2012 British Formula 3 International Series
Rain before the start of the first race forced drivers to change from slick tyres, and in effect, the race started from the pit lane. Sainz, Jr. left pit lane first and won his first race in the championship. Derani and Jaafar, who had left the pits seventh and eighth respectively, joined Sainz, Jr. on the podium, while Serralles finished tenth. Serralles won the second race held in torrential rain, ahead of Harvey and teammate Pietro Fantin, while Sainz, Jr. comfortably won the third race, almost seventeen seconds clear of Serralles, with Serralles' teammate Alex Lynn taking his first podium in third place.


2012 British Formula 3 International Series, Regulation changes
In a change to the 2011 season, all races award championship points on the same points system. Previously, the second race had awarded points on a reduced scale – 10 points for the winner and decreasing by one point down to tenth place – compared to races one and three.


2012 British Formula 3 International Series, Race calendar and results
On 12 October 2011, it was revealed that the series was due to have three overseas rounds, at the Nürburgring, Spa-Francorchamps – both on the calendar in 2011 – and Pau. Pau returns to the series' schedule for the first time since 2006.


2012 British Formula 3 International Series, Race calendar and results
A provisional ten-round calendar was later announced on 7 November 2011, with the Nürburgring round removed, and rounds at Le Castellet and Monza, both of which held meetings in 2011, being restored to the calendar to make up four overseas rounds along with Spa-Francorchamps and Pau. All rounds were made up of three races except Pau, where only two races were held. On 21 April, it was announced that the series would add the Formula 3 Euro Series round at the Norisring in place of the round at Paul Ricard; the event would be held under Euro Series regulations.


2012 British Formula 3 International Series, Race calendar and results
The rounds at Pau, Spa and the Norisring would be part of the revived FIA European Formula 3 Championship. The championship supported the British GT Championship at six rounds, two Blancpain Endurance Series events at Monza and Spa along with the Pau Grand Prix event and Formula 3 Euro Series event at Norisring.


2012 British Formula Ford Championship
The 2012 British Formula Ford Championship was the 37th edition of the British Formula Ford Championship. It commenced on 7 April at Oulton Park and ended on 30 September at Donington Park after 8 rounds and 24 races, held in the United Kingdom and Germany.


2012 British Formula Ford Championship, Race calendar and results
An eight-round calendar was announced on 4 December 2011. Six rounds will support British F3 and British GT events, with a round at Brands Hatch Indy supporting the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, and a round at the Nürburgring, also counting towards the Formula Ford EuroCup.


2012 British Formula Ford Championship, Championship standings
In the Championship Class, points were awarded on a 30-27-24-22-20-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-3-2 basis to the top fifteen classified drivers, with one point awarded to all other finishers. An additional point was given to the driver who set the fastest lap in each race.


2012 British GT Championship
The 2012 Avon Tyres British GT season was the 20th season of the British GT Championship. The season began on 9 April at Oulton Park and finished on 30 September at Donington Park, after ten rounds held over seven meetings. Motorbase Performance drivers Michael Caine and Daniele Perfetti won the GT3 category in a Porsche 997 GT3-R, Team WFR's Jody Fanin and Warren Hughes won the GT4 championship driving a Ginetta G50, while Ryan Hooker and Gary Eastwood took the GTC title in a Ferrari 458 Challenge driving for FF Corse.


2012 British GT Championship, Class structure
For the 2012 season, British GT contained four key classes. The GT3 class allows FIA homologated GT3 cars, such as the Ferrari 458 Italia, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 or new Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3. The GT3B class caters for older, GT3 spec cars which do not conform to the latest FIA homologations, such as the Dodge Viper Competition Coupe or Ferrari F430.


2012 British GT Championship, Class structure
The GT4 class is a merger of Supersport-spec cars and GT4 homologated cars, such as the Lotus Evora or Ginetta G50. The GTC class caters for cars currently used in the Porsche Supercup and Ferrari Challenge series, based on the Porsche 997 and Ferrari F430 road cars.


2012 British GT Championship, Race calendar and results
The 2012 calendar announced on 30 November 2011 included a support slot at the 24 Hours Nürburgring, with race formats later confirmed on 26 January 2012. All races except German round at Nürburgring, were held in the United Kingdom.


2012 British GT Championship, Championship standings, GT3/GTC
† — Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.


2012 British Grand Prix
The 2012 British Grand Prix (formally the 2012 Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race that took place at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, England on 8 July 2012. It was the ninth round of the 2012 Formula One season, the 63rd time the event had been a round of the Formula One World Championship, and the 67th time it had been contested overall. The 52-lap race was won by Red Bull driver Mark Webber, who took his second victory of the season. The Ferrari of Fernando Alonso, who started the race in pole position, finished 3.0 seconds behind Webber, in second. Webber's teammate, Sebastian Vettel, completed the podium by finishing in third position.


2012 British Grand Prix
As a consequence of the race, Webber narrowed Alonso's lead in the drivers' standings to 13 points. Webber himself was 16 points ahead of Vettel, who had moved ahead of Lewis Hamilton into third in the standings on 100 points. Red Bull extended their lead in the constructors' standings to 64 points. Ferrari moved up from fourth place to second whilst McLaren did the reverse and Lotus stayed in third position. All three teams stayed within 10 points of each other.


2012 British Grand Prix
This would prove to be Webber's 9th and final career F1 victory and the last Red Bull Racing victory at Silverstone until Max Verstappen won the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix there in 2020.


2012 British Grand Prix, Report, Background
Jean-Éric Vergne was given a ten-place grid penalty for the race after causing an avoidable collision with Heikki Kovalainen during the previous race. Kamui Kobayashi took a five-place grid penalty for the same offence, having caused an avoidable collision with Felipe Massa in Valencia.


2012 British Grand Prix, Report, Background
After out-qualifying Toro Rosso drivers Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo in Valencia, Caterham announced plans to bring several upgrades for the CT-01 chassis to the race. Marussia joined Caterham in bringing significant updates to their car, which the Russian team described as their "first proper windtunnel-generated update" since abandoning their computational fluid dynamics-only approach at the start of the 2012 season. Test driver María de Villota was involved in a serious accident while carrying out a straight-line aerodynamic test of the upgraded MR01 chassis in the week preceding the race at Duxford Aerodrome. She was removed from the car with life-threatening injuries, including skull fractures and the loss of her right eye.


2012 British Grand Prix, Report, Background
Like the 2011 British Grand Prix, tyre supplier Pirelli brought its silver-banded hard compound tyre as the harder "prime" tyre and the yellow-banded soft compound tyre as the softer "option" tyre.


2012 British Grand Prix, Report, Background
Dani Clos replaced Narain Karthikeyan at HRT for the first practice session, having previously driven the car at the Spanish Grand Prix. Valtteri Bottas took Bruno Senna's seat at Williams, while Jules Bianchi drove Nico Hülkenberg's car for Force India for the duration of the session.


2012 British Grand Prix, Report, Free Practice
The teams were due to test an "experimental" hard tyre compound developed by Pirelli during the first free practice, with a view to introducing it as a racing tyre later in the season; however, wet conditions made this impossible. Romain Grosjean was the fastest driver in the first session, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and Lewis Hamilton. Fernando Alonso and the Force Indias of Paul di Resta and Jules Bianchi elected not to set lap times in the face of the difficult conditions.


2012 British Grand Prix, Report, Free Practice
The second session was similarly washed out and saw limited running as teams tried to preserve their wet- and intermediate-compound tyres. Hamilton was fastest, leading Kamui Kobayashi and Michael Schumacher as Grosjean elected not to set a time. Bruno Senna brought out a red flag that resulted in a ten-minute stop to the session when he hit a patch of standing water at Becketts, spinning and crashing heavily into the barriers. Fernando Alonso also encountered trouble, spinning and hitting the wall late in the session, but the Ferrari driver was able to return to the pits.


2012 British Grand Prix, Report, Free Practice
The third and final session was declared dry, but was run under the threat of rain and saw plenty of activity as the teams pushed hard to make up for lost time running in the wet on Friday. Charles Pic stopped on the circuit after twenty minutes, forcing the temporary suspension of the session while his car was removed. Pic later returned to the circuit, but stopped once again, and his car was removed by marshalls without forcing the session to be stopped. Alonso ended the session fastest overall.


2012 British Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
Qualifying started in wet conditions, and with the threat of more rain on the way, a queue of cars formed at the end of pit lane in the minutes before the session began. Once out, many drivers were instructed by their teams to keep going with their flying laps, even if they felt they had been impeded by a slower car because the rapidly evolving nature of the circuit meant that they could still set a fast lap time. Jenson Button was eliminated in eighteenth position when he could not find clear track space.


2012 British Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
His final flying lap saw him set sector times that would have been fast enough to avoid elimination by over a second and a half, but a spin on the main straight by Timo Glock brought out yellow flags, prompting Button to back off, where he was duly eliminated. Vitaly Petrov out-qualified teammate Heikki Kovalainen for the second time in 2012, with the Caterhams starting in eighteenth and nineteenth once grid penalties had been applied. Despite his spin, Glock's fastest lap saw him qualify twentieth, ahead of both HRT drivers, with Pedro de la Rosa once again out-qualifying Narain Karthikeyan. Charles Pic failed to set a lap time within 107% of the fastest time in the session, set by Sebastian Vettel.


2012 British Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
The weather delivered on its promise of more rain, inundating the circuit ahead of Q2. The session was red-flagged with just over six minutes remaining after four cars span off within the space of a minute, and Sauber's Sergio Pérez at the top of the time sheets. The stoppage lasted for ninety-two minutes while race officials waited for the rain to stop and the circuit to clear.


2012 British Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
When the session re-opened, the seventeen drivers would have enough time left over for one set of flying laps, forcing them to choose between the intermediate and wet-weather compounds as the length of a lap in the wet meant that the drivers would not have enough time to pit and change tyres if they made the wrong choice. Pérez chose the intermediate compound which quickly proved to be the wrong choice as he rapidly plummeted down the order, and finished slowest. He would start the race fifteenth after penalties were applied.


2012 British Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
Paul di Resta's final lap gave him a provisional start in Q3, but he was eliminated in the final moments of the session and started eleventh. Kamui Kobayashi was twelfth, but dropped to seventeenth when his penalty from Valencia was applied. Nico Rosberg and Daniel Ricciardo finished thirteenth and fourteenth, ahead of Bruno Senna who admitted to being "too conservative" in qualifying. Jean-Éric Vergne qualified sixteenth, but was moved to the back of the grid once his penalty was applied. Romain Grosjean made it through to Q3, but spun at the end of the period at the Vale chicane, and took no further part in the session.


2012 British Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
Q3 was fought between the Ferraris, Red Bulls and Michael Schumacher's Mercedes. Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa quickly locked out the front row of the grid, until late laps from Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel left the Red Bull cars first and second. Massa was unable to improve his lap time and finished fifth, while Schumacher pushed Webber off pole. Webber reclaimed it with his next lap, only to lose it in turn to Alonso on the Spaniard's final lap of the session. Kimi Räikkönen, the last driver to set a time, finished sixth, ahead of Pastor Maldonado and Lewis Hamilton. Nico Hülkenberg was ninth, which became fourteenth when he took a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change.


2012 British Grand Prix, Report, Race
An engine failure on Vitaly Petrov's Caterham on his way round to the grid meant he had to return to the pits and retire the car before the race had even begun. When it did, however, it was polesitter Alonso who maintained his lead into the first corner. Webber and Schumacher followed him round in their same positions, but Vettel fell prey to Massa and Räikkönen, before quickly getting back past the Finn.


2012 British Grand Prix, Report, Race
Paul di Resta, in tenth place at the time, suffered a puncture as a result of his right rear tyre coming into contact with Romain Grosjean's front wing at the start of the Wellington straight. Di Resta spun and retired from the damage on the following lap whilst Grosjean pitted on the third lap to replace his front wing and change tyres after his impaired front wing was costing him places. Later on in the race, Sergio Pérez and Pastor Maldonado had an incident at Brooklands at the end of the Wellington Straight.


2012 British Grand Prix, Report, Race
Maldonado tried to overtake Pérez on the inside of the corner under braking, whilst Pérez was defending on the inside line Maldonado's front wing clipped Pérez's car and sent both of them into a spin, the result of this would be Pérez retiring from the race and Maldonado having to make an unscheduled pit stop to repair damage to his front wing. This would be a disaster for his strategy in the race because a lap earlier, he pitted for new tyres, Maldonado would later finish 16th in the race.


2012 British Grand Prix, Report, Race
At the start of lap 50, Mark Webber was closing in on race leader Fernando Alonso, with Vettel shortly behind his team mate in 3rd place. Webber was faster than Alonso due to his tyres being worn more than Webber's, but then with 3 laps to go Webber was within a second of Alonso's car, this would mean he was eligible to use DRS in the allocated DRS zone on the Wellington Straight, this would give him extra speed.


2012 British Grand Prix, Report, Race
Alonso knew he was slower than Webber so he took the inside line as Webber passed Alonso for the lead of the race, Alonso tried to attack on him in the next few corners. Now Vettel would try and close up on Alonso. When the chequered flag fell Mark Webber won his second British Grand Prix, following his victory in 2010. Alonso was 2nd, Vettel not having the pace to catch Alonso and remaining 3rd. Felipe Massa finished 5 seconds behind Vettel, Romain Grosjean recovered from the first lap incident to finish sixth, behind his team mate Kimi Räikkönen. The other points scorers were Schumacher, Hamilton, Senna, and Jenson Button in 10th.


2012 British Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
Pastor Maldonado from the Williams team received a 10,000 euro fine for an incident with Sauber's Sergio Pérez.


2012 British Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
Sauber's other driver Kamui Kobayashi received a 25,000 euro fine for crashing into four pit crew members in a manoeuvre that was described as a 'very dangerous move which had potentially serious implications'.


2012 British Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
The race also introduced a twist in the post-race television unilateral interview; instead of Webber, Alonso, and Vettel proceeding to the interview room in the media centre, Jackie Stewart conducted the televised interview on the podium, allowing the drivers to address the crowd directly. The drivers then proceeded to the interview room for the press conference with assembled media. This form of post-race interviewing was used in every race until the 2018 Chinese Grand Prix.


2012 British Indoor Athletics Championships
The 2012 British Indoor Athletics Championships was the sixth edition of the national championship in indoor track and field for the United Kingdom. It was held from 11–12 February 2012 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. It served as a selection meeting for the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships.


2012 British National Track Championships
The 2012 British National Track Championships were a series of track cycling competitions held from 26–30 September 2012 at the Manchester Velodrome. They are organised and sanctioned by British Cycling, and were open to British cyclists.


2012 British Rally Championship
The 2012 MSA British Rally Championship was the 54th season of the British Rally Championship. The season began on 24 February in Bournemouth and ended on 29 September in Yorkshire.


2012 British Rally Championship, Season Summary
The 2012 season will start without a defending champion as last years winner David Bogie announced in February that he will not contest the BRC series this year. Instead he intends to concentrate on the Scottish Rally Championship.


2012 British Rally Championship, Drivers championship standings
Points are awarded to the highest placed registered driver on each event as follows: 20, 18, 16, 15, and so on deleting one point per placing down to one single point for all finishers.


2012 British Rowing Championships
The 2012 British Rowing Championships were the 41st edition of the National Championships, held from 13–15 July 2012 at the National Water Sports Centre in Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham. They were organised and sanctioned by British Rowing, and are open to British rowers.


2012 British Speedway Championship
The 2012 British Speedway Championship was the 52nd edition of the British Speedway Championship. The Final took place on 30 July at Monmore Green in Wolverhampton, England. The Championship was won by defending champion Scott Nicholls, who beat Chris Harris, Tai Woffinden and Edward Kennett in the final heat. It was the seventh time Nicholls had won the title, making him the most successful rider in the history of the competition.


2012 British Speedway Championship, Results, The 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


2012 British Superbike Championship
The 2012 British Superbike season was the 25th British Superbike Championship season. For the 2012 season, MSVR announced a number of changes to the technical regulations of the spectacle of them British Superbike Championship. The championship will be limited to 32 entries, with 16 teams each entering two bikes. This was designed to be a way of rewarding teams that have had a history of competing in the BSB regularly. Teams who had competed in the 2011 season were given automatic entries, whilst teams who wish to graduate to the BSB class had to buy an entry.


2012 British Superbike Championship
The championship was tightly contested between Shane Byrne, Josh Brookes and Tommy Hill, with the title battle lasting until the final round at Brands Hatch. The first race saw Byrne taking the victory, after Alex Lowes' crash caused the red flag to be thrown. The second race also resulted in a win for Byrne, taking the points standings to 658 for Byrne and 635 for Brookes. The final race thus became a decider, with Byrne only having to finish 13th to win the championship, whilst Brookes needed Byrne to retire, or finish in 15th place to win the title. On the penultimate lap Byrne passed Brookes and became the British Superbikes champion for 2012.


2012 British Superbike Championship, Rule changes
All bikes on the grid had to become part of the Evo class, creating a single-class championship. All bikes had to run a standard ECU (Electronics control unit), and the ECU did not include electronics such as traction control and launch control. 2012 spec bikes were run during the end of the 2011 season, with MSS Colchester Kawasaki's Gary Mason and Team WFR's James Westmoreland running the bikes for 3 and 2 rounds respectively.


2012 British Supersport Championship
The 2012 Motorpoint British Supersport Championship Protected By Datatag season was the 25th running of the British Supersport Championship, the rules have stayed as they were from last year with the two race format providing some intense racing. With champion Alastair Seeley leaving for the British Superbike Championship the field should be closer than ever, Ben Wilson stays to see if he can finally capture the title.


2012 British Supersport Championship
It proved to be another closely thought championship with Jack Kennedy and the returning former Supersport champion Glen Richards battling all the way to the final race of the championship, where it was down to the second and final race, in a drama packed race Richards fell at westfield on lap 2, meaning Kennedy only needed to finish to win the title, but on lap 8 Kennedy's dreams were ended with a mechanical problem for his MARtrain Yamaha forcing him to retire and hand Richards the title who was unaware of the events until arriving back in the pits.


2012 British Touring Car Championship
The 2012 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship was a multi-event motor racing championship for production-based touring cars held across England and Scotland. The championship features a mix of professional motor racing teams and privately funded amateur drivers competing in highly modified versions of family cars which are sold to the general public and conform to the technical regulations for the championship. It is one of the most popular domestic motor racing series in the United Kingdom, with an extensive program of support categories built up around the BTCC centrepiece. It was the 55th British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season.


2012 British Touring Car Championship
This was the second season that cars conforming to the Next Generation Touring Car (NGTC) specification were allowed to compete and the third and final season of the phased transition from the Super 2000 specification. The season will see teams compete with car chassis built to either NGTC or S2000 specification. Teams can choose to run the NGTC turbocharged engine or the Naturally Aspirated engines. The phased transition from S2000 to NGTC means that the organising body, TOCA, will maintain a performance equalisation between the two chassis specifications.


2012 British Touring Car Championship
They achieved this by monitoring the turbo boost pressures of all cars throughout the season, adjusting the pressure levels after every two rounds to maintain performance parity between all cars. The amount the turbo was adjusted was determined via a mathematical calculation based on race performance. The season was also the first season without cars built to the BTC Touring specification since 2000. A revised championship points system was introduced for the 2012 season, in which the top 15 cars scored championship points instead of the top 10 previously.


2012 British Touring Car Championship
2011 series champion Matt Neal defended his title along with Honda, who defended and retained both the Teams' and Manufacturers' championships. Reigning Independent Drivers' champion James Nash didn't defend his title after graduating into the World Touring Car Championship. Triple Eight Race Engineering were the reigning Independent Teams' champions, but as they entered with returning manufacturer MG, they were ineligible to defend the Independents' championship.


2012 British Touring Car Championship
Gordon Shedden claimed his first BTCC Drivers' title at the penultimate race of the year, Round 29 at the Brands Hatch GP circuit. Andrew Jordan claimed his first Independents' title during the same race.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
Qualifying saw Dave Newsham secure his maiden pole position in the Super 2000 ex-888 Vauxhall Vectra. Defending champion Matt Neal secured the other front row sport in the brand new NGTC Civic. Race one, was won by Rob Collard in his BMW from Neal after Newsham and Jason Plato came together at the top of Paddock Hill Bend. Race two, saw the first win for a car built to NGTC rules. The Honda Yuasa Racing Team's Civic with Neal at the wheel prevailed after a race long battle with Plato's brand new MG6. Plato won an incident filled Race three which saw the race red flagged after a seven car pile up at Druids Bend, caused by oil spilled on the track from the damaged Ford Focus of Mat Jackson.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
MG scored their first pole position since returning to the BTCC with Jason Plato during qualifying. Mat Jackson led home the Honda pair in race one, with Gordon Shedden leading Matt Neal and Mat Jackson home in race two, making five different winners from four teams in from the first five races of the season. However, this was not to continue as after a controversial final race of the day, where at the final corner Plato collided with Shedden, sending both cars of the track. This led to Mat Jackson crossing the line first, from Plato, then Shedden. However, Jackson's Focus was excluded from the race after a turbo boost irregularity and Plato was given a two-second penalty for his contact with Shedden, promoting Shedden to the race win.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
Prior to the event, Thorney Motorsport announce that, due to lack of funds for both racing and development of their new NGTC Insignia, they were not going to take part at Thruxton. A damp qualifying gave Andrew Jordan and Pirtek their first pole of 2012. But, Saturday success would not convert into Sunday glory as a very wet race one saw Jordan slide into Jason Plato at the first turn, sending Jordan into the wall and out of the race. The race came to an abrupt end, when Liam Griffin crashed his car at turn one, causing a red flag.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
Mat Jackson therefore took his second win of the season, ahead of Dave Newsham and a recovering Plato. Weather condition had worsened for race two and was therefore started behind the safety car. It was Gordon Shedden who mastered the weather to come through the field to score his third win of the season. By the final race of the day, the condition had significantly improved, but it was still Shedden at the front leading home his teammate for a Honda one-two. All three fastest lap points at Thruxton went to Shedden, showing his speed in the tricky conditions.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
In the week leading up to round four, Rob Austin Racing revealed that, former FIA Formula Two Championship driver Will Bratt would make his championship debut in the team's second car. However, Rob Austin would miss the event due to ongoing repairs to his car, after a big crash at Thruxton. A circuit with damp patches made for an exciting qualifying session with several cars drifting and sliding off the track as they went round Cascades.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
The session belonged to Jason Plato though, setting a time 0.077 seconds faster than rival Matt Neal, making Plato the first repeat pole sitter of the season. But the pole sitter would not make it past turn one after Plato's car had a suspension failure on the warm up lap to the grid, causing his MG to be pushed off the grid before the race even begun. That left the door open for Matt Neal to take the race one win after passing the fast starting Rob Collard.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
The second race of the day, saw Neal's Honda teammate take top honours ahead of Pirtek's Andrew Jordan, with a recovering Plato, who started at the back of the field, finishing third. The final race of the day, saw Neal once again step onto the top step of the podium, making Honda Yuasa Racing the winning team from seven of the last eight races.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
In the buildup to Croft, Paul O'Neill announced he would make a one-off return to racing in Speedworks Toyota Avensis, substituting for Tony Hughes. The point for pole position went to Matt Neal for the first time this season. Again, as at Oulton Park, Jason Plato was pushed off the grid in an exciting race one which saw Neal recover from a poor start to take his fourth win of the season ahead of eBay Motors BMW of Rob Collard and the second Honda Yuasa Civic of Gordon Shedden.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
The Honda teammates reversed their positions in race two, with Shedden finishing ahead of Neal. A fantastic drive from Rob Austin, in his NGTC Audi A4, saw him take the last step on the podium. In a reverse of fortune from the first race, Plato took the race three win after some intense on track action. Liam Griffin brought out the safety car, after crashing his Redstone Racing Focus into the wall, causing an engine fire. Andy Neate led the early part of the race, ahead of his MG teammate Plato. Neate, however, was unable to fend Plato off and subsequently fell back down the order, giving Plato the race win from Tom Onslow-Cole and Andrew Jordan.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
Heading into the mid-season break, Matt Neal leads the drivers’ championship by a single point from his Honda teammate Gordon Shedden, with MG's Jason Plato in third, 29 points behind the leader. Honda Yuasa Racing hold a strong 213-point lead from eBay Motors in the teams championship as well as a 123-point lead from MG in the manufacturers' championship. Pirtek's Andrew Jordan is the leading Independent driver and eBay Motors, the leading Independent team.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
During the mid-season break leading up to Snetterton, Team HARD. announced that Tony Gilham would step aside to allow American SCCA World Challenge driver Robb Holland to make his series debut with the team. Holland will be the first driver from the USA to compete in the BTCC since Bill Gubelmann in 1975. Following on from this, Thorney Motorsport announced that they would return at Snetterton with Gilham at the wheel, after more extensive development of the Insignia. Liam Griffin pulled out of the meeting due to business commitments linked to the 2012 Summer Olympics, whilst a final surprise was the unveiling of a new NGTC Ford Focus ST, built by Motorbase Performance, to be driven by Mat Jackson.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
Drama started almost immediately, when Gordon Shedden's Civic caught fire in the first free practice, causing the Scotsman to set no competitive time in qualifying, which belonged to Frank Wrathall, setting his maiden pole position and a new course record. Race one though saw Jason Plato win after starting second on the grid and taking the lead into the first turn. Wrathall managed to bring his Dynojet Toyota home second. Third place went to Andrew Jordan who narrowly beat Dave Newsham to the line after the two drivers came together several times during the final lap.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
However, Newsham would later be disqualified after being found underweight. This promoted Matt Neal to fourth, whilst his teammate Shedden removed from last on the grid to seventh. Debutant Holland failed to finish the race after crashing at turn one with Adam Morgan. Race two saw old rivals Plato and Neal once again come together amid frantic action for the win. Plato had led from the start; however Neal took the lead after sending the MG into a large slide coming through the penultimate corner.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
At the next turn, Plato returned the favour sending both Neal and himself off the track. This promoted Pirtek's Andrew Jordan to his first win of the season and Gordon Shedden up to second with Plato and Neal finishing third and fourth respectively. The reverse grid race three saw the ex-888 Vectras of Lea Wood and Dave Newsham lead the early laps in first and second respectively, until lap four, where Newsham took the lead where he stayed till the end, taking his first BTCC win.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
A career first podium wasn't on the cards though for Wood, after a gearbox failure with only three laps to go. This left Tom Onslow-Cole with second place and Shedden crossing the line in third place ahead of Jason Plato. However, post-race scrutineering found that Shedden's Honda had been over-boosting, thus disqualifying him from the results. This promoted Plato to third, whilst Neal recovered from and early spin, which sent him to the back of the field, to finish eighth.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
In the run up to the BTCC's only Scottish round, Paul O'Neill announced he would deputise at Speedworks Motorsport, once again substituting for Tony Hughes. Robb Holland again replaced Tony Gilham at Team HARD., whilst Thorney Motorsport, Rob Austin Racing, AmD Tuning.com and Liam Griffin announced they would not be making the trip north of the border, each citing different reasons. Jason Plato took the pole position after a wet qualifying session, with the eBay Motors BMW of Rob Collard starting alongside. Árón Smith took a career best third place with his Redstone Racing Ford Focus.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
Race one saw Rob Collard use his fast starting BMW to take the lead into turn one, with Jason Plato, Árón Smith and Tom Onslow-Cole fighting for second. On the second lap however, both MG KX Momentum Racing cars crashed out in separate incidents. Andy Neate came together with Lea Wood, damaging Neate's suspension, whilst Plato and Árón Smith tangled, sending Plato into the tyre wall. This paved the way for eBay Motors to score their first one-two result since 2009 with Collard and Onslow-Cole taking the top two positions from home favourite Gordon Shedden.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
Frank Wrathall retired his Toyota Avensis with engine issues and would be unable to take that start of the day's remaining races. Race two again went to Rob Collard, winning ahead of his teammate Tom Onslow-Cole with Gordon Shedden again in third. Matt Neal could only manage eighth place, whilst Plato, after starting form the back, finished 11th. There was drama for Mat Jackson after the exhaust on his new NGTC Ford Focus broke, filling the cabin with exhaust fumes, leading to his retirement and a trip to the track medical centre, with only a couple of laps remaining.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
The final race of the weekend saw Dave Newsham take a lights to flag win in front of his home crowd. Jeff Smith took his first ever podium, finishing a career best second after holding off a hard charging Matt Neal for most of the race. There was further frustration though for Jason Plato and Gordon Shedden. Plato suffered turbo issues on the formation laps meaning he failed to take the start, whilst Shedden retired early on with front end damage, caused by a trip across the grass, in avoidance of an incident between Árón Smith and Paul O'Neill.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
Prior to Rockingham, Team HARD. announced that VW Cup driver Howard Fuller would make his BTCC debut, replacing Robb Holland, whilst Welch Motorsport said they would miss Rockingham due to budget issues. Matt Neal's championship defence was made a little trickier, after it was announced that due to a motorcycle accident whilst on the road, he would have to compete with a broken right hand. The same hand that he had injured prior to Rockingham in 2011. Plato took an easy pole position after setting early in the session, a new qualifying lap record and a time which was 0.636 seconds faster than his nearest rival Gordon Shedden.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
Plato continued his dominant display from qualifying by winning the first race of the day comfortably ahead of Andrew Jordan. However, proceedings would be shaken up for race two, which took place in very wet conditions. The rain allowed both Shedden and Neal to take any easy Honda one-two comfortably ahead of Plato in third. Jordan had initially led the race, but after an early safety car, to recover the stranded MG of Andy Neate, he overshot the turn two hairpin during the restart. He eventually recovered to finish seventh.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
Race three was again in wet condition albeit slightly improved condition from race two. However, the track was found to be incredibly slippery, especially around the banked turn one and turn four. Árón Smith led the race early on, before a massive accident for Pirtek Racing's Jeff Smith at turn one. Jeff Smith lost control of the back of his car, sending him spinning into the concrete wall of the banked turn one, wrecking the rear of his car, however Smith was unscathed. Árón Smith continued to lead after the restart, but was unable to hold off the hard charging Honda duo, finally finishing in fourth. The final podium mirror race two with Shedden winning his eighth race of the year, from Neal and Plato.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
Liam Griffin and Lea Wood both returned to the grid at Silverstone, Griffin's first race since the crash and subsequent fire at Croft. Thorney Motorsport announced their return, after last racing at Snetterton with former BTCC driver Chris Stockton, who last raced for BTC Racing in 2008. However, after taking part in both practice and qualifying, setting a time 21st fastest, Stockton was taken ill and replaced for the three races by Tony Gilham who raced for Thorney Motorsport during their last outing at Snetterton.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
The straight line nature of the Silverstone National circuit suited the cars with greater top speed, which meant that MG KX Momentum Racing and Jason Plato once again led the way in qualifying, taking Plato's pole tally this season to five. It was a very different story though for Honda Yuasa Racing Team and Pirtek Racing with their Honda Civics after the latest round of performance equalisation (based on the car's previous results and lap times) left the cars with reduced turbo pressure.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
This left Matt Neal starting in tenth place whilst championship leader Gordon Shedden could only manage 19th with maximum championship ballast. Elsewhere on the grid, Dave Newsham, Rob Austin and Will Bratt had their fastest times disallowed after race stewards deemed the drivers guilty of exceeding the track limits and gaining an advantage.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
Race one saw an early safety car after  Chris James, Liam Griffin and Andrew Jordan retired after separate incidents. Plato led the way early on, whilst a hard charging Mat Jackson in his NGTC Focus moved swiftly through the field and eventually into the lead. It looked like Jackson had done enough to secure the win, however mechanical issues forced a retirement four laps from the chequered flag. This gave the win back to Plato withy Dave Newsham and Árón Smith behind.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
Race two once again saw an impressive performance from Redstone Racing's NGTC Focus, after coming from 17th on the grid to win the race. Once again the early leader was Plato, but retired from the lead with as sensor failure slowing his car. The third race saw Plato emulate Jacksons drive from the back in race two to take the win ahead of Jackson. Elsewhere, it was a day to forget for Matt Neal after retiring from race one with turbo issues, having his car burst into flames during race two and crashing at Brooklands Corner in the third race.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
This left four driver in with a chance of securing the Drivers' Title heading into the final round: the Honda Yuasa Racing Team pair of Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden, MG KX Momentum Racing's Jason Plato and Pirtek Racing's Andrew Jordan. Whilst in both Independents' championships, Andrew Jordan, Rob Collard, Mat Jackson and Tom Onslow-Cole remain mathematically in the drivers title chase along with their respective teams who are battling for the Independent Teams' championship.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
Prior to the final round, there were several team and driver changes. Rob Austin Racing changed its name to www.wixracing.co.uk following sponsorship from Wix Filters, whilst Thorney Motorsport sold its Vauxhall Insignia's to Team HARD. with Tony Gilham running the Insignia and debutant Aaron Williamson using the teams Honda Civic. The final qualifying session of 2012 saw the S2000 chassis of the eBay Motors BMW 320si take pole position in the hands of Tom Onslow-Cole after narrowly beating Andrew Jordan in the final seconds of the session. Matt Neal lined up third, with Jason Plato fifth and championship leader Gordon Shedden only managing seventh.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
Race day saw a rain soaked circuit which would play to the strengths of the Honda Teams and as such race one was won by Neal after passing initial leader Onslow-Cole who managed to finish third. Jordan was Neal's closest competition finishing half a second behind, however this was not enough point to remain in the overall drivers title chase. Elsewhere, championship leader Shedden held on to his lead, finishing fifth, with Plato struggling in the wet conditions down in eighth.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
A close fought race two, which included two safety car periods, saw the debut win for Árón Smith in his Redstone Racing Ford Focus ST and the last competitive win for a Super 2000 chassis in the BTCC. Gordon Shedden improved on his first race result to finish second which was enough to crown him the Drivers' Champion, after rivals Neal and Plato finished third and fifth respectively.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Season report
The race also saw the crowning of the Independents Drivers' Champion, after Rob Collard spun and crashed his eBay Motors BMW out of the race on the first lap, handing the title to Jordan. The final race of the day and of the season saw a début win for Frank Wrathall and the NGTC Toyota Avensis. 2011 champion Matt Neal secured runner-up spot in this year's championship by finishing second ahead of champion Shedden in third and Plato in eight. Fourth place for Jordan was also enough to secure Pirtek Racing their first Independent Teams' Championship ahead of eBay Motors.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Teams and drivers
All teams have elected to use the Next Generation Touring Car 2.0-litre turbocharged direct injection engine.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Race calendar and results
The provisional calendar was announced by the championship organisers on 20 September 2011, with no major changes from 2011. All races were held in the United Kingdom.


2012 British Touring Car Championship, Championship standings
The 2012 season introduced a revised championship points system in which the top 15 cars will score championship points.


2012 British cabinet reshuffle
British prime minister David Cameron conducted the first major reshuffle of his coalition government on 4 September 2012. The reshuffle, nearly two and a half years after the government was sworn in, was highly anticipated, and eschewed the trend of annual reshuffles which had become common under the governments of the 1990s and 2000s. As a result, many ministers had been in place not just since the government was elected in 2010, but had covered the portfolio in Cameron's shadow cabinet or even earlier; Andrew Lansley had covered the health brief since 2004, when Michael Howard led the Conservatives in opposition.


2012 British cabinet reshuffle
Despite this, Cameron's room to manoeuvre was limited by his coalition agreement with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats, which guaranteed the minority party seats in government, and Clegg the right to select his ministers. Further, Cameron's personal aversion to reshuffles and belief that ministers were most effective when given time at a department led to him viewing many cabinet members, including the holders of the Great Offices of State, as immovable.


2012 British cabinet reshuffle
The reshuffle, which was criticised by the opposition for resulting in a cabinet with only four female members out of twenty-two, ultimately shifted Cameron's government significantly to the right on business, justice, and the environment, and rid the government of perceived weaknesses, while maintaining stability at the top. In an official statement, Number 10 stated that the impetus for the reshuffle was the fact that after more than two years, the government was "at the delivery phase" and that ministers had "been appointed with that in mind".


2012 British cabinet reshuffle, Significant events, Grayling replaces Clarke as Lord Chancellor
Kenneth Clarke, who had served in every Conservative government since Edward Heath made him an Assistant Whip in 1972, retired as Lord Chancellor at the age of 72 after two years, becoming an advisory Minister without portfolio with the right to attend cabinet, the National Security Council, and the important cabinet economic sub-committee.


2012 British cabinet reshuffle, Significant events, Grayling replaces Clarke as Lord Chancellor
Clarke, who declined Cameron's offer of the Leadership of the House of Commons, explained that when Cameron asked him to become Shadow Business Secretary in 2009, the men agreed that he would serve in the cabinet for two years, and that "At my age, it is time for me to step back from the slog of running a large department, but I am delighted to have been given a more advisory political role". Despite no longer being Lord Chancellor, Clarke maintained responsibility for passage of the Justice and Security Act as Minister without portfolio.


2012 British cabinet reshuffle, Significant events, Grayling replaces Clarke as Lord Chancellor
Clarke's retirement from departmental office was viewed as a positive for both right-wingers and Eurosceptics in the Conservative Party, as Clarke was viewed as the Tories' most outspoken Europhile, and had been known as a liberal wet for decades. Clarke was replaced as Lord Chancellor by Chris Grayling, a Eurosceptic who was also considered far less friendly to both the Human Rights Act and European Convention on Human Rights, both constant sources of scorn amongst grassroots Tories. It was also believed that the move would be advantageous to Home Secretary Theresa May, who had sparred with Clarke over the Human Rights Act during "catgate" during the previous October's Conservative Party Conference, and believed to be much closer in ideology to Grayling.


2012 British cabinet reshuffle, Significant events, Grayling replaces Clarke as Lord Chancellor
Grayling was initially intended to replace Iain Duncan Smith, his immediate superior as Employment Minister, as Work and Pensions Secretary after Duncan Smith was moved to Lord Chancellor. When Duncan Smith resisted this, insisting that he be allowed to remain due to a fear that his Universal Credit scheme would be watered down by George Osborne's Treasury in his absence, Cameron decided instead to promote Grayling and leave Duncan Smith in place, leading to accusations of weakness from Labour's Shadow Cabinet Office Minister, Michael Dugher.


2012 British cabinet reshuffle, Significant events, Grayling replaces Clarke as Lord Chancellor
Grayling's appointment proved immediately controversial due to the fact that he was the first non-lawyer to become Lord Chancellor in centuries. This led to questioning of his ability to adequately perform his functions, such as building relationships with members of the judiciary, and of further politicisation of the judiciary, with Joshua Rozenberg, a popular legal commentator and Queens' Counsel, writing in the Guardian that his "main qualifications are that he is perceived to be right-wing and once shadowed prisons".


2012 British cabinet reshuffle, Significant events, Grayling replaces Clarke as Lord Chancellor
Clarke's departmental retirement was met with sadness from many justice related pressure groups, including the Howard League for Penal Reform, which called him a "breath of fresh air", and even from the former Labour First Minister of Scotland, Jack McConnell, who said that he would have merged the Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland Offices and made Clarke "Secretary of State for Nations" if he were Prime Minister.


2012 British cabinet reshuffle, Significant events, McLoughlin replaces Greening at transport
Justine Greening's lateral move from Transport Secretary to International Development was predicted by many, and sparked a late August "Battle for Justine" campaign amongst West London residents, who saw her removal as a shift in government policy in favour of a third runway at Heathrow Airport. Greening, who represents a London constituency, was reported to have responded furiously to the demotion, having "shouted" at Cameron. Greening was replaced by Patrick McLoughlin, the Chief Whip, who represented a constituency in Derbyshire and was "open" to Heathrow development.


2012 British cabinet reshuffle, Significant events, McLoughlin replaces Greening at transport
Boris Johnson, the Tory Mayor of London and perceived challenger to Cameron, attacked the move, calling Greening a "first rate Transportation Secretary" and saying that the "only reason" for it would be to clear a hurdle to building a third runway. Zac Goldsmith, a backbench London Conservative MP, went even further in attacking Cameron for the apparent U-turn, saying that "real leadership requires clarity" and that the move reflected "panic, not principle".


2012 British motorcycle Grand Prix
The 2012 British motorcycle Grand Prix was the sixth round of the 2012 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 15–17 June 2012 at Silverstone in Northamptonshire, England. In qualifying for MotoGP, Álvaro Bautista took the first pole position of his career.


2012 British motorcycle Grand Prix, Championship standings after the race (MotoGP)
Below are the standings for the top five riders and constructors after round six has concluded.


2012 Brown Bears football team
The 2012 Brown Bears football team represented Brown University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 15th year head coach Phil Estes and played their home games at Brown Stadium. They are a member of the Ivy League. They finished the season 7–3, 4–3 in Ivy League play to finish in a three way tie for third place.


2012 Brownlow Medal
The 2012 Brownlow Medal was the 85th year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League (AFL) home and away season. The award was won jointly by Sam Mitchell of the Hawthorn Football Club and Trent Cotchin of the Richmond Football Club, each of whom polled 26 votes during the 2012 AFL season.


2012 Brownlow Medal
Jobe Watson of the Essendon Football Club originally received the medal by polling thirty votes; however, Watson and thirty-three of his Essendon team-mates were later found guilty and suspended for using a banned substance during the 2012 season under the club's sports science program, a scandal known as the Essendon supplements saga. On 15 November 2016, four years after initially receiving the medal, the AFL Commission ruled Watson retrospectively ineligible for the award due to the suspension he received, and awarded the medal to jointly to Cotchin and Mitchell, the players with the next most votes.


2012 Brownlow Medal, Leading vote-getters
* Watson was deemed ineligible to win the Brownlow due to his involvement in the Essendon supplements saga. * * Pavlich was ineligible for the medal after being suspended during the home-and-away season.


2012 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.


2012 Brownlow Medal, Voting procedure
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. Notable players who were ineligible entering the count this season included, among others: former Brownlow Medallists Jimmy Bartel, Simon Black, Chris Judd and Adam Goodes, as well as Fremantle captain Matthew Pavlich.


2012 Brownlow Medal, Effect of Essendon supplements saga
In February 2013, the Australian Sports Anti- Doping Authority (ASADA) and the World Anti- Doping Agency (WADA) began an investigation into the legality of Essendon's supplements program during the 2012 AFL season and the preceding preseason. Thirty-four Essendon players – including Watson –  were suspected of taking the banned peptide Thymosin beta-4. This quickly led to debate over whether or not a guilty verdict would see Watson stripped of the medal. The investigation and court action stretched over the following four years.


2012 Brownlow Medal, Effect of Essendon supplements saga
Initially, the AFL Tribunal delivered a not guilty verdict in March 2015, but on appeal in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the players were found guilty in January 2016, resulting in the suspensions of all thirty-four players. An appeal lodged against that decision in the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland was dismissed in October 2016.


2012 Brownlow Medal, Effect of Essendon supplements saga
Following the guilty verdict handed down by the CAS in January, it was announced the AFL Commission would meet in February to determine whether Watson would retain his Brownlow Medal; however, this decision was delayed until the outcome of the Federal Supreme Court appeal.


2012 Brownlow Medal, Effect of Essendon supplements saga
The final decision regarding Jobe Watson's Brownlow medal win was decided by the AFL Commission in late November 2016, with Watson retrospectively ruled ineligible for the award, and the medal then awarded to the next highest vote-getters, Cotchin and Mitchell, under the normal rules regarding ineligible players; Watson had pre-empted the decision by announcing on 11 November 2016 that he would hand back the medal. The medals were presented to Cotchin and Mitchell in a small ceremony in Melbourne on 13 December 2016. Watson's physical medal was handed back to the AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan in early 2017, with no plans in place to re-present or display it as of February 2017.


2012 Broxbourne Borough Council election
The Broxbourne Council election, 2012 was held on 3 May 2012 to elect council members of the Broxbourne Borough Council, the local government authority of the borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England.


2012 Broxbourne Borough Council election
This was a whole council election in which all of the 30 council seats in the 10 new wards were contested.


2012 Broxbourne Borough Council election, New ward names
The 10 new wards created under the 2011 LGBCE review were named:


2012 Broxbourne Borough Council election, Results summary
An election was held in all 10 of the newly created wards on Thursday 3 May 2012.


2012 Broxbourne Borough Council election, Results summary
The Conservatives retained control of the council winning 27 of the 30 seats.


2012 Broxbourne Borough Council election, Results summary
Labour managed to retain 3 seats in Waltham Cross ward albeit with reduced majorities compared with 2011.


2012 Broxbourne Borough Council election, Results summary
The new political balance of the council following this election was:


2012 Brussels Open
The 2012 Brussels Open was a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 2nd edition of the Brussels Open, and was part of the Premier-level tournaments of the 2012 WTA Tour. The event took place at the Royal Primerose Tennis Club in Brussels, Belgium, from May 19 through May 26, 2012. Agnieszka Radwańska won the singles title.


2012 Brussels Open, Champions, Doubles
Bethanie Mattek-Sands /  Sania Mirza defeated  Alicja Rosolska /  Zheng Jie 6–3, 6–2


2012 Brussels Open, Doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pair received wildcard into the doubles main draw:


2012 Brussels Open – Doubles
Andrea Hlaváčková and Galina Voskoboeva were the defending champions but decided not to participate. Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sania Mirza won the title defeating Alicja Rosolska and Zheng Jie 6–3, 6–2 in the final.


2012 Brussels Open – Singles
Caroline Wozniacki was the defending champion, but she chose not to participate. Agnieszka Radwańska won the title, defeating Simona Halep 7–5, 6–0 in the final.


2012 Bryant Bulldogs football team
The 2012 Bryant Bulldogs football team represented Bryant University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by ninth year head coach Marty Fine and played their home games at Bulldog Stadium. They are a member of the Northeast Conference. They finished the season 4–7, 4–4 in Northeast Conference play to finish in a tie for fourth place.


2012 Bucharest hair salon shooting
On 5 March 2012, a man opened fire at a hair salon in Bucharest, Romania, killing two people and wounding six more.


2012 Bucharest hair salon shooting, Shooting
At around 17:40 EET, Vlădan entered the hairdressing salon Perla (English language: Pearl), located in the Dorobanți neighborhood in Sector 1, Bucharest,  at the intersection of Calea Dorobanți and Iancu de Hunedoara Boulevard. He was armed with a 9×19mm Glock semi-automatic pistol. Vlădan opened fire, shooting eight people in total. He fired eleven bullets, from which three hit his wife. The rest of the bullets were fired at the victims, and all of them hit the targets. At about 17:45, the shooter fled the scene and hid inside a public building. He turned himself in a few minutes after that.


2012 Bucharest hair salon shooting, Shooting
Immediately after the shooting, a witness dialed 112 and reported the incident. A few minutes later, the police, ambulances, and the press arrived at the crime scene. The perimeter of the incident was sealed, but later reopened to public traffic that night. According to local media, the gunman worked as a driver with the Medical Direction of the Interior Ministry. According to eyewitnesses, the attacker called the police after the shooting and surrendered himself to a bodyguard at the headquarters of a nearby Electrica payment unit.


2012 Bucharest hair salon shooting, Shooting, Victims
Two women were killed in the attack, who were identified as the attacker's ex-wife and a female bystander. Both fatalities were aged between the age range of 20-30. Of the six wounded, three suffered bullet wounds to the stomach area, and were transferred to the Floreasca hospital, located across the street from the scene. The other three victims suffered gunshot wounds to the extremities (arms and legs) and were moved to the Elias hospital. Both of the slain victims were shot in the head and chest, respectively. In addition, up to nine people were treated at the hospital for shock, nausea, blood pressure fluctuations, or after fainting, while witnessing the shooting, due to phsychological trauma.


2012 Bucharest hair salon shooting, Perpetrator
Gheorghe Vlădan, a 51-year-old chauffeur for the Romanian Ministry of Internal Affairs, was identified as the shooter. According to multiple sources, the reason behind the shooting was the fact that the attacker's wife, Florina Vlădan, wanted to divorce him. Vlădan "was not able to take that", and in consequence decided to murder her and her coworkers, who had allegedly been "helping her to get through the divorce".


2012 Bucharest hair salon shooting, Perpetrator
Vlădan had two cases already pending for violence. In 2005, he was accused of threatening, insulting, and hitting or other violence, the courts having to fund its payment and appeal. A news agency reported that Vlădan was said to be angry with his wife because she had filed for divorce.


2012 Bucharest hair salon shooting, Perpetrator
After the attack, the gunman left the salon and took refuge in a nearby building owned by an electricity company. He was later detained by police officers. Later, he claimed he did not remember any of the events.


2012 Bucharest hair salon shooting, Perpetrator
On 8 March, Vlădan stated that the weapon fired accidentally. Furthermore, he claimed he has "no recollection of the shooting whatsoever". He asked to be checked in at a mental asylum. However, it was determined that his claims are "improbable" and that "his only intention is to avoid prosecution".


2012 Bucharest hair salon shooting, Perpetrator
On 29 March, the General Prosecutor announced that Vlădan decided to murder his wife after reading the divorce papers. The specialists from the National Institution of Forensics established that he had discernment, and that his direct intention was to murder her. In February 2013, Vlădan was found guilty of extremely grave murder and received a life sentence from the Bucharest City Court; his attorney stated that she does not believe the prosecution proved premeditation and that she will post an appeal. The appeal was judged in October 2013, and the Court of Appeal ruled to uphold the initial sentence and to raise the amount of damages due to the victims and their families.


2012 Bucharest hair salon shooting, Public response
The general public in Romania was in shock. Since the attack was the first such event in recent Romanian history, a precedent has been created. The shooting sparked debates, making the public question the reliability of psychological examinations, which are required in order to receive a weapon ownership licence. It was later found that Vlădan recently had his annual exam, and the report determined he was mentally able to carry a lethal weapon. Bucharest's chief of police was replaced as a result. Three weeks later, on 25 March, the Minister for Internal Affairs stated that as a result of the shooting, fifty-two MAI employees had their gun permits revoked due to faulty psychological examinations.


2012 Bucknell Bison football team
The 2012 Bucknell Bison football team represented Bucknell University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Joe Susan and played their home games at Christy Mathewson–Memorial Stadium. They are a member of the Patriot League. They finished the season 3–8, 1–5 in Patriot League play to finish in sixth place.


2012 Budapest Grand Prix
The 2012 Budapest Grand Prix was a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 18th edition of the Budapest Grand Prix, an International-level tournament on the 2012 WTA Tour. It took place at the Római Tennis Academy in Budapest, Hungary, from 30 April through 5 May 2012. First-seeded Sara Errani won the singles title.


2012 Budapest Grand Prix, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2012 Budapest Grand Prix, Doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pair received wildcard into the doubles main draw:


2012 Budapest Grand Prix – Doubles
Anabel Medina Garrigues and Alicja Rosolska were the defending champions but Medina Garrigues decided to participate at the Estoril Open instead. Rosolska partnered up with Akgul Amanmuradova, but they lost in the first round to Katalin Marosi and Anna Tatishvili. Janette Husárová and Magdaléna Rybáriková won the final over Eva Birnerová and Michaëlla Krajicek 6–4, 6–2.


2012 Budapest Grand Prix – Singles
Roberta Vinci was the defending champion, but decided to play at the Estoril Open instead. Sara Errani won this tournament, defeating Elena Vesnina in the final, 7–5, 6–4. With this win, Errani extended her clay court winning streak to 15.


2012 Budweiser Shootout
The 2012 Budweiser Shootout was the first exhibition stock car race of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The 34th annual running of the Budweiser Shootout, it was held on February 18, 2012 at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, before a crowd of 82,000 people. Kyle Busch of the Joe Gibbs Racing team won the 82-lap race. It was Busch's first victory in the event; Tony Stewart finished second with Marcos Ambrose third.


2012 Budweiser Shootout
Pole position driver Martin Truex Jr. was immediately passed by Jeff Gordon before the first turn, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. led at the end of the first lap. On the ninth lap, a multiple-car accident prompted the first caution flag. Sixteen laps later the second caution was issued, with Jamie McMurray leading. During the caution period, all teams made pit stops. On lap 62 Gordon reclaimed the lead, holding it until he was involved in an accident (the race's final caution). Stewart led at the final restart, holding it until the final lap when Busch passed him to win. Five cautions were issued during the race, which saw twenty-six lead changes by thirteen different drivers and attracted 7.46 million television viewers.


2012 Budweiser Shootout, Background
The 2012 Budweiser Shootout was the first of two exhibition stock car races of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and the 34th annual edition of the event. It took place on February 18, 2012, in Daytona Beach, Florida, at Daytona International Speedway, a superspeedway that holds NASCAR races. Its standard track is a four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.0 km) superspeedway. Daytona's turns are banked at 31 degrees, and the front stretch (the location of the finish line) is banked at 18 degrees.


2012 Budweiser Shootout, Background
The Budweiser Shootout was created by Busch Beer brand manager Monty Roberts as the Busch Clash in 1979. The race, designed to promote Busch Beer, invites the fastest NASCAR drivers from the previous season to compete. The race is considered a "warm-up" for the Daytona 500. It was renamed the Bud Shootout in 1998. The name changed to the Budweiser Shootout in 2001, the Sprint Unlimited in 2013 and the Advance Auto Parts Clash in 2017.


2012 Budweiser Shootout, Background
Thirty-three drivers were eligible to compete in the race, including the top 25 in the 2011 championship standings and previous winners at Daytona (including the Daytona 500 and the Coke Zero 400). Kurt Busch was the defending champion. The race was scheduled to be 75 laps long, with two segments of 25 and 50 laps separated by a ten-minute pit stop. During the pit stop, teams could change tires, add fuel, and make normal chassis adjustments but could not change springs, shock absorbers or rear ends. Work could be done in the garage or on the pit road. Caution and green-flag laps were counted in the race.


2012 Budweiser Shootout, Background
After the two-car style draft (also called tandem racing) dominated races held on restrictor plate tracks during 2011, NASCAR reduced the size of the radiators from five liters to two liters and the air intakes were moved towards the car's fascia section. The size of the restrictor plate was reduced by 1⁄64 inch (0.4 mm) and the cars were required to run with softer springs and a smaller rear spoiler. These changes were intended to reduce the effectiveness of two-car style drafting and to make the cars more challenging to turn. Sprint Cup Series director John Darby stated NASCAR wanted to be able to allow teams more options with drafting and hoped the difference in speeds between tandem drafting and pack style racing would be reduced.


2012 Budweiser Shootout, Practice and qualification
Two practice sessions were held on Friday afternoon. The first session lasted 45 minutes; the second, scheduled for 60 minutes, was shortened to ten because of rain. Matt Kenseth had the fastest time (44.607 seconds, five-thousandths of a second faster than Jeff Burton) in the first session (where drivers tried out pack and tandem drafting). David Ragan was third, ahead of Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman, and Denny Hamlin. Brad Keselowski was seventh, within one second of Kenseth's time.


2012 Budweiser Shootout, Practice and qualification
Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch collided near the end of the session, beginning a chain-reaction accident involving cars driven by A. J. Allmendinger, Keselowski and Kyle Busch; Keselowski, Allmendinger, and Kyle and Kurt Busch were required to use their backup cars. Stewart was taken to the track's infield care center where he was treated for minor injuries and later released. McMurray was fastest in the second practice session, (where twelve drivers took part) with a lap of 45.524 seconds. Juan Pablo Montoya was second, ahead of Greg Biffle and Kasey Kahne. Marcos Ambrose was fifth-fastest, and Hamlin, Michael Waltrip, Joey Logano, Kenseth, and Carl Edwards rounded out the top ten positions.


2012 Budweiser Shootout, Practice and qualification
The 25 drivers determined their starting positions by lot, a feature that is unique to the event. Martin Truex Jr. drew the pole position, with Kyle Busch, Keselowski, McMurray and Ragan rounding out the first five positions. Kurt Busch drew sixth place and Biffle drew seventh, ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Allmendinger in eighth and ninth. Logano, Edwards, Burton, Newman, and Jeff Gordon drew the next five positions. Stewart, who drew fifteenth, was followed by Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson, Kahne, and Waltrip for the first 20 spots.


2012 Budweiser Shootout, Practice and qualification
Ambrose, Kevin Harvick, Kenseth, Paul Menard, and Montoya drew the last five positions in the race. Once the lot was completed, Truex commented, "I haven't been in this race in a few years. I absolutely hated being down here (those years) and watching this race, so it's cool just to be in it and to get the pole is icing on the cake."


2012 Budweiser Shootout, Race
The race began at 8:10 pm Eastern Standard Time, and was televised live in the United States by Fox. Tim McNeil of First Methodist Church began the pre-race ceremonies with an invocation. Country music group Little Big Town performed the national anthem, and Petty 1st Class Officer William Kimberl, Petty 1st Class Officer Andres Reyes and Petty Officer 2nd Class Aaron Schwartz from the United States Armed Forces commanded the drivers to start their engines. During the pace laps, Keselowski, Allmendinger, and Kyle and Kurt Busch had to move to the rear of the grid because they had switched to their backup cars.


2012 Budweiser Shootout, Race
McMurray accelerated faster than Truex off the line (leading him at the first turn), but by the end of the first lap Earnhardt had the lead. Three laps later, McMurray reclaimed the lead; one lap later, Logano passed him. On lap six, Truex briefly reclaimed the lead before Harvick passed him. Three laps later a multiple-car collision between turns one and two, involving Waltrip, Menard, Kahne, Burton, Ragan, Kenseth, and Montoya, triggered the first caution of the race and the pace car. The race restarted on lap sixteen, with Earnhardt leading Harvick and Truex.


2012 Budweiser Shootout, Race
Harvick took the lead on the same lap with assistance from McMurray. On the seventeenth lap, McMurray passed Harvick on the backstraightaway to move into the lead. One lap later, Truex took the lead before he was briefly passed by Kurt Busch but Truex retook the first position before the end of the lap. On the 21st lap, McMurray moved back into second place; two laps later McMurray passed Truex to reclaim the lead, with Edwards moving into second.


2012 Budweiser Shootout, Race
On lap 25, Gordon passed Edwards between the third and fourth turns to move into second place and a second caution was issued shortly afterward. After the caution, all the teams made a ten-minute pit stop before the restart. McMurray led Gordon, Edwards, Johnson, and Biffle in the first lap of the rolling start before Gordon took the lead; one lap later, Edwards passed Kyle Busch to move into second place. On lap 28, Biffle, assisted by teammate Edwards, passed Gordon to take the lead. Bowyer experienced oversteer on lap 29, but regained control of his car.


2012 Budweiser Shootout, Race
Three laps later, Bowyer spun sideways into the infield grass in the first turn after he was hit by teammate Truex leaving the tri-oval; a third caution was issued, during which most of the leaders, including Biffle, made pit stops for fuel and tires. Biffle led the field back up to speed at the restart on 37. Montoya received drafting aid from McMurray to move to the lead on the same lap. McMurray reclaimed the lead on lap 38; Earnhardt tried to pass underneath McMurray going into the third turn two laps later, but McMurray kept the position.


2012 Budweiser Shootout, Race
Truex passed McMurray on lap 44, with help from Earnhardt. By the 47th lap, Harvick had moved into the lead position; Kyle Busch collided with the wall, escaping with minor damage to the front of his car. He passed McMurray to briefly reclaim the lead one lap later, with Gordon taking over first place by the start of lap 50. Two laps later McMurray, aided by teammate Harvick, regained the lead.


2012 Budweiser Shootout, Race
The fourth caution was issued on lap 55 when Ambrose made contact with the left-rear of Logano's car, causing a multiple-car collision involving Earnhardt, Harvick, Kenseth, and Truex. Most of the leaders made pit stops during the caution. During lap 55 Harvick and Logano drove to their garages, retiring from the race. Biffle led at the lap 62 restart, before Gordon reclaimed the lead, with Johnson moving into second place. Ten laps later, Kyle Busch took the lead until Stewart passed him two laps later.


2012 Budweiser Shootout, Race
On lap 74, Kyle Busch lost control of his car in turn four from left-rear contact with Gordon, who hit the wall; his car rolled over onto its roof after sliding 800 m (2,600 ft) on its left-hand side, prompting the fifth and final caution. Kurt Busch, Johnson, Allmendinger, Edwards and McMurray were caught up in the wreck. The race restarted on lap 81, for a green–white–checker finish (extending the race to 82 laps) with Stewart leading Ambrose, Bowyer and Keselowski until Ambrose (with assistance from Keselowski) passed him.


2012 Budweiser Shootout, Race
On the final lap, Stewart reclaimed the lead (with help from Kyle Busch) before Busch passed him on the outside in the last 100 yd (91 m) in the tri-oval to win the race. The margin of victory was 0.013 seconds, the closest in the history of the event. Ambrose finished third, Keselowski fourth and Hamlin fifth. Biffle, Newman, Bowyer, Edwards and Montoya rounded out the top ten finishers in the race.


2012 Budweiser Shootout, Race, Post-race comments
Kyle Busch appeared in Victory Lane to celebrate his first victory in the Budweiser Shootout at his sixth attempt; the win earned him $198,550. He said, "I don't know how many times I spun out and didn't spin out. Amazing race. It was fun to drive when I wasn't getting turned around", and, "Stab and steer, stab and steer, That's what you do. And some brakes. There are brakes involved, too.


2012 Budweiser Shootout, Race, Post-race comments
I thought I was clear ... and I tried going down slowly, and Jimmie just must have been there a little bit, turned me sideways and got me on the apron—scared everybody half to death, including me." Stewart, who finished second, said, "I actually had fun racing at Daytona again, which I haven't had for a while. I don't know what the consensus is from everybody else, but I had more fun as a driver tonight than what we've had in the past." Ambrose, who finished third in the race, explained, "It's definitely a lot more fun, more entertaining for the fans, and more in control for the drivers."


2012 Budweiser Shootout, Race, Post-race comments
According to Ragan, who was involved in the race's largest accident, "Everybody was real racy and I just got into the back of Menard. You get a good run, and you're pushing a little bit, and I guess he was pushing whoever was in front of him. And when you've got the meat in between the sandwich, you usually get wrecked." Harvick blamed the accident on drivers who had little experience of pack racing: "The biggest problem is the tandem racing has been so easy for these guys to stay attached that some of them haven't raced in pack racing.


2012 Budweiser Shootout, Race, Post-race comments
It's going to take a lot more patience from a lot of guys who haven't done this before." Nevertheless, Menard thought that the pack style of racing would be a good combination for the Daytona 500 and believed it would be "chaotic" and "exciting". Four days after the race, NASCAR announced that the pressure relief values in the engine would be increased from 25 psi (1.7 bar) to 28 psi (1.9 bar) after some drivers complained of overheating issues while they were running in packs. The race had a television audience of 7.46 million viewers.


2012 Buenos Aires rail disaster
The 2012 Buenos Aires rail disaster, also known as the Once Tragedy, occurred on 22 February 2012, when a train crashed at Once Station (Spanish: Estación Once de Septiembre; IPA: [ˈonse]) in the Balvanera neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina.


2012 Buenos Aires rail disaster
There were about 1,000 passengers on board when the crowded eight-carriage train, whose working brakes were not activated, hit the buffers at the end of the line, crushing the motor carriage and the following two carriages, after approaching the station at a speed of 26 km/h (16 mph). Fifty-one people were killed and more than 700 were injured; the dead and seriously injured were in the first two carriages, which were packed with people who had moved to the front of the train to be near the station exit on arrival.


2012 Buenos Aires rail disaster
The Sarmiento Line, on which the incident occurred, was operated by Trenes de Buenos Aires (TBA), owned by the Cirigliano brothers. It was the second fatal accident on the line within six months, following the 2011 Flores rail crash, and the third-deadliest train accident in Argentina's history, after the Benavídez rail disaster in 1970 (which left 142 dead and 368 injured) and the Sa Pereira rail disaster in 1978 (which left 55 dead).


2012 Buenos Aires rail disaster, Incident
Train number 16 was operating the Sarmiento Line local service 3772 from Moreno to Once during the morning rush hour on the first working day after a Carnival holiday. The train was reported to be traveling too fast — about 50 km/h (30 mph) — on entry to the station. It failed to stop before the end of the track at Once Station and at 8:33 ART crashed into the buffer stops at a speed of 26 km/h (16 mph). The motor carriage and the following two carriages were crushed; the second carriage was telescoped 7 metres (23 ft) into the first. Several passengers described the impact as an explosion.


2012 Buenos Aires rail disaster, Emergency response
Several ambulances were in the area at the time of the accident, waiting for a ship that had suffered an influenza B outbreak, and were used to transport victims to nearby hospitals. People with minor injuries left the accident zone on foot. According to the city's head of civil defence, the rescue was difficult because the hard and complicated structure of the carriages made the task of removing the wreckage difficult.


2012 Buenos Aires rail disaster, Emergency response
The train driver survived the crash; he was rescued and evacuated in an ambulance. It took many people to free him from the wreckage. He was not seriously injured, and a test for blood alcohol content gave a negative result.


2012 Buenos Aires rail disaster, Emergency response
The Sarmiento Line did not resume normal operation for several hours. People demanding the reopening of the line threw bottles, sticks and chairs at federal police and soldiers guarding the crash site, though police regained control within a few minutes.


2012 Buenos Aires rail disaster, Emergency response
Fifty-one people, including three children, were confirmed dead. More than 700 others were injured. The crash scene and audio logs were examined to determine the cause of the accident.


2012 Buenos Aires rail disaster, Reactions, Domestic
Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner declared two days of national mourning and suspended the Carnival festivities. Mauricio Macri, the chief of government of the autonomous city of Buenos Aires, and the governor of Buenos Aires Province, Daniel Scioli, did the same.


2012 Buenos Aires rail disaster, Reactions, Domestic
Secretary of Transport Juan Pablo Schiavi announced that the government will investigate the accident. He reported that the driver was well rested at the time of the accident and had very good labour reports. The train's and station's black box and the security tapes were handed to the a Federal Judge. Minister of Planning and Public Investment Julio de Vido announced that the presidency would initiate a lawsuit against TBA, the owners of the Sarmiento line, but that was not accepted by the Justice Department, arguing that government officials could also have broad responsibilities in the accident.


2012 Buenos Aires rail disaster, Reactions, Domestic
The Radical Civic Union proposed the impeachment of Schiavi, requesting explanations about the state of railway lines, and pointing to previous complaints about the lack of proper state control over the working of the lines. They also urged Congress to create a commission to investigate the case and the responsibilities of the government. The Civic Coalition criticized De Vido's announcement, pointing out that the state cannot be plaintiff as it is involved in the case. The General Confederation of Labour complained about the overall poor condition of the railways, saying that the accident highlighted the problem. The Argentine Workers' Central Union requested the removal of the TBA administration of the train.


2012 Buenos Aires rail disaster, Reactions, International
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom regretted the incident and expressed its condolences to the "families of the victims" and the "emergency agencies that are still working to aid" those in the accident. The Secretariat of Foreign Affairs of Mexico sent its condolences to the "sister country of Argentina" and hoped for the "speedy recovery of the families and those injured." Pope Benedict XVI sent his condolences.


2012 Buenos Aires rail disaster, Investigation
Initially a union leader said that the train had been working well, and there had been no problems with the brakes at previous stations. Some passengers reported the same. The driver, 28-year-old Marcos Antonio Córdoba, was taken into custody but later released by the investigating judge over the objections of the prosecutor after declaring under oath "I tried to brake twice, but the mechanism failed." He also activated the hand brake, which also failed. A judicial source said Cordoba told investigators: "At each station he advised the dispatcher by radio that he had problems with the brakes." He reportedly said he was told to keep going.


2012 Buenos Aires rail disaster, Investigation
An event in Plaza de Mayo was arranged for 22 February 2014, to mark the second anniversary of the crash.


2012 Buenos Aires rail disaster, Trial
On 29 December 2015, the case was tried and resulted in the conviction of 21 people and the acquittal of seven. Sergio Cigliano, one of the owners of TBA, was sentenced to nine years in prison. Juan Pablo Schiavi, former Secretary of Transportation, was sentenced to eight years in prison and a lifelong ban on public office. Ricardo Jaime, another former Secretary of Transportation, got six years of prison and the same ban. Marcos Córdoba, the driver, was sentenced to three years and six months in prison and also banned from driving trains for six years.


2012 Buffalo Bandits season
The Buffalo Bandits are a lacrosse team based in Buffalo, New York, playing in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The 2012 season was their twenty-first season in the NLL.


2012 Buffalo Bandits season, Standings
x: Clinched playoff berth; c: Clinched playoff berth by crossing over to another division; y: Clinched division; z: Clinched best regular season record; GP: Games PlayedW: Wins; L: Losses; GB: Games back; PCT: Win percentage; Home: Record at Home; Road: Record on the Road; GF: Goals scored; GA: Goals allowedDifferential: Difference between goals scored and allowed; GF/GP: Average number of goals scored per game; GA/GP: Average number of goals allowed per game


2012 Buffalo Bandits season, Transactions, Dispersal draft
The Bandits chose the following players in the Boston Blazers dispersal draft:


2012 Buffalo Bandits season, Transactions, Entry draft
The 2011 NLL Entry Draft took place on September 21, 2011. The Bandits selected the following players:


2012 Buffalo Bills season
The 2012 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 43rd season in the National Football League, the 53rd overall and the third under head coach Chan Gailey. The team had hoped to make the playoffs for the first time since 1999, but failed and continue to own the NFL's longest playoff drought.


2012 Buffalo Bills season
2012 was the final year on the Bills' current lease with Ralph Wilson Stadium as well as the final year on the current Bills Toronto Series agreement. The league had approved an additional five-year extension of the Toronto series, extending through 2017, on the condition that the Bills and Rogers Communications come to an agreement extending the series, a condition that both sides have indicated willingness to do. The Bills and the league are demanding significant and expensive renovations to Ralph Wilson Stadium as a condition of renewing the stadium lease.


