2012 South Carolina elections, Constitutional Referendum
Voters voted on Amendment 1, which amended Section 8 of Article IV of the South Carolina constitution so that the lieutenant governor would be elected on the same ticket with the governor, rather than being elected in a separate election. The proposed amendment passed.


2012 South Dakota Coyotes football team
The 2012 South Dakota Coyotes football team represented the University of South Dakota in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first year head coach Joe Glenn and played their home games in the DakotaDome. This was their inaugural season in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They finished the season 1–10, 0–8 in MVFC play to finish in last place.


2012 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team
The 2012 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 15th year head coach John Stiegelmeier and played their home games at Coughlin–Alumni Stadium. They were a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They finished the season 9–4, 6–2 in MVFC play to finish in second place. The received an at–large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Eastern Illinois in the first round before falling to fellow MVFC member North Dakota State in the second round.


2012 South East Asian Table Tennis Championships
The 2012 South East Asian Table Tennis Championships were held in Vientiane, Laos from 10 to 14 December 2012.


2012 South Florida Bulls football team
The 2012 South Florida Bulls football team represented the University of South Florida (USF) in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bulls played their home games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The 2012 season was the 16th season overall for the Bulls and their 8th season as a member of the Big East Conference. This was Holtz's third and final year at USF; USF fired Holtz at the conclusion of the season. They finished the season 3–9, 1–6 in Big East play to finish in last place. This season saw the Bulls win their fewest games in program history (3).


2012 South Korean Figure Skating Championships
The 2012 South Korean Figure Skating Championships (Korean: 제66회 전국 남녀 피겨스케이팅 종합선수권대회) were the South Korean Figure Skating Championships for the 2011–12 season. They were the 66th edition of those championships held. They were organized by the Korean Skating Union. The main sponsors were KB financial group and Hyundai Motor group. The media sponsor was MBC sports+.


2012 South Korean Figure Skating Championships
Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's and ladies' singles on the senior, junior, and novice levels for the title of national champion of South Korea. The results of the national championships were used to choose the Korean teams to the 2012 World Figure Skating Championships and the 2012 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships.


2012 South Korean Figure Skating Championships
The competition was held between 6 January and 8 January, 2012 in Seoul.


2012 South Korean legislative election
The legislative election for the 19th National Assembly was held in South Korea on 11 April 2012. The election was won by the ruling Saenuri or New Frontier Party, which renewed its majority in the National Assembly, despite losing seats. The election has been read as a bellwether for the presidential election to be held later in the year. The result confounded exit polls and media analysis, which had predicted a closer outcome.


2012 South Korean legislative election, Background
The South Korean National Assembly consists of 246 directly elected seats and 54 nationwide proportional representation seats chosen under an FPTP-PR parallel voting system. In South Korea's presidential system, the head of state chooses the cabinet, but the loss of control in the parliament could have hampered President Lee's government substantially.


2012 South Korean legislative election, Parties and coalitions
Other parties that put forward candidates included the left-wing New Progressive Party and the centre-right Korea Vision Party.


2012 South Korean legislative election, Parties and coalitions
The conservative parties were fragmented, particularly between Saenuri and the new KVP over the latter recruiting high-profile defected members of the incumbent party and those who were denied tickets in the election, which was also reflective of a division grew between Park's leadership and loyalists of Lee Myung-bak. However, the DUP–UPP coalition also came under strain due to irregularities in the UPP's primaries that involved co-leader Lee Jung-hee.


2012 South Korean legislative election, Campaign
Campaigning for the election officially began on 29 March, though party leaders toured the country beforehand to rally support for their bids. The international media suggested that the main issues in the campaign were economic, including inflation, educational and housing costs, unemployment and underemployment, the income gap, and social welfare, while the North Korean issue did not play a role.


2012 South Korean legislative election, Campaign
The opposition DUP tried to harness discontent with the incumbent Lee's administration, and called on the electorate to adjudge the election as a referendum on Lee's presidency. The opposition coalition endeavored to depict the ruling party as unsocial and favoring the rich, while promising to create jobs. The incumbent government emphasised the threat of North Korea and made the case for continuing their hard line towards the northern neighbour and maintaining a close alliance with the United States. They accused the opposition of jeopardising the free trade agreement with the U.S. The DUP had demanded renegotiation of the treaty and threatened to cancel it in case of the United States' refusal to negotiate.


2012 South Korean legislative election, Campaign
The international media highlighted the candidacy of Cho Myung-chul, a professor who defected from North Korea in 1994. In its newspaper Rodong Sinmun, the North Korean Workers' Party called on the electorate to vote out the incumbent government: "Young voters, students and people must deliver a crushing defeat to the traitors."


2012 South Korean legislative election, Campaign, Scandals
After accusations of unauthorized government surveillance surfaced, legislators called for an investigation, while the ruling party accused the previous government of doing the same. The presidential office published an analysis stating that 84% of the recorded incidents had taken place under the previous administration of Roh Moo-hyun. A post-election analysis by polling institute Realmeter showed that the ruling party's handling of scandal was effective, and that the surveillance scandal didn't affect voters' decision much. A DUP candidate, Kim Yong-min, was also accused of having made numerous offensive comments on the podcast-talk-show Naneun Ggomsuda, for which he apologized but refused to rescind his candidacy, despite the DUP leadership advising him to do so. Kim subsequently failed to win his seat in the election.


2012 South Korean legislative election, Opinion polling
Polls were barred in the final week of the election, just before indications suggested the two largest parties would get somewhere between 130–135 seats each. A high turnout, particularly with the youth, was seen as beneficial to the opposition.


2012 South Korean legislative election, Results
The voting centres were open from 6:00−18:00. Voting occurred via electronic ballot counting and scanning that gave an instantaneous result. Cho Myung-chul's successful candidature was the first time that one of the 23 thousand North Korean refugees living in the South was elected to the National Assembly.


2012 South Korean legislative election, Results, By region
The result showed considerable regional variations. The DUP and its coalition partner the UPP made significant gains in the north-west of the country, winning a combined total of 26 new seats in Seoul, four in Incheon and 14 in suburban Gyeonggi-do. Altogether the DUP-UPP coalition won 70 of 112 seats in this region, a gain of 44. They also maintained their dominant position in Jeolla and Jeju, winning 31 of 33 seats, a gain of three. Had the liberal parties made comparable gains in the eastern half of the country, they would have won the election.


2012 South Korean legislative election, Results, By region
They won only 13 seats of 100 in these provinces, a net gain of one. In Chungcheong, Gangwon and Gyeongsang, the Saenuri Party made gains from the DUP and the Liberty Forward Party. The liberal parties failed to make significant gains in the southeast, a traditionally conservative region. The Saenuri Party also took seats from independent members across the country.


2012 South Korean legislative election, Reactions and aftermath
President Lee said that the "people made wise choices. The government will do its best to manage state affairs in a stable manner and take care of the people's livelihood". The DUP's secretary-general Park Sun-sook conceded the election and added: "The DUP failed to turn public calls for punishing the ... ruling party into reality. We apologise for disappointing supporters. We will sincerely think over what today's election means and try ceaselessly to be reborn as a party the people can lean and rely on." Sim Dae-pyung, leader of the Liberty Forward Party, announced his resignation after the party's poor performance.


2012 South Korean legislative election, Reactions and aftermath
On 13 April, the DUP leader Han Myeong-sook announced her resignation on account of her party's defeