontrunners, with the exception of Glock, were now on intermediate tyres. The rain began to fall heavily on lap 69, as Hamilton ran wide, which allowed Vettel to take fifth position. As Massa crossed the finish line to win the race, Hamilton battled Vettel for the crucial point needed to win the championship.


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race
Hamilton did not know of his position upon beginning the final lap and was told over the radio to overtake Glock during the fifth-placed battle. Vettel and Hamilton passed Glock in the final corners, the Toyota driver struggling for grip as his dry-weather tyres slid on the wet track. Premature joy in the Ferrari garage soon turned to disappointment as Hamilton finished the race in fifth position, clinching the championship by a single point and becoming Formula One's youngest championship winner until Vettel in 2010. Räikkönen's third-place finish behind Alonso secured Ferrari the constructors' title. After the race, Button's car caught fire in the pit lane.


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Before it started to rain I was quite comfortable, and I was just focused on having a clean race. Then it started to drizzle and I didn't want to take any risks – but Sebastian [Vettel] got past me and I was told that I had to get back in front of him. I couldn't believe it. Then at the very last corner I managed to get past Timo [Glock] – it was just amazing. This was one of the toughest races of my life, if not the toughest. I was shouting, 'Do I have it? Do I have it?' on the radio. It was only when I took the chequered flag and got to turn one that the team told me I was world champion. I was ecstatic.


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
The top three finishers appeared on the podium and in the subsequent press conference. Massa said that he had "almost done everything perfectly", and expressed his disappointment that despite winning the race he had not won the championship. However, he gave his congratulations to Hamilton for his title win:


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
We need to congratulate Lewis because he did a great championship and he scored more points than us, so he deserves to be champion. I know how to lose and I know how to win and as I said before it is another day of my life from which I am going to learn a lot.


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Massa's Ferrari teammate Kimi Räikkönen expressed disappointment in the outcome of the Drivers' Championship, but acknowledged the support of his team, saying "we won at least the team championship". Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo was reportedly so angry with the result, however, that he destroyed the television he was viewing the race on. McLaren boss Ron Dennis praised Hamilton, saying "He just keeps delivering and, at the end of the day, he's just two years into his career. So there's a long way to go."


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Hamilton received official congratulations from Queen Elizabeth II, following similar plaudits from the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Gordon Brown and the Leader of the Opposition David Cameron. Former Formula One champions also congratulated Hamilton; 1996 champion Damon Hill called the McLaren driver "one of the greatest drivers we have had in this country". Multiple champion Michael Schumacher praised both Hamilton and Massa, saying the Ferrari driver's performance indicated his winning abilities. Massa was praised for his sportsmanship after the race; Joe Saward of GrandPrix.com said "He took defeat with a grace and a style that one rarely sees in modern sport."


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
However, Eddie Jordan said that Hamilton "didn't really give himself the best chance of winning the championship – and was very lucky". The former team boss called McLaren's strategy "a disaster". GrandPrix.com expressed disbelief in the outcome: "It was a showdown so improbable that even Hollywood would not have made a film of it. The scriptwriters would have been laughed out of the studios." Autosport magazine writer Adam Cooper called the race "epic". After considering other Formula One title finales, Cooper concluded "nothing has ever matched what we saw [in Brazil]".


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Timo Glock remained certain the decision to stay on dry-weather tyres, when other teams were pitting for wet-weather tyres, was a correct one: "We were running seventh before the rain came and we would have probably finished there if it had been totally dry. Instead we finished sixth so that shows the strategy was the right one." Glock added that the conditions were so poor "I didn't even know that Lewis had overtaken me until after the race". His family would receive hate mail from fans and he was particularly heavily criticised by Italian journalists who held the perception that he assisted in helping Hamilton win the championship.


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Kubica's finish in 11th position meant that he lost third place in the championship to Räikkönen. After the race, Kubica said "We made too many mistakes during the weekend and this is the result." His team said that they had received the wrong information about track conditions at the start of the race, which led them to keep the Polish driver's car on dry-weather tyres when the rest of the field had changed to intermediates.


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
David Coulthard expressed his disappointment in his early exit from his final Formula One race, saying that "I'm pretty gutted, it's not how I wanted to end my career." The Scottish driver said that he had planned to perform doughnuts for the crowd, a celebration discouraged in Formula One at the time. Coulthard left Formula One after 15 years with 246 race starts and 13 wins.


2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said "It's a great shame for David to be eliminated from his last Grand Prix at the first corner, but he can look back on a long and illustrious career where he's achieved a great deal." Coulthard continued to work for Red Bull Racing in 2009 as a testing and development consultant.


2008 Brazilian federal budget
The 2008 Brazilian federal budget was submitted to the National Congress of Brazil by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on 5 September 2007.


2008 Brazilian federal budget, Total receipts
The total receipts for fiscal year 2008 are estimated at R$1.4 trillion (all values below are given in Brazilian Real).


2008 Brazilian municipal elections
The Brazilian municipal elections of 2008 were held on October 5 and October 26. Over 130 million voters will choose mayors and city councillors for the 5,565 municipalities of Brazil.


2008 Brazilian municipal elections
Brazilian law allows candidates to run under ballot names different from their legal names. At least six candidates have chosen the ballot name "Barack Obama"  and some entrepreneurs use ballot names that make reference to their business.


2008 Breeders' Cup
The 2008 Breeders' Cup World Championships was the 25th edition of the premier event of the North American Thoroughbred horse racing year. It took place on October 24 and 25 during the Oak Tree meeting at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The Breeders' Cup is generally regarded as the end of the North America racing season, although a few Grade I events take place in later November and December. The 2008 Breeders' Cup results were influential in the Eclipse Award divisional championship voting.


2008 Breeders' Cup
The Friday racecard featured five Breeders' Cup races for fillies and mares, culminating in Zenyatta's win in the Ladies Classic. On Saturday, the European contingent won five races, capped by an upset by English-based Raven's Pass over heavy favorite Curlin in the Classic.


2008 Breeders' Cup, Lead-up
Santa Anita racetrack hosted the Breeders' Cup for the fourth time in 2008. It was the first time that the event had been held on a synthetic dirt surface instead of natural dirt, as Santa Anita had changed to a Pro Ride surface in 2007 in response to a state mandate aimed at increasing the safety of the sport for both horses and jockeys. The change was of concern to both horsemen and bettors as it was difficult to predict which horses would respond well to the new surface and which would struggle. However, the change was expected to increase interest from European trainers, many of whom had access to similar all weather tracks.


2008 Breeders' Cup, Lead-up
For the second year in a row, three races were added to the Breeders' Cup roster, bringing the total up to 14. In 2007, the Dirt Mile, Juvenile Turf and Filly & Mare Sprint had been added while in 2008, the Marathon, Juvenile Fillies Turf and Turf Sprint were added. The new races were intended to help fill out the Friday card and increase the range of options available to horsemen, particularly those from overseas. By rule, the new races could not be graded until their third renewal.


2008 Breeders' Cup, Lead-up
Breeders' Cup officials decided to rearrange the racecards so that all five races for fillies and mares were held on Friday. "By shifting some of our traditional Saturday races to Friday, we ensure that Friday stands on its own as an international competition of the highest level", said Breeders Cup President and CEO Greg Avioli. "This new format provides a great stage to showcase the talents of the best female Thoroughbreds in the world." They also renamed the Distaff as the Ladies' Classic and instituted a ban on steroids.


2008 Breeders' Cup, Lead-up
Because of the synthetic dirt surface, some horsemen from the East Coast hesitated to attend the event. In particular, Curlin, the defending Horse of the Year and winner of the 2007 Classic, did not commit to entering until after a strong workout at Santa Anita on October 14. In part because of the three new races, a record 180 horses were pre-entered, including a record 35 from Europe.


2008 Breeders' Cup, Lead-up
The Friday races were broadcast on ESPN2. The Saturday card was broadcast on ESPN and ABC. Attendance was up slightly compared to 2007, with the excellent weather being credited. The two-day handle also increased by 5.5% to $155.5 million. However, attendance on Saturday was lower than on previous renewals held at Santa Anita, with high ticket prices cited as the major cause. The Saturday on-track handle was also the lowest since 1999, which was not unexpected given the 2008 economic downturn.


2008 Breeders' Cup, Results
The highlight of the Friday card was Zenyatta's dominant win in the Ladies Classic. The four-year-old filly came into the race undefeated but was facing the best field of her career, with four Grade I winning fillies shipping in from New York alone. Zenyatta broke last and continued to trail the field for the first 3⁄4 of a mile before beginning her drive on the far turn. She quickly made up ground while circling wide and swept to the lead down the stretch, winning comfortably by 1 1⁄2 lengths. She received a standing ovation from the crowd on returning to the winner's circle.


2008 Breeders' Cup, Results
Ventura was also a stand-out winner in the Filly & Mare Sprint, winning by the largest margin of the day while finishing just 0.01 second behind the track record. Stardom Bound won the Juvenile Fillies impressively while Maram just held off Heart Shaped by a nose in the Juvenile Fillies Turf.


2008 Breeders' Cup, Results
In the Classic, the favorite was Curlin, who raced near the back of the field then made his move on the turn, striking the lead at the top of the stretch. Raven's Pass and Henrythenavigator, outstanding milers from Europe, accelerated past Curlin and finished first and second respectively. Tiago closed late to finish third.


2008 Breeders' Cup, Results
In the Turf, Conduit was the second favorite because of his earlier win in the St Leger. Jockey Ryan Moore placed Conduit in the middle of the pack, then released him in the stretch where he out-kicked the others. It was Moore's first win at the Breeders' Cup but he was not available for comment after the race. "He's rushing off to the airport as he has to ride in France tomorrow," explained Conduit's trainer Sir Michael Stoute. "He's a big talent with a great racing brain and you'll be hearing a lot more of him."


2008 Breeders' Cup, Results
Other highlights included the French filly Goldikova taking on male horses and winning in the Mile. Her trainer Freddie Head compared her favorably to champion Miesque, who he had ridden to victory in the Mile in 1987 and 1988. Midnight Lute won the Sprint for the second year in a row, which also gave Garrett Gomez his third win of the day and fourth over the two days – a record. Midshipman won the Juvenile to establish himself as the early favorite for the Kentucky Derby.


2008 Breeders' Cup, Results
All told, European-based horses won a record five races at the Breeders' Cup: Raven's Pass in the Classic, Goldikova in the Mile, Donativum in the Juvenile Turf, Muhannak in the Marathon and Conduit in the Turf. Although this was partially credited to the artificial dirt surface, because of the increase in the number of races, it was proportional to their previous highs of three wins out of seven races in 1993 at Santa Anita and three wins in eight races in 2001 at Belmont, where they also finished second in the Classic.


2008 Breeders' Cup, Results
In the 2008 Eclipse Award voting, five of the eleven flat racing categories were awarded to horses who won at the Breeders' Cup: Stardom Bound (Champion Two-Year-Old Female), Midshipman (Champion Two-Year-Old Male), Zenyatta (Champion Older Female), Conduit (Champion Male Turf Horse) and Forever Together (Champion Female Turf Horse). In addition, Curlin was voted Horse of the Year and Champion Older Male despite his fourth-place finish in the Classic.


2008 Breeders' Cup Classic
The 2008 Breeders' Cup Classic was the 25th running of the Breeders' Cup Classic, part of the 2008 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships program. It was run on October 25, 2008 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California over a synthetic dirt surface.


2008 Breeders' Cup Classic
Defending Horse of the Year Curlin was the odds-on favourite after winning several major races including the Dubai World Cup. However, he did not handle the track well and finished fourth, behind the American-bred but English-trained longshot Raven's Pass.


2008 Breeders' Cup Classic
The Classic is run at a distance of one mile and one-quarter (approximately 2000 m) with a purse of $5,000,000. It is normally run on a dirt surface but in 2008 was run over synthetic dirt. It is run under weight-for-age conditions, with entrants carrying the following weights:


2008 Breeders' Cup Classic, Contenders
Curlin won the 2007 Breeders' Cup Classic on his way to Horse of the Year honors and started his 2008 campaign by taking the Dubai World Cup, followed by wins in Stephen Foster, Woodward and Jockey Club Gold Cup. His only loss in 2008 came in his first attempt on the turf in the Man o' War Stakes, at a time when his owner was considering an attempt at the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Despite his excellent form throughout the year, Curlin had never raced on a synthetic dirt surface and was only entered in the race after a successful workout on October 14.


2008 Breeders' Cup Classic, Contenders
The field for the Classic was weakened when Big Brown, winner of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Haskell, was retired shortly before entries were taken due to injury. That left Colonel John, winner of the Santa Anita Derby, as the leading three-year-old contender from North America in the race.


2008 Breeders' Cup Classic, Contenders
In part because of the synthetic dirt surface, a large European contingent shipped to California for the Breeders' Cup events, including three entries in the Classic. With five Group I wins, Duke of Marmalade was the most highly regarded by the North American bettors at odds of 9-1, followed by Raven's Pass at 13-1. Henrythenavigator had defeated Raven's Pass in three of their four meetings, all at a mile, but was largely dismissed at 19-1 in the U.S. In England though, his odds were as short as 4-1.


2008 Breeders' Cup Classic, Contenders
Raven's Pass had been regularly ridden by Jimmy Fortune in his European races but Fortune gave up the mount for the Breeders' Cup after incurring a suspension which prevented him riding for 11 days before the race. After discussing the ride with trainer Gosden, Fortune stepped down and Frankie Dettori took over.


2008 Breeders' Cup Classic, Race Description
Casino Drive set the early pace, with Curlin racing near the back of the pack behind Henrythenavigator and Raven's Pass tracking a few lengths further behind. Going into the final turn, the three started making up ground, with Henrythenavigator on the inside and Raven's Pass racing wide on the outside. Curlin kicked as they turned into the stretch and passed the early leaders with a furlong to go. Raven's Pass then made his run and accelerated by Curlin. Henrythenavigator maneuvered around horses to find racing room and closed well to finish second, beaten by 3⁄4 of a length. Tiago also made a late run to finish third with Curlin holding on for fourth. The time was 1:59.27, a new track record.


2008 Breeders' Cup Classic, Race Description
Curlin's trainer Steve Asmussen blamed the loss on the synthetic dirt surface, saying "It was a turf race." The biggest mystery was why Curlin, a horse of proven stamina, faded late, while two European horses who specialized at a distance of a mile were able to outrun him in the stretch. Curlin may have made his move too soon, as the track appeared to favor horses who made late runs.


2008 Breeders' Cup Classic, Race Description
Frankie Dettori, the jockey of Raven's Pass, was commended for an excellent ride. "The last furlong was a pretty long run," he said, "but I could feel [Raven's Pass] was still galloping strongly. When I crossed the line, I didn't know if it was true or a dream, but I realised straight away that it was true and I'm delighted."


2008 Breeders' Cup Classic, Race Description
Raven's Pass became the first British-based horse to win the Classic, although it was something of a homecoming for his trainer John Gosden, who had spent 11 years in Southern California before returning to England. "It doesn't get any better than this", he said. "All our great friends are here, from the guys that are raking up in the shed areas to the owners, trainers, and jockeys. If you think it's going to get better than that, you're really a greedy so-and-so. To me, this is a dream come true and a day I'll cherish the rest of my life."


2008 Breeders' Cup Classic, Race Description
"I had no doubts that the horse could get a mile and an eighth", he said later. "I didn't know about the last eighth of a mile, but I suspected it with Lord at War as his broodmare sire. There is good stamina on the dam side. And the way he trained – he's so relaxed now – that I wasactually quite confident that he would get it well and he certainly did."


2008 Breeders' Cup Classic, Results
Source: EquibaseTimes: 1⁄4 – 0:23.77;  1⁄2 – 0:47.60; 3⁄4 – 1:11.64; mile – 1:35.48;  final – 1:59.27. Fractional Splits: (:23.77) (:23.83) (:24.04) (:23.84) (:23.79)


2008 Brentwood Borough Council election
Elections to Brentwood Borough Council were held on 1 May 2008. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party kept overall control of the council.


2008 Brentwood Borough Council election
The Conservatives remained dominant on the council gaining seats from the Liberal Democrats and the Labour Party. However they also lost seats to the Liberal Democrats and to an independent candidate, who became the only independent councillor on the council.


2008 Brickyard 400
The 2008 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, the 15th running of the event, was the twentieth race of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season and the fifteenth NASCAR race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS). It was also the first race under the ESPN/ABC section of the TV coverage for the 2008 season. The 160-lap, 400 miles (640 km) event was raced on July 27 at the 2.5 miles (4.0 km) Indianapolis Motor Speedway located in Speedway, Indiana (a separate town surrounded by Indiana's state capital). Along with ESPN, the IMS Radio Network, working with Performance Racing Network, provided radio coverage (along with Sirius Satellite Radio) with both broadcasts starting at 1 PM US EDT.


2008 Brickyard 400
The race was deemed a "disaster" for NASCAR, Goodyear, and Indianapolis. Due to the new Car of Tomorrow, the surface at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and problems with Goodyear tires, NASCAR was forced to throw competition cautions every 10–12 laps; an average of just 9 green flag laps were run during the race. Tires started to explode if the race was allowed to continue past that distance. Even at that distance, tires were down to the cords/nylon base. At the end of the race, every tire that Goodyear had brought to the track for the weekend had been used and were no longer usable.


2008 Brickyard 400
The race was starting to rival the Daytona 500 in terms of the biggest race of the NASCAR season before the tire problems at this race. Since this race, attendance has dropped from a 257,000+ sell out to an estimated 100,000 at the 2010 race. By the 2013 race, the last year NASCAR tracked attendance, it dropped to 70,000.


2008 Brickyard 400, Qualifying
Jimmie Johnson held off Mark Martin to win the pole position. Bill Elliott, after starting the first 14 races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, failed in his final run to do so, as he retired following the season.


2008 Brickyard 400, Qualifying
Failed to qualify: Bill Elliott (#21), Stanton Barrett (#50), Johnny Sauter (#08), Tony Raines (#34).


2008 Brickyard 400, Race
In pre-race practice, teams realized that the tires provided for the race wore down quickly, due to the abrasive course at Indianapolis and the different characteristics of the fifth-generation car that was being used for the first time at Indianapolis. Concerns led NASCAR to implement caution periods after ten laps for tire wear, a procedure NASCAR debuted at 1969 Talladega 500, which had a driver boycott over tire wear issues, and NASCAR called cautions after a specific time in order to allow teams to pit and change tires.


2008 Brickyard 400, Race
For Indianapolis, the cautions would be called between 10–12 laps. Because of an accident involving Michael Waltrip on Lap 4, the first competition yellow would not wave until Lap 14 for a crash when Kurt Busch lost the car off of Turn 1, hitting Kevin Harvick in the process. The only other non-competition yellow came halfway through the race when Brian Vickers' Toyota had its engine fail.


2008 Brickyard 400, Race
Some drivers compared the racing to the roots of NASCAR with ten-lap heat races, as nine competition cautions and the two incidents combined effectively led to ten "heat races" were thrown with the final sprint being a "feature" race. Jimmie Johnson won the race after a battle with Carl Edwards after various teams attempted a two-tire stop in what effectively had become the caution leading to the final shootout, similar to the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.


2008 Brickyard 400, Race
Numerous drivers would suffer tire failures during the race. Dale Earnhardt Jr. would be the first on lap 26, blowing a right rear tire while leading the race.. Just 3 laps later, Juan Pablo Montoya would blow a tire coming off of turn 2. ESPN reported major tire cording on Jeff Gordon. On lap 47, Carl Edwards reported on the radion that he had a right rear tire problem. Just seconds later on the same lap, Matt Kenseth would spin on the backstretch with a right rear tire failure, causing major damage to the right side of the car.


2008 Brickyard 400, Race
ESPN reported Kyle Busch had some tire problems on lap 65. After that, tires would show a little bit of improvement, even though the tires still showed major cording. Throughout the race, drivers expressed their disappointment at the events that had occurred prior and during the event, with Matt Kenseth saying in the garage "It's a really, really disappointing situation. You know, this is one of the biggest races in the year, to never have this car here, before or not come into an open test and then working on this things working the tires, it's pretty darn disappointing...


2008 Brickyard 400, Race
I feel bad for the fans and everything, when we're running three quarters speed because we're worried the tires are going to fall off and we got them blowing every 8 laps. I'm pretty disappointed." NASCAR president Mike Helton would publicly announce that NASCAR threw out more competition cautions than expected. Many NASCAR fans compare it to the 2005 United States Grand Prix tire debacle, when tires blowing out became a major concern for drivers. Some also say that this race was another incident that would cause the decline of NASCAR's popularity.


2008 Brickyard 400, Post-race
Two days following the running of the race, NASCAR VP of competition Robin Pemberton formally apologized for the problems, saying that it did not go to IMS with the correct car-tire combination. To rectify those problems, Goodyear staged two additional tire tests at Indy in the fall, the first with only three teams as per the tiremaker's policy September 22 and 23; the other with as many as 12 teams on October 7 and 8 to detect what might have gone wrong and test a new tire to be used for the 2009 race. A total of 7 tests were conducted in preparation for the 2009 race.


2008 Brickyard 400, Post-race
The results of these tests indicated an increased amount of load and slip on the right rear tire caused the particle debris to be smaller than anticipated. This prevented rubber from adhering to the track and prevented tire wear from improving as the race progressed.


2008 Brickyard 400, Legacy
Many fans have pointed to this race to the overall decline of the Brickyard 400 in general.


2008 Brisbane Broncos season
The 2008 Brisbane Broncos season was the 21st in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2008 Telstra Premiership, the centenary season of rugby league football in Australia. The Broncos finished the regular season 5th (out of 16) but were knocked out of the finals by eventual grand finalists Melbourne Storm for the second consecutive year.


2008 Brisbane Broncos season, Season summary
The Broncos started the season winning their first three games. 48–12 against the Penrith Panthers in round 1, 20–14 against the Sydney Roosters in round 2 and 36-2 against the North Queensland Cowboys in round 3. Round 3 gave way to an attendance of 50,612 people, biggest crowd at Suncorp Stadium. The Broncos suffered their first loss of the 2008 season with a 28–8 loss to reigning premiers the Melbourne Storm in round 4.


2008 Brisbane Broncos season, Season summary
Round 5 saw the Broncos have a 34–22 win over the Newcastle Knights at Energy Australia Stadium. Justin Hodges starred with a two try effort with Michael Ennis also scoring two tries, while always looking dangerous. Round 6 was a disappointing 26–24 loss for the Broncos to the red hot Gold Coast Titans. The Titans burst out of the blocks with a 16–0 lead after 20 mins. However the Broncos fought back strongly, with a missed goal from the sideline from Michael Ennis late in the second half the difference.


2008 Brisbane Broncos season, Season summary
In round 9, the Broncos lost their first match of the season while leading at halftime when they led 12–6 at halftime to lose 30–12 against the Manly Sea Eagles, it was also Broncos first loss for the season at Suncorp Stadium. In round 10, the Broncos lost their first back-to-back losses for the season when they lost to the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 13-6 at Toyota Park. The Broncos returned to the winners list with a very thrilling 30–26 win against the Parramatta Eels at Suncorp Stadium in round 12.


2008 Brisbane Broncos season, Season summary
Also Denan Kemp equalled the record for the most tries in a match for the Broncos with 4 tries against the Eels in round 12. Karmichael Hunt kicked his first ever field goal when he won the game for the Broncos 19-18 against the Wests Tigers in round 15. Also Nick Kenny scored his first ever try in first grade against the Tigers. The Broncos played out their first draw since round 25, 2004 and the first draw of the season with a hard fought 12–12 draw with the Penrith Panthers at CUA Stadium in round 16.


2008 Brisbane Broncos season, Season summary
In round 20, the Broncos won their first back to back wins since round 8 with a hard fort 18–12 win over the Cronulla Sharks at Suncorp Stadium. Joel Clinton has scored his first try for the Broncos in the Broncos 25–21 win over the Gold Coast Titans at Suncorp Stadium in round 24. In round 25, the Broncos secured another finals campaign with a 36–22 win over the Canterbury Bulldogs at Suncorp Stadium. The Broncos will compete in their 17th straight finals series.


2008 Brisbane Broncos season, Season summary
The Broncos took on the Sydney Roosters in the Qualifying Final and the Broncos turned an 8-point halftime deficit into an 8-point win coming from 16–8 down to win 24–16 at the SFS. The Broncos season came to an end when Greg Inglis crossed the line with 1 minute to play as the Broncos led the Melbourne Storm 14-12 in the semi-final at Suncorp Stadium. They lost 16–14.


2008 Brisbane Broncos season, Season summary
After the NRL season, Brisbane's Darius Boyd was selected to make his international debut for Australia in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.


2008 Brisbane City Council election
Elections for the Brisbane City Council in Queensland, Australia, were held on Saturday, 15 March 2008 to elect a councillor to each of the local government area's 26 wards and the direct election of the Lord Mayor of Brisbane.


2008 Brisbane City Council election
The election resulted in the re-election of Campbell Newman of the Liberal Party as Lord Mayor, defeating Labor's Greg Rowell in a landslide with 66.1% of the mayoral two-party-preferred vote. The Liberals also won control of the council chambers, taking 5 wards from Labor for a total of 16 to Labor's 10.


2008 Brisbane Lions season
This article covers the 2008 AFL season results for the Brisbane Lions.


2008 Brit Awards
The 2008 Brit Awards was the 28th edition of the biggest annual music awards in the United Kingdom. They are run by the British Phonographic Industry and took place on 20 February 2008 at the Earls Court in London. The ceremony attracted 6.1 million viewers, 800,000 more than the previous live broadcast. Leona Lewis was nominated for four awards but came away empty-handed.


2008 Brit Awards, Memorable moments, Vic Reeves and Sharon Osbourne
After Vic Reeves appeared to forget which award he was presenting, Sharon Osbourne attempted to wrestle the microphone from him, insisted he was drunk and called him a "pissed bastard". She proceeded to make the full announcement herself. The next day it was reported that Reeves was not intoxicated and was hurt by Osbourne's behaviour. The incident has since been ascribed to an autocue malfunction, but Reeves said in his defence that he was trying to read the autocue screen, but he couldn't read it because Osbourne was pushing him out of the way.


2008 Brit Awards, Memorable moments, Arctic Monkeys
When the Arctic Monkeys took to the stage to collect their award for 'Best British Album', the band were dressed up in traditional English country and hunting outfits and even took a plastic duck to the stage with them. During the acceptance speech, they made a rude tirade about the Brits school which forced producers to pull it from the television broadcast.


2008 British Academy Scotland Awards
The 2008 British Academy Scotland Awards were held on 9 November 2008 at the Glasgow City Halls, honouring the best Scottish film and television productions of 2008. Presented by BAFTA Scotland, accolades are handed out for the best in feature-length film that were screened at British cinemas during 2008. The Nominees were announced on 17 October 2008. The ceremony was hosted by Edith Bowman.


2008 British Academy Television Awards
The 2008 British Academy Television Awards were held on 20 April at the London Palladium Theatre in London. The ceremony was broadcast live on BBC One in the United Kingdom. The nominations were announced on 18 March 2008. Drama Cranford received the most nominations with four, making Judi Dench the most nominated actress in BAFTA history for her work on TV and film combined. Long-running soap opera Coronation Street failed to earn a nomination. Bruce Forsyth received the Academy Fellowship Award.


2008 British Academy Television Craft Awards
The British Academy Television Craft Awards of 2008 are presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and were held on 11 May 2008 at The Dorchester, Mayfair, the ceremony was hosted by Claudia Winkleman.


2008 British Athletics Championships
The 2008 British Athletics Championships was the national championship in outdoor track and field for athletes in the United Kingdom, held from 11–13 July at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham. It was organised by UK Athletics. It served as a selection meeting for Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics.


2008 British Columbia Scotties Tournament of Hearts
The 2008 British Columbia Scotties Tournament of Hearts, British Columbia's women's provincial curling championship, was held January 23-27 at the Trail Curling Club in Trail, British Columbia. The winning team of Allison MacInnes represented British Columbia at the 2008 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Regina, Saskatchewan, finishing round robin with a 4-7 record.


2008 British Columbia electoral redistribution
An electoral redistribution was undertaken in 2008 in British Columbia in a process that began in late 2005 and was completed with the passage of the Electoral Districts Act, 2008 on April 10, 2008. The redistribution modified most electoral boundaries in the province and increased the number of MLAs from 79 to 85. The electoral boundaries created by the redistribution were first used in the 2009 provincial election.


2008 British Columbia electoral redistribution
The provincial government mandated the BC Electoral Boundaries Commission to recommend new maps (for both BC-STV and the traditional "single-member plurality" SMP systems) prior to the second electoral reform referendum. The commission's preliminary report, delivered in August 2007, was received with concern by both the New Democratic Party opposition and the governing Liberal party.


2008 British Columbia electoral redistribution
In addition to concerns about boundaries and size of individual ridings, the commission was criticized for shifting seats to the Lower Mainland (which was growing in population) and away from larger but less-populated areas (BC has traditionally given some electoral weight to vast but relatively underpopulated regions without large urban centres, particularly in the north).


2008 British Columbia electoral redistribution
The commission held subsequent hearings and, in February 2008, submitted 50 amendments to its preliminary report. Province-wide, the amendments would result in a net increase of four electoral districts, for a total of 83 single member plurality electoral districts. The number of proposed BC-STV electoral districts remained at 20. Because of the concern of both parties about the loss of seats in the North and Cariboo, the Commission also reported on the 85-seat map it would have designed if the legislature had passed an amendment requiring this. The legislature then approved the alternative boundaries for 85 ridings.


2008 British Columbia electoral redistribution
The 2008 provincial election in neighbouring Alberta served as a reminder to BC of the "unfinished business" looming ahead. Ed Stelmach's Conservative party won a sizable majority government (73 out of 83 seats) on the strength of a bare majority of votes cast. In response, the Vancouver Sun described BC's indecision over boundaries as "a significant hitch (that) has developed in the electoral boundary reform process that was to have illustrated how an STV system would carve up the province... Unless members of the legislature are able to forge a compromise that will rescue the politically unpalatable recommendations of the Electoral Boundaries Commission, voters will face another vote on whether to change the system while still uncertain as to how it will look in their home communities."


2008 British Columbia municipal elections
Municipal elections were held in the Canadian province of British Columbia on November 15, 2008.


2008 British Columbia municipal elections
The following is a list of mayoral races in selected municipalities.


2008 British Figure Skating Championships
The 2008 British Figure Skating Championships were held from 7 to 12 January 2008 in Sheffield. Skaters competed across the levels of senior (Olympic-level), junior, and novice, and across the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, ice dancing, and synchronized skating. The event was used to help pick the British teams to the 2008 World Championships, the 2008 European Championships, and the 2008 World Junior Championships.


2008 British Figure Skating Championships
The senior compulsory dance was the Yankee Polka and the junior compulsory dance was the Viennese Waltz. The first novice compulsory dance was the Rocker Foxtrot and the second one was the Paso Doble.


2008 British Formula 3 International Series
The 2008 Formula 3 International Series was the 58th British Formula 3 International Series season. It began on 24 March 2008 at Oulton Park's Easter Monday meeting and ended on 12 October at Donington Park after 22 rounds in four countries. Jay Bridger sealed the National Class championship at the Bucharest meeting, with a third place in round nineteen. The overall championship went down to the final meeting as Oliver Turvey, Jaime Alguersuari, Brendon Hartley and Sergio Pérez all had a chance of winning the title, however it was Alguersuari that won the title, thanks to a double win at Donington.


2008 British Formula Ford Championship
The 2008 British Formula Ford Championship was the 33rd edition of the British Formula Ford Championship. It began on 24 March at Oulton Park's Easter Monday meeting and ended on 12 October at Donington Park after 10 rounds and 25 races, held in the United Kingdom and Belgium. Having won 13 of the first 18 races, Jamun Mygale driver Wayne Boyd looked set to be a runaway championship winner, although in the end, Boyd's championship winning margin over teammate Tim Blanchard was 50 points.


2008 British Formula Ford Championship, Championship standings
† - Matt Hamilton, James Cole and Alex Jones docked six points for dangerous driving; Glen Wood docked twelve points for the same reason.


2008 British GT Championship
The 2008 British GT season was the 16th season of the British GT Championship. This was the first season with the new GT4 category, replacing the GTC category of previous years. Both championships were won at the Brands Hatch meeting in July, with Matt Nicoll-Jones and Stewart Linn securing the inaugural GT4 title in round 11, with James Gornall and Jon Barnes clinching the GT3 title, the following day in round 12.


2008 British GT Championship, Entry list
A total of twenty seven full season entries were announced on 6 March 2008.


2008 British GT Championship, Calendar
A provisional 14-race calendar was announced on 15 October 2007.


2008 British Grand Prix
The 2008 British Grand Prix (officially the 2008 Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 6 July 2008 at the Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, England. It was the ninth race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. The race was held over 60 laps with a practice and qualifying round preceding the race.


2008 British Grand Prix
Heikki Kovalainen started from pole position alongside Mark Webber in second and Kimi Räikkönen in third on the grid. On the first corner, Lewis Hamilton rose from fourth on the grid to second overtaking Webber and Räikkönen. Hamilton shadowed Kovalainen for the early stages of the race, until he took the lead on lap five. The race was won by Hamilton, racing for McLaren Mercedes ahead of Nick Heidfeld for BMW Sauber in second and Rubens Barrichello third in a Honda. Räikkönen made the fastest lap of the race on lap 18. Hamilton's drive was acclaimed as one of Formula One's finest by journalist David Tremayne.


2008 British Grand Prix
Of the 20 drivers competing, 13 finished the race, with eight receiving world championship points. Hamilton's win tied him for the lead of the Drivers' Championship, alongside Felipe Massa and Räikkönen. In the Constructors Championship, Ferrari's lead was reduced to 14 points over BMW Sauber, with McLaren a further 10 behind.


2008 British Grand Prix, Background
The 2008 British Grand Prix was held on 6 July 2008 at the Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, England. The grand prix was contested by 20 drivers, in 10 teams of two. The teams, also known as "constructors", were Scuderia Ferrari, McLaren Mercedes, Renault F1, Honda Racing F1, Force India-Ferrari, BMW Sauber, Toyota F1, Red Bull Racing-Renault, WilliamsF1-Toyota and Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari.


2008 British Grand Prix, Background
Before the race, Ferrari driver Felipe Massa led the Drivers' Championship with 48 points, BMW driver Robert Kubica trailed by two points, and Massa's teammate Kimi Räikkönen was third on 43 points. McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton was fourth with 38 points, 10 points ahead of Kubica's teammate Nick Heidfeld. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari led with 91 points, BMW Sauber were second with 74 points, and McLaren were third with 58 points. Red Bull Renault were in fourth with 24 points, one point ahead of Toyota in fifth.


2008 British Grand Prix, Background
Ferrari were the dominant team prior to the race: their drivers had won five out of eight races, including one-two finishes at the Bahrain, Spanish, and in the previous race, the French Grand Prix. Kubica had performed consistently for BMW Sauber, only failing to score once, and had won his first race four weeks earlier at the Canadian Grand Prix.


2008 British Grand Prix, Background
There's something about racing in your home country that affects you. The constant support of the crowd gives you a boost throughout the whole weekend. It's not something you experience anywhere else, but it does make you that bit more determined to succeed.


2008 British Grand Prix, Background
Lewis Hamilton in the run-up to the British Grand Prix.


2008 British Grand Prix, Background
Despite wins for Hamilton at the Australian and Monaco Grand Prix, he was facing pressure approaching Silverstone. He had fallen from first to fourth in the Drivers' Championship after failing to score in the previous two races. At the Canadian Grand Prix, he had retired after making contact with a stationary Raikkonen who was waiting at a red light in the pit lane. This led to a ten-place grid penalty for the following race at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours where he failed to score after receiving a controversial drive-through penalty for overtaking Sebastian Vettel by missing a chicane.


2008 British Grand Prix, Background
After the race he responded angrily and to the negative press coverage he had been receiving, saying: "There's nothing you can do that can distract me. You can keep on giving me penalties, whatever you want. I'll keep battling, and trying to come back with a result." However, he remained upbeat about his likelihood of winning the championship and was "confident" going into the weekend.


2008 British Grand Prix, Background
Three days of testing took place at the Silverstone circuit, from 25 to 27 June. Massa set the fastest time on the first day with a 1:20.188, 0.3 faster than Heikki Kovalainen, but was unable to escape the track after suffering a mechanical failure with 30 minutes to go which forced the session to be red-flagged. Kovalainen improved on the second day to go fastest with a 1:20.015. Strong winds caused Giancarlo Fisichella to crash heavily at Becketts corner; he was uninjured, although medical checks meant he was unable to do further testing in the afternoon. On the third and final day, Hamilton set the quickest time with a 1:19.170, over 0.6 seconds ahead of second-fastest Timo Glock.


2008 British Grand Prix, Background
Before the race, the FIA announced that Donington Park had been awarded a ten-year contract to host the British Grand Prix from 2010, providing major renovations were completed. The British Racing Drivers' Club, owners of the Silverstone circuit, were disappointed with the announcement stating that development plans for the circuit had been progressing well. They were also critical of the timing of the announcement, being made on the weekend the circuit celebrated its 60th anniversary of hosting the British Grand Prix.


2008 British Grand Prix, Background
Also before the race, Red Bull driver David Coulthard announced he was to retire at the end of the season, saying: "My decision was taken earlier this year and is based on a desire to stop while I am still competitive". He also explained the timing of his retirement saying "the decision to make this announcement at the British Grand Prix should be an obvious one for all to understand, as I have achieved two of my F1 victories at Silverstone and I am a member of the British Racing Drivers' Club, which hosts this event."


2008 British Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
Three practice sessions were held before the race held on Sunday. Two of the practice sessions were held on Friday, both lasting 90 minutes; and one on Saturday morning, lasting an hour. Massa was fastest in the first session, with a time of 1:19.575, despite a crash forcing him to miss the last 30 minutes. Fernando Alonso's Renault engine failed, leaving slippery oil on the racing line at Stowe corner. Massa approached the corner and lost control of his car, spinning off the circuit colliding with the barriers. He was unhurt, but his car was too damaged to continue.


2008 British Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
The session was stopped for 18 minutes to recover his car and cover the oil with cement dust. This left track conditions difficult, and nobody could beat Massa's time in the remainder of the session. It finished with Massa ahead of Kovalainen and Hamilton by less than one-tenth of a second; Raikkonen and Kubica were fourth and fifth-fastest, respectively.


2008 British Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
In the second session, Kovalainen was fastest, over half a second ahead of Red Bull driver Mark Webber, Hamilton, and Webber's teammate David Coulthard. Massa missed the first half of the session as his car was still being repaired, and was eighth-fastest. Both Toyota drivers had problems: Timo Glock stopped on the track with a clutch problem; and Jarno Trulli crashed heavily at Stowe after a problem with his rear wing, although he was not hurt. Alonso set the fastest time in the final practice session, which took place in damp conditions following rain earlier in the morning.


2008 British Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
Early laps were attempted on extreme wet tyres, but the track dried throughout the session, prompting a move to intermediate wet tyres and, with around 20 minutes left, a further switch to dry tyres. Webber finished the session in second place, a quarter of a second slower than Alonso, and Kovalainen was third fastest ahead of Toro Rosso driver Sebastian Vettel.


2008 British Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
We've been going really well all weekend after finding some good pace during testing last week. I've spent a lot of time racing in the UK so it feels great to have scored my first ever Formula One pole position at Silverstone. The car feels just fantastic at the moment; I was able to steadily improve throughout all three qualifying session and I'm confident our pace is going to be strong tomorrow.


2008 British Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
The qualifying session on Saturday afternoon was split into three rounds. The first lasted 20 minutes and eliminated the cars which finished the session 16th or lower. The second lasted 15 minutes and eliminated cars which finished in positions 11 to 15. The final round of qualifying determined the order of the top ten drivers. Cars which competed in the final session of qualifying were not allowed to refuel before the race, and so they carried more fuel than in the previous sessions.


2008 British Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
Kovalainen took his first Formula One pole position with a time of 1:21.049, half a second faster than anyone else. Webber would start alongside him on the front row, the Red Bull team's best qualifying result to date, and Räikkönen would start from third. Hamilton qualified fourth, opting for a more conservative approach to his second flying lap after he had pushed too hard on his first run and slid into the gravel. Nick Heidfeld was fifth quickest for BMW Sauber, ahead of Alonso, Alonso's teammate Nelson Piquet Jr., and Vettel. Championship leader Massa could only qualify ninth after a slow tyre change in the final session left him unable to record a second timed lap.


2008 British Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
Kubica did not set a time in the final session due to a technical problem with his car, meaning he started from tenth; the first race all season he had qualified behind teammate Heidfeld. Webber's teammate David Coulthard qualified eleventh for his final British Grand Prix, narrowly missing out on the last part of qualifying, and blamed problems with his car earlier in the day which had reduced his practice time. Sébastien Bourdais was thirteenth splitting the two Toyota cars of Glock and Trulli.


2008 British Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
Kazuki Nakajima was the slowest of the cars to make the second round of qualifying, and would start the race fifteenth. Both Honda drivers failed to get past the first stage of qualifying, but were ahead of Rosberg in eighteenth, who had suspension problems. Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella finished in the last two positions for Force India.


2008 British Grand Prix, Race
There was persistent rain in the morning, leaving standing water on the track, although it had abated by the time the race began. The track temperature was 16 °C (61 °F) and the air temperature was 15 °C (59 °F). All drivers chose to start on the intermediate wet tyres. Rosberg started from the pit lane after a number of set-up changes.


2008 British Grand Prix, Race
The front three drivers (Kovalainen, Webber and Räikkönen) all struggled for grip off the start, allowing Hamilton to edge ahead into the first corner. Kovalainen who had the better line, however, retook the lead after brushing tyres with Hamilton, who tucked in behind his teammate.


2008 British Grand Prix, Race
A number of drivers struggled with the standing water on the first lap: Webber spun coming onto the Hangar straight, falling from fourth to last place; Massa spun going into Bridge, where he was passed by everyone except Webber; and Coulthard and Vettel ended up in a gravel trap after a collision, forcing them both to retire.


2008 British Grand Prix, Race
Alonso showed good early pace, passing Piquet and Heidfeld on laps two and three respectively, and setting the fastest time of any driver on laps four and five. Massa spun for the second time during his third lap, dropping him to the back of the field. Hamilton shadowed Kovalainen closely for several laps, and passed him going into Stowe on lap five. Hamilton quickly extended his lead over Kovalainen, and there was already a six-second gap by the tenth lap when Kovalainen spun and was passed by Räikkönen. However, as the track dried, Räikkönen showed the better pace—particularly in the last two sectors—and the gap was under a second by the time they both pitted on lap 21.


2008 British Grand Prix, Race
McLaren gave Hamilton a new set of intermediate wet tyres; in contrast, Ferrari gambled that the track would continue to dry and refuelled Räikkönen without changing his tyres. Despite his pit stop being longer by half a second, Hamilton exited just in front of Räikkönen (Heidfeld briefly took the lead until his pitstop the following lap). McLaren were vindicated in their decision almost immediately: the rain returned and Räikkönen was unable to find grip, falling back from Hamilton by up to eight seconds a lap. By lap 27, Kovalainen and Heidfeld had caught the struggling Räikkönen.


2008 British Grand Prix, Race
As Kovalainen overtook Räikkönen, Heidfeld passed them both to take second place. On the same lap, Fisichella spun out and retired; his Force India teammate Sutil had already retired after a spin on lap 11. After being passed by Kubica and Piquet, Räikkönen finally pitted for fresh tyres on lap 30, dropping him to eleventh place.


2008 British Grand Prix, Race
Kubica overtook Kovalainen for third place, shortly before Kovalainen pitted for the second time. Despite the rain getting heavier he opted for a new set of intermediate tyres. Both Kubica and Glock left the track and rejoined; however Glock lost a place to his teammate Trulli. On lap 37, both Hondas elected to change onto the extreme wet-weather tyres, Button queuing behind his teammate in the pitlane while waiting to be serviced.


2008 British Grand Prix, Race
Nelson Piquet Jr. spun off the track and beached his car in a gravel trap, ending his race, while in separate incidents within a few moments of each other Hamilton, Kubica, and Massa all lost control of their cars and travelled over the grass before rejoining the track, without any damage. Räikkönen also spun off on the same lap again rejoining the circuit without damaging the car.


2008 British Grand Prix, Race
Hamilton, leading the race by around 30 seconds, made a pitstop to change tyres and take on fuel on lap 38, opting for a new set of the intermediate wet-weather tyres, as the weather forecast predicted the rain would ease. Second-placed driver Heidfeld pitted the following lap, opting for the same tyre choice as Hamilton. The gap between the two leaders was 36 seconds. Kimi Räikkönen spun off in his Ferrari for the second time in as many laps, again though he avoided contact with the barriers and was able to rejoin the track.


2008 British Grand Prix, Race
With 20 laps of the race remaining, Rubens Barrichello on the extreme wet weather tyres was around nine seconds a lap quicker than the majority of the field and quickly moved his way up to fourth place by passing Kovalainen and Alonso. Robert Kubica retired from the race after losing control of his car and ending up beached in a gravel trap. Nico Rosberg ran into the back of eighth-placed Timo Glock as he attempted to overtake. The collision damaged Rosberg's front wing, and he was forced to make a pit-stop to change it.


2008 British Grand Prix, Race
By now the rain had stopped, but the track surface was still wet. Barrichello caught and passed Trulli and Heidfeld for second place, however a refuelling problem at his earlier pit stop meant that he would need to stop again. He built up a twenty-second gap over Heidfeld before making his pit stop on lap 47, opting to change to the intermediate wet weather tyres. He rejoined in third place, behind Heidfeld. Kovalainen passed Alonso for fifth place at the Bridge corner. Trulli then pitted, promoting Kovalainen to fourth.


2008 British Grand Prix, Race
Felipe Massa spun on the exit of Woodcote corner, managing to recover without any damage. A few moments later Mark Webber made a similar error at the same location. The following lap saw a spin from Kovalainen, which allowed Alonso and Räikkönen to get past while he recovered to the circuit.


2008 British Grand Prix, Race
Massa, the last car on the road still running in 13th position, spun for the fifth time during the race. He continued without any damage, and made a pit stop the following lap for new tyres and fuel. The final few laps saw a battle for fourth place, as first Räikkönen and then Kovalainen passed Alonso. Hamilton crossed the finish line on lap 60 to win the Grand Prix by 68 seconds from Nick Heidfeld in second. The margin of victory was the largest since the 1995 Australian Grand Prix.


2008 British Grand Prix, Race
Rubens Barrichello finished in third position for Honda's best finish of the 2008 season. Kimi Räikkönen finished in fourth ahead of Kovalainen and Alonso. Räikkönen had also set the fastest lap in the early stages of the race, the sixth consecutive race in which he had done so. Jarno Trulli finished in seventh position, and Kazuki Nakajima finished the race in eighth.


2008 British Grand Prix, Post-race
It is definitely and by far the best victory I've ever had. It was one of the toughest races I have ever done. I was thinking out there if I win it, it will be the best race I have ever done, not just because of the home crowd. On the last laps I could see the crowd starting standing up, and I was praying, praying 'just finish'. You can imagine the emotions going on inside and I wanted to get it around.


2008 British Grand Prix, Post-race
The top three finishers appeared on the podium to receive trophies and took part in the subsequent press conference. Hamilton commented on the difficult conditions, comparing them to the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix, and the limited visibility: "I couldn't see through my visor, so through turn one and two I had to clean visor, put it up and back down again. I had to do that on every lap especially when it was rained. I couldn't see anything. It was so extreme, so tough, a real mental challenge." He also thanked the fans for their support.


2008 British Grand Prix, Post-race
Heidfeld said it was vital to make the correct tyre decisions, and also spoke about the challenging weather: "The most difficult moments in the race were when cars were overtaking me who had been lapped, but were just on better tyres for the conditions at that time. There was so much water and I couldn't see where it was lying." Barrichello, who took his first podium since the 2005 United States Grand Prix, described it as a "perfect race". He said that after he switched to extreme wet tyres, he was "passing people from inside to outside, it was just magic".


2008 British Grand Prix, Post-race
After the race, Hamilton tied with Massa and Räikkönen for the lead of the Drivers' Championship all on 48 points. Kubica dropped behind Räikkönen and Hamilton but remained two points behind the championship leaders, with Heidfeld remaining fifth. In the Constructors' Championship, BMW reduced Ferrari's lead to 14 points. McLaren made up six points on BMW, although they were still 10 points behind.


2008 British Hill Climb Championship season
The 2008 Nicholson McLaren Engines British Hill Climb Championship season was the 62nd British Hill Climb Championship (BHCC) season. It was the last year in which Nicholson McLaren sponsored the championship, as MCL Motorhomes took over the championship sponsorship for 2009. The series was contested over 34 rounds, with the drivers' 28 best results counting for the championship. Scott Moran ended Martin Groves' dominance of the championship, by claiming the championship during round 27 at Gurston Down.


2008 British Indoor Athletics Championships
The 2008 British Indoor Athletics Championships was the 2nd edition of the national championship in indoor track and field for the United Kingdom. It was held from 9–10 February at the English Institute of Sport, Sheffield, England. A total of 24 events (divided evenly between the sexes) were contested over the two-day competition.


2008 British National Track Championships
The 2008 British National Track Championships were a series of track cycling competitions held from 16–20 September 2008 at the Manchester Velodrome. They are organised and sanctioned by British Cycling, and were open to British cyclists.


2008 British Rowing Championships
The 2008 British Rowing Championships were the 37th edition of the National Championships, held from 18–20 July 2008 at the National Water Sports Centre in Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham. They were organised and sanctioned by British Rowing, and are open to British rowers.


2008 British Speedway Championship
The 2008 British Speedway Championship was the 48th edition of the British Speedway Championship. The Final took place on 29 May at the Abbey Stadium in Swindon, England. The Championship was won by Scott Nicholls, who beat Edward Kennett, Tai Woffinden and Chris Harris in the final heat.


2008 British Superbike Championship
The 2008 British Superbike Championship season was scheduled to begin on 6 April 2008; however, snow at Brands Hatch forced the abandonment of the day's races, which were later rescheduled. The series was rescheduled to start on 20 April and end on 12 October 2008.


2008 British Superbike Championship
Starting with this season the championship has a single tyre supplier.


2008 British Superbike Championship
For the 2008 season the engine configuration regulations were changed in parallel with those of the World Superbike Championship, to permit the racing of 1200 cc V-twins against 1000 cc four-cylinder machines.


2008 British Superbike Championship, Season standings, Privateers Cup
John Laverty won the Cup class on his Buildbase NW200 Ducati.


2008 British Touring Car Championship
The 2008 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship season was the 51st British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season. It was also the first that the championship was sponsored by HiQ. Fabrizio Giovanardi won his second consecutive title.


2008 British Touring Car Championship, Changes for 2008, Teams and drivers
After capturing the Drivers and Manufacturers titles in their first season with the Vectra, the Triple 8-run works Vauxhall squad expanded to three cars for 2008. Reigning champion Fabrizio Giovanardi remained on board, being joined by Matt Neal, returning to Vauxhall for the first time since 2002 after leaving his family-run Team Dynamics squad, with whom he won back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006. The third car was piloted by Tom Onslow-Cole, who impressed at the wheel of a WSR BMW in his debut BTCC campaign in 2007.


2008 British Touring Car Championship, Changes for 2008, Teams and drivers
SEAT were once again the only other full-works operation, and fitted their Leons with the rapid yet often unreliable turbo diesel engines being used by the marque's World Touring Car Championship operation. Jason Plato, who came extremely close to securing a second BTCC title the previous year, remained on board, as did GT convert Darren Turner.


2008 British Touring Car Championship, Changes for 2008, Teams and drivers
Tom Chilton, moving the opposite direction after two years with Vauxhall, replaced the outgoing Neal at Team Dynamics (again running as Team Halfords), with Gordon Shedden remaining on board in the other of their self-developed Honda Civics. As with the previous year, in spite of not being a factory-backed operation, the cars were not eligible for Independents points due to their dominance of the category with the Integra in 2005 and 2006.


2008 British Touring Car Championship, Changes for 2008, Teams and drivers
West Surrey Racing (again running as Team RAC) campaigned the BMW 320is for a second year, with reigning Independents champion Colin Turkington again heading the team and single-seater convert Stephen Jelley replacing the Vauxhall-bound Onslow-Cole. Mat Jackson returned in his 320is after a successful debut season in 2007, with his small family-run operation now enjoying BMW Dealer Team UK backing.


2008 British Touring Car Championship, Changes for 2008, Teams and drivers
Motorbase Performance also joined the BMW brigade after ditching their SEAT Toledos, with former Independents champion Rob Collard returned to the series full-time with the team after spending most of 2007 away. He was partnered by Steven Kane, who had been a front-runner for the team in the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain after making the switch from single-seaters. Also leaving the Toledo behind for 2008 were GR Asia (again running under the Team Air Cool banner), who switched to a newer Leon (which ran with its original petrol engine unlike the works cars) for the returning Adam Jones.


2008 British Touring Car Championship, Changes for 2008, Teams and drivers
Team Eurotech continued with the ex-Team Dynamics Honda Integra for a third year, expanding to two cars with team boss Mike Jordan now joined by his 18-year-old son Andrew, who had impressed in rallycross before making his road racing debut in the Renault Clio Cup in 2007. John George also campaigned his Integra for a second year with TH Motorsport.


2008 British Touring Car Championship, Changes for 2008, Teams and drivers
Alan Taylor returned for a full season in his Integra with Robertshaw Racing, having debuted in the closing meetings of 2007. The team also added a pair of ex-WTCC Chevrolet Lacettis to their line-up driven by Matt Allison, switching from Motorbase, and SEAT Cupra Championship graduate Harry Vaulkhard. Allison left the team due to budgetary reasons after the first three meetings and was not replaced.


2008 British Touring Car Championship, Changes for 2008, Teams and drivers
Among the other returnees were Kartworld Racing (entered as Team KWR), who continued to run the venerable MG ZS, cutting back to a single example for team boss Jason Hughes. Tech-Speed Motorsport, again running under the Arkas Racing banner, expanded to two cars for its second year with the Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch, Turkey's Erkut Kizilirmak being joined by Martin Bell, who had piloted a Geoff Steel Racing BMW in the previous two years.


2008 British Touring Car Championship, Changes for 2008, Teams and drivers
BTC Racing began the year running their temperamental Lexus IS200s from the previous two seasons, before switching to a pair of SEAT Toledos acquired from Motorbase from the second round onwards. Team stalwart Chris Stockton remained alongside multiple truck racing champion Stuart Oliver, who was making his first steps into cars. Gareth Howell, who appeared in a Toledo for Motorbase in 2007, was recruited to replace Oliver at meetings that clashed with his truck racing commitments, making two such appearances before Oliver left the championship and the second car was dropped.


2008 British Touring Car Championship, Changes for 2008, Teams and drivers
The only all-new entry to the championship came in the shape of young Scotsman Michael Doyle, who had been a race winner in the Clio Cup the previous year. He ran a BTCC-spec Honda Civic Type-R, originally built and run by the works Arena operation between 2002 and 2005, with his family-run In-Tune Racing team.


2008 British Touring Car Championship, Entry list
On 12 March 2008 the BTCC Organisers released the official MSA HiQ British Touring Car Championship entry list for the 2008 season.


2008 British Touring Car Championship, Calendar
All races were held in the United Kingdom. The 2008 season once again had ten race weekends with three BTCC rounds at each. A provisional calendar had been announced by series organisers.


2008 British Touring Car Championship, Championship standings, Teams Championship
* – BTC Racing lose all points for three changes of engine. * * – Team Eurotech lose 10 points for three changes of engine. * ** – Team Air Cool and Team Halfords lose 20 points for four changes of engine.


2008 British Touring Car Championship, Championship standings, Independent Teams Trophy
* – BTC Racing & Team Eurotech lose 10 points for three changes of engine. * * – Team Air Cool lose 20 points for four changes of engine.


2008 British motorcycle Grand Prix
The 2008 British motorcycle Grand Prix was the eighth round of the 2008 MotoGP championship. It took place on the weekend of 20–22 June 2008 at the Donington Park circuit.


2008 British motorcycle Grand Prix, Championship standings after the race (MotoGP)
Below are the standings for the top five riders and constructors after round eight has concluded.


2008 Brno Superbike World Championship round
The 2008 Brno Superbike World Championship round was the ninth round of the 2008 Superbike World Championship. It took place on the weekend of July 18–20, 2008, at the Masaryk Circuit located in Brno.


2008 Bronze Helmet (Poland)
The 2008 Bronze Helmet (Polish: Turniej o Brązowy Kask, BK) is the 2008 version of Bronze Helmet organized by the Polish Motor Union (PZM). It is unofficial Individual U-19 Polish Championship.


2008 Bronze Helmet (Poland)
The Final took place on September 26, 2008, in Gdańsk.


2008 Bronze Helmet (Poland), Semi-Finals, Gniezno
Heat Times:Heat 1-6: 64.38 65.96 67.98 67.26 67.22 65.36Heat 7-12: 65.58 66.18 66.74 67.06 65.82 67.37Heat 13-18: 66.81 67.29 66.97 67.37 67.47 66.43Heat 19-20: 67.84 67.98


2008 Bronze Helmet (Poland), Semi-Finals, Ostrów Wlkp.
Gate in Heat 21: (A) Piaszczyński, (B) Pieniążek, (C) Lampkowski


2008 Bronze Helmet (Poland), Semi-Finals, Ostrów Wlkp.
Heat Times:Heat 1-6: 66,06 66,50 65,35 67,25 67,88 67,94Heat 7-12: 66,28 66,38 67,82 66,59 67,19 67,25Heat 13-18: 67,16 67,50 67,22 68,09 68,69 67,94Heat 19-21: 67,68 67,88 68,22


2008 Bronze Helmet (Poland), Final
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance •  t - exclusion for touching the tapes •  x - other exclusion •  e - retired or mechanical failure •  f - fell •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


2008 Brown Bears football team
The 2008 Brown Bears football team was an American football team that represented Brown University during the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Brown tied for first in the Ivy League.


2008 Brown Bears football team
In their 12th season under head coach Phil Estes, the Bears compiled a 7–3 record and outscored opponents 269 to 190. Michael Dougherty and Darrell Harrison were the team captains.


2008 Brown Bears football team
The Bears' 5–1 conference record earned the Ivy League co-championship. Brown outscored Ivy opponents 205 to 105.


2008 Brown Bears football team
After beating their eventual co-champion, Harvard, the Bears were briefly ranked No. 25 for the first week of October. They lost their next two games, and did not return to the national top 25 for the rest of the year.


2008 Brown Bears football team
Brown played its home games at Brown Stadium in Providence, Rhode Island.


2008 Brownlow Medal
The 2008 Brownlow Medal was the 81st year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League (AFL) home and away season. Adam Cooney of the Western Bulldogs won the medal by polling twenty-four votes during the 2008 AFL season. Pre -vote favourite, Gary Ablett and sentimental favourite, Matthew Richardson finished equal third on twenty-two votes. Cooney polled twenty-four votes, one ahead of Brisbane's Simon Black, who won the award in 2002 and was equal second in 2007.


2008 Brownlow Medal, Voting procedure
The three field umpires (those umpires who control the flow of the game, as opposed to goal or boundary umpires) confer after each match and award three votes, two votes, and one vote to the players they regard as the best, second-best and third-best in the match, respectively. The votes are kept secret until the awards night, and they are read and tallied on the evening.


2008 Brownlow Medal, Voting procedure, Ineligible players
As the medal is awarded to the fairest and best player in the league, those who have been suspended during the season by the AFL Tribunal (or, who avoided suspension only because of a discount for a good record or an early guilty plea) are ineligible to win the award; however, they may still continue to poll votes. In 2008 many of the leading contenders including Coleman Medallist Lance Franklin, Sam Mitchell, Adam Goodes, Brett Burton and Daniel Kerr all were found guilty of an offence and were ineligible to win the medal.


2008 Brownlow Medal, Voting procedure, Pre-count betting
Despite changing clubs after the 2007 season, Chris Judd was installed as the early favourite when betting opened, but as the season progressed Gary Ablett became a short-priced favourite. When Ablett injured his ankle and missed three matches, Brent Harvey moved to outright favourite. By the end of the season however, Ablett had returned to favouritism, with 2007 winner Jimmy Bartel, Harvey and Adam Cooney close behind.


2008 Broxbourne Borough Council election
The Broxbourne Council election, 2008 was held to elect council members of the Broxbourne Borough Council, a local government authority in Hertfordshire, England.


2008 Broxbourne Borough Council election, Results summary
An election was held in 12 wards on 1 May 2008. (No election in Rosedale Ward)


2008 Broxbourne Borough Council election, Results summary
This was the first Local Government Election in Broxbourne where the British National Party fielded a "full slate" of candidates


2008 Broxbourne Borough Council election, Results summary
The Labour Party gained 1 seat from the Conservative Party in Waltham Cross Ward.


2008 Broxbourne Borough Council election, Results summary
The new political balance of the council following this election was:


2008 Broxbourne Borough Council election, Results summary
The next Local Government Election will be held on 6 May 2010 when seats will be contested in all of the 13 wards.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team
The 2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team represented Bryant University as an independent in the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bulldogs were led by sixth-year head coach Marty Fine and played their home games at Bulldog Stadium. This was the first season in which Bryant competed at the NCAA Division I FCS level. The Bulldogs have previous played at the NCAA Division II level as a member of the Northeast-10 Conference. They finished the season with a record of 7–4.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Central Connecticut State (Aug. 30th)
If there were any questions as to whether the Bryant University football team was ready for Division I, Saturday's effort at Central Connecticut provided all the answers. Facing a talented Blue Devil team in the school's season opener, Bryant pushed Central Connecticut before coming up short, 42-35 Saturday night at Arute Field.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Central Connecticut State (Aug. 30th)
Bryant (0-1) trailed 21-13 at the half, but roared back as the Bulldog defense kept the Blue Devil offense in check for most of the second half. A Lindsey Gamble 24-yard run down to the Central 33-yard line early in the fourth helped set up a 15-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jay Graber to Michael Canfora, trimming the lead Central lead down to two, 21-19. Going for the two-point conversion, Graber hit Vinton South across the middle to complete the 2-point conversion and tie the game at 21-21.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Central Connecticut State (Aug. 30th)
Another strong defensive stop forced Central into another three and out by the Blue Devil offense. But on the ensuing punt, the Blue Devils failed to get the punt off and the Bulldogs took over deep in the Central Connecticut territory. Three plays later, Gamble rumbled in from a yard out and the Bulldogs took their first lead of the game.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Central Connecticut State (Aug. 30th)
James Mallory finally gave Central Connecticut (1-0) fans something to cheer for in the second half as he broke free down the left side line for a 92-yard touchdown run to knot the game back up at 28-28.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Central Connecticut State (Aug. 30th)
Special teams play haunted the Bulldogs and after failing to pick up a first down, Central managed to block another Bulldog punt and Cory Robinson fell on the ball in the end zone to push the Blue Devils back out in front 35-28.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Central Connecticut State (Aug. 30th)
Bryant would answer again, however, as Canfora and Graber hooked up again for a 15-yard touchdown to tie the game at 35-35.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Central Connecticut State (Aug. 30th)
Central Connecticut opened the game blocking a Bryant punt on the Bulldogs' opening drive in the first quarter as Jordan Knight picked up the loose ball and ran it back 22 yards for the game's first score.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Central Connecticut State (Aug. 30th)
Chris Bird had a big day kicking a 37-yard field goal in the first half and adding a school-record 47-yard field goal at the end of the half to make it 21-13 at the break. Bryant got a gift penalty from Central Connecticut as Jerell Smith made a nice 32-yard run down to the Central 29 as time expired in the half. But a facemask penalty added 15 yard penalties, giving the Bulldogs one more play and Bird just squeaked his kick just inside the uprights.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Southern Connecticut State (Sept. 6th)
Junior running back Jerell Smith rushed for a career-high 221 yards on 34 carries to help lead Bryant University to a 39-36 non-conference win over Southern Connecticut before 2,417 at Bulldog Stadium Saturday afternoon. The win improves Bryant's record to 1-1 on the season heading into next week's home game with Merrimack College (1 p.m.). Southern Connecticut drops to 1-1 on the season.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Southern Connecticut State (Sept. 6th)
In the first matchup between the two schools since last year's NCAA playoffs, won by the Owls 45-28, the Bulldogs capitalized on several Southern Connecticut mistakes to pull out the fourth quarter, come-from-behind victory.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Southern Connecticut State (Sept. 6th)
"If we don't keep the ball in the shoot, they are going to run away from us, and that's what happened today," said Bryant coach Marty Fine.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Southern Connecticut State (Sept. 6th)
Southern Connecticut (1-1), ranked 20th in Division II and picked to win the Northeast-10 Conference this season, got a strong passing effort from quarterback Steve Armstrong. The senior signal caller was 17 for 23 passing for 282 yards and threw three touchdowns before leaving the game with an injury early in the third.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Southern Connecticut State (Sept. 6th)
Armstrong's replacement Kevin Lynch came on to throw a pair of touchdowns, including a 75-yarder to Ty Marshall to vive the Owls a 28-21 lead with 3:30 left in the third.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Southern Connecticut State (Sept. 6th)
But in the fourth quarter, key plays by the Bryant defense and special teams and the hard running of Smith, helped Bryant rally. A Samad Wagstaff interception near midfield as the quarter came to a close resulted in a Smith 10-yard touchdown. On the ensuing kickoff, Southern fumbled the return and Bryant's Franck Tebou was there to recover. That play led to another Smith touchdown, making it 33-28 with 13:17 left.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Southern Connecticut State (Sept. 6th)
Another fumble on the kickoff by the Owls gave the ball back to the Bulldogs and this time Mike Canfora was there to bull his way in from the 1-yard line to put Bryant on top 39-28.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Southern Connecticut State (Sept. 6th)
Lynch and the Owls were done, as the freshman connected with Pete Digangi for a 6-yard score to pull to within 39-36 with 7:53 remaining.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Southern Connecticut State (Sept. 6th)
Bryant was forced to punt after the drive stalled out at their own 34-yard line, but on Southern's next possession, linebacker Paul Polomski picked off a Lynch pass at the 45-yard line and the Bulldogs were able to run out the clock.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Southern Connecticut State (Sept. 6th)
Smith's 221 yards are a career-high for the Howard University transfer and the seventh-most yards in a game, tying him with Lorenzo Perry who had 221 at Assumption in 2008.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Southern Connecticut State (Sept. 6th)
Quarterback Jay Graber completed 13 of 25 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns while Vinton South caught three passes for 64 yards.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Southern Connecticut State (Sept. 6th)
"Southern Connecticut is a good team and they deserve all of their credit," said Jay Graber. "They beat us pretty bad last year so it wasn't a Division I, Division II thing, it was a good football game."


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Southern Connecticut State (Sept. 6th)
Ty Marshall had seven catches for 203 yards and two scores for Southern Connecticut . Jarom Freeman, who rushed for an NCAA Division II record 418 yards against the Bulldogs last year, was held in check by the Bulldog defense. The junior finished with 70 yards on 16 carries in the game.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Southern Connecticut State (Sept. 6th)
Bryce Martins had 11 tackles on the season while Andre White added seven.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Merrimack (Sept. 13th)
Junior tailback Jerell Smith (Brooklyn, NY) rushed for 130 yards on 27 carries to lift the Bryant University football team to a 20-7 non-conference win over Merrimack College before an overflow crowd of 5,530 fans on Homecoming & Reunion Weekend Saturday at Bulldog Stadium.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Merrimack (Sept. 13th)
Bryant, with the win, improves to 2-1 on the season heading into next weekend's home game with Monmouth College (1 p.m.). Merrimack, which turned the ball over seven times in the game, drops to 1-1.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Merrimack (Sept. 13th)
The Bulldogs, who forced seven turnovers in last week's win over Southern Connecticut, took advantage of an early miscue by the Warriors to get on the board first. A Paul Polomski (Franklin, MA) interception of a Kurt Leone pass midway through the first quarter led to a 31-yard field goal by Chris Bird, giving the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Merrimack (Sept. 13th)
Bryant would never trail again. In the second quarter, another interception, this time by Bryant freshman cornerback Samad Wagstaff (New Rochelle, NY), off a pass by Leone helped set up the Bulldogs' first touchdown of the game. Wagstaff, who added another interception in the second half to give him five for the season, returned his first of the day 20 yards to midfield, giving the Bulldogs excellent field position.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Merrimack (Sept. 13th)
Seven plays later, Lindsey Gamble (Roxbury, MA) plunged in from a yard out to make it 10-7.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Merrimack (Sept. 13th)
Smith would add a 20-yard touchdown run in the final minute of the second quarter to send the Bulldogs into the locker room up 20-0 at the break.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Merrimack (Sept. 13th)
Smith, after a career-best 221 yards against Southern Connecticut last week, went over the 1,000 yard mark in his career Saturday. His 130 yards against Merrimack gives him 1,063 yards, becoming the seventh player in school history to go over 1,000 yards rushing in a career.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Merrimack (Sept. 13th)
Bryant quarterback Jay Graber (Clarksburg, NJ) completed 14 of 22 passes for 117 yards while Ross Giffune (Foxboro, MA) had a fine day, catching four passes for 43 yards including a long of 17.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Merrimack (Sept. 13th)
In addition to forcing seven turnovers, Bryant's defense held Merrimack's run-and-shoot offense to 278 yards in the game. Leone finished the game completing 12 of 36 passes for 143 yards. Backup Mike Sarnese came on later in the second half to replace Leone and completed 4 of 14 attempts for 84 yards but was intercepted three times including once in the end zone by Andre Whyte (Bennington, VT).


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Monmouth (Sept. 20th)
Senior running back David Sinisi rushed for 171 yards on 26 carries and scored twice as visiting Monmouth earned its first victory of the season defeating Bryant University 30-17 in non-conference football action Saturday before 4,107 at Bulldog Stadium.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Monmouth (Sept. 20th)
Monmouth (1-3) got on the board first as quarterback Brett Burke found John Nalbone for a 6 yard score on the Hawks' second drive of the game. But Bryant would come right back as quarterback Jay Graber engineered a 12-play, 81-yard drive capped by a Jarrett Solimando 5-yard touchdown reception to tie the game up at 7-7 in the first. It was Bryant's longest scoring drive of the season.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Monmouth (Sept. 20th)
A Fred Weingart 20-yard field goal and a 3-yard touchdown run by Bobby Giles in the second quarter gave the visitors a 17-7 halftime lead.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Monmouth (Sept. 20th)
Bryant (2-2) managed to trim the lead thanks in part to a 19-yard field goal by Chris Bird, but Sinisi and the Hawks put the game away in the fourth with two quick scores, the second coming on a big defensive stop. Sinisi scored the first of his two rushing touchdowns on the day with a 2-yard run up the middle at the start of the final quarter to make it 23-10.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Monmouth (Sept. 20th)
Looking to counter, the Bulldogs moved the ball deep into Monmouth territory thanks an impressive 10-play drive. But with the ball on the Hawks' 8-yard line, Graber was intercepted by linebacker T.J. Cerezo in the end zone for a touchback and the Bulldogs came away empty-handed.


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Monmouth (Sept. 20th)
Three plays later, Sinisi broke through for a game-clinching 70-yard touchdown run down the middle to make it 30-10 and the Hawks never looked back. Sinisi entered the game averaging 133 yards rushing .


2008 Bryant Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Monmouth (Sept. 20th)
Graber finished with 261 yards passing on the day and two touchdowns. Anthony DiNaso caught 5 passes for 70 yards while Ross Giffune and Solimando also added five catches for 45 and 42 yards receiving respectively