2012 Buffalo Bills season
The Buffalo News reported renovations could top 200 million dollars. The Bills and Erie County (the owners of Ralph Wilson Stadium) missed the deadline for a long-term agreement in September 2012. However, on December 21, the Bills agreed with Erie County to a 10-year lease on Ralph Wilson Stadium, extending it through for at least another 7 years.


2012 Buffalo Bills season, Personnel changes
On January 2, 2012, one day after the conclusion of the season, George Edwards was fired from his position as defensive coordinator. Edwards had been the defensive coordinator for the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Former NFL and college head coach Dave Wannstedt was promoted to defensive coordinator. (Bills head coach Chan Gailey had been the offensive coordinator under Wannstedt in 2000 and 2001, when Wannstedt was Miami's head coach.)


2012 Buffalo Bills season, Roster changes
In his annual season-ending press conference, general manager Buddy Nix laid out his priorities for the offseason. Nix stated that the team was eager to re-sign wide receiver Stevie Johnson, kicker Rian Lindell and offensive tackle Demetress Bell. Johnson and Lindell were successfully re-signed; Bell was signed by Philadelphia. He also stated that he wanted to re-sign running back Fred Jackson and have him retire as a Bill. Jackson whose contract ran through the end of the 2012 season was having a career season before a mid season 2011 injury. Johnson renewed his contract with the Bills for five years and $36.2 million on March 5, 2012.


2012 Buffalo Bills season, Roster changes
On March 15, 2012, the Bills made the biggest free agent acquisition in team history, signing all-pro defensive end Mario Williams to a contract worth $100 million over six years, with $50 million guaranteed, the largest contract for a defensive player in NFL history. The recruiting of Williams took place over three days, starting with general manager Buddy Nix and defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt escorting Williams to Buffalo in a private jet. Bills Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly was also part of the recruiting.


2012 Buffalo Bills season, Roster changes
On March 21, 2012 Mark Anderson, who had 12.5 sacks with the Patriots over the 2011 regular season and playoffs, signed a four-year deal with Buffalo. With announced plans to switch to the 4–3 defense the Bills could field Mario Williams at left end and Anderson on the opposite side in passing situations. Kyle Williams and Marcell Dareus will anchor the middle of the defensive line.


2012 Buffalo Bills season, Roster changes
On May 11, 2012 the Bills made yet another high-profile signing by signing QB Vince Young to a one-year contract to back up Ryan Fitzpatrick. Young was the 3rd overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. He was nonetheless released in the middle of the preseason, with Gailey citing inconsistency as the reason, and replaced by Tarvaris Jackson, whom the Bills acquired in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks. Because Jackson was not ready for the start of the regular season, the Bills will go with four quarterbacks on its roster for the first several weeks of the season.


2012 Buffalo Bills season, Roster changes
Kickoff specialist John Potter, a rookie, made the 53-man roster. He will specialize in kickoffs to ease pressure on the team's aging kickers, placekicker Rian Lindell and punter Brian Moorman, who handled the duties in the past. (Moorman would be released from the roster three weeks into the regular season.)


2012 Buffalo Bills season, Roster changes, Undrafted free agents
Stanford safety Delano Howell, Missouri State running back Chris Douglas, Virginia Tech cornerback Cris Hill, Colorado State offensive lineman Paul Madsen, Florida State punter Shawn Powell, Texas offensive lineman David Snow, Penn State safety Nick Sukay, Mercyhurst safety/long snapper Ian Wild, Texas A&M linebacker Garrick Williams and Richmond quarterback Aaron Corp. Corp was later released.


2012 Buffalo Bills season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 10: at New England Patriots
With the loss, the Bills dropped to 3–6 and 0–11 against the Patriots at Gillette Stadium.


2012 Buffalo Bills season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 11: vs. Miami Dolphins
By beating the Dolphins on a Thursday Night Football showdown, Buffalo improved to 4–6 and snapped an 8-game losing skid against division rivals.


2012 Buffalo Bills season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 15: vs. Seattle Seahawks
With the loss, the Bills fall to 5–9 and are officially eliminated from postseason contention.


2012 Buffalo Bulls football team
The 2012 Buffalo Bulls football team represented the University at Buffalo in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Jeff Quinn and played their home games at University at Buffalo Stadium. They were a member of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 4–8, 3–5 in MAC play to finish in a tie for fourth place in the East Division.


2012 Buffalo State Bengals football team
The 2012 Buffalo State Bengals football team represents Buffalo State College in the 2012 NCAA Division III football season. They are led by nineteenth year head coach Jerry Boyes and play their home games at Coyer Field. They are a member of the Empire 8. On September 15, 2012, Buffalo State went on the road and defeated the three-time defending Division III national champion #1 rated Wisconsin–Whitewater Warhawks 7-6, winning the game on a touchdown pass in the game's final seconds. The victory by the Bengals snapped Wisconsin–Whitewater's 46-game winning streak, preventing the Warhawks from extending the streak to 47 games, which would have been the third-longest winning streak in NCAA football history.


2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl
The 2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, the 24th edition of the game, was a post-season American college football bowl game held on December 29, 2012 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona as part of the 2012–13 NCAA Bowl season.


2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl
The game was telecast at 8:15 p.m. MT on ESPN. It featured the Michigan State Spartans of the Big Ten Conference against the TCU Horned Frogs of the Big 12 Conference. Down 13-0 at the half, the Spartans rallied back to win 17-16, having taken the lead for good with only 1:01 remaining in the contest.


2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, Teams
This game marked the second meeting of the two teams. Their first meeting was in 1953, which the Spartans won 26-19. The Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl had fourth selection of Big Ten teams and third selection of Big 12 teams, both after BCS selections. From the Big Ten, conference champion Wisconsin (Rose), Nebraska (Capital One), Michigan (Outback), and Northwestern (Gator) were already selected, and Penn State and Ohio State were ineligible due to NCAA sanctions. From the Big 12, conference champion Kansas State (Fiesta), Oklahoma (Cotton Bowl Classic), and Texas (Alamo) were selected before TCU.


2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, Teams, TCU
TCU finished the 2011 season 11-2 and ranked #13 in the Coaches Poll and #14 in the AP Poll. In 2012, they changed conferences from the Mountain West Conference to the Big 12 Conference. They entered the season ranked #17 in the Coaches Poll, but after losses to Iowa State and Texas Tech they spent the rest of the season unranked. Like the Spartans, they failed to win any home conference games. They still were able to accumulate a 7-5 record, enough to send them to their eighth consecutive bowl game. In that bowl streak, the Horned Frogs had only lost once prior to this matchup.


2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, Teams, TCU
The 2011 Horned Frogs were known more for their defense than offense. Junior quarterback Casey Pachall left the team after four games due to an arrest for suspicion of DWI, putting the offense into the hands of freshman Trevone Boykin. Boykin ended the regular season with 15 touchdown passes and 9 interceptions. TCU's rushing attack was last in the Big 12, averaging 3.9 yards per carry. Defensively, the Horned Frogs led the Big 12, ceding an average of only 332.0 yards per game, ranking them 18th in the nation. The Horned Frogs defense was led by AP Big 12 defensive player of the year Devonte Fields, a freshman.


2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, Teams, Michigan State
Michigan State's 2012 campaign was also a letdown from the prior year's. That year the Spartans went 11-3, continued a two-year undefeated streak at home, advanced to the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game, defeated SEC powerhouse Georgia in the Outback Bowl, and ended the season ranked #10 in the Coaches Poll. However, the departure of key offensive players—notably Kirk Cousins and Keshawn Martin, who were both selected in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft—proved costly for the 2012 Spartans.


2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, Teams, Michigan State
After surging to a #10 ranking in the Coaches Poll, the Spartans were favorites to be the Big 10's representative for the Rose Bowl. A defeat at Spartan Stadium to Notre Dame snapped their home win streak, and the Spartans stumbled into conference play with a come-from-behind win over Eastern Michigan, who ended the season 2-10. The Spartans went 3-5 in conference play, losing all of their home games. Those five losses were by a combined 13 points.


2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, Teams, Michigan State
The lone bright spot in that period came when Michigan State snapped a 21-game home winning streak for Wisconsin by beating the eventual Rose Bowl representatives, giving the Spartans their first win in Camp Randall Stadium since 2001. MSU only earned bowl eligibility by defeating Minnesota in the final game of the season.


2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, Teams, Michigan State
Offensively, the Spartans were led by tailback Le'Veon Bell, who ended the regular season with 1,648 yards for 11 touchdowns, averaging 137.3 yards per game and earning 834 of his yards after contact. The Spartans were ranked 9th in the Big Ten for total offense, averaging 370.3 yards per game. Michigan State's offense managed only 21 touchdowns in 42 red zone trips this season and only 25 overall. Spartan quarterback Andrew Maxwell saw almost all the action that year, throwing for 2,578 yards and 13 touchdowns with a 53% completion rating. Backup quarterback Connor Cook only saw action in two games, going 5 for 6 with no touchdowns and one interception, which was returned for a score.


2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, Teams, Michigan State
On the defensive side, Michigan State led the Big Ten, giving up 273.3 yards per game and 16.3 points per game. They ranked in the top 10 nationally for total defense, scoring defense, rushing defense, and passing efficiency and yardage defenses. Junior linebacker Max Bullough led the Spartans with 101 tackles, while William Gholston's 3.5 sacks and Darqueze Dennard's three interceptions were also team leaders. Senior cornerback Johnny Adams, who also had three interceptions, was unable to play in the bowl game due to an injury. The Spartans earned 13 interceptions during the regular season, 3rd best in the Big Ten.


2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, Game summary
The first half of the game was dominated by TCU. After a combined three opening three-and-outs to start, TCU marched 73 yards (the first 20 of which came from MSU Penalties) down the field in nine plays, scoring a touchdown on a 4-yard run by Matthew Tucker. A successful PAT put TCU up 7-0. On TCU's next drive, they had a first down to start the second quarter at the MSU 19-yard line. A five-yard penalty and a nine-yard sack forced TCU's Jaden Oberkrom to kick a 47-yard field goal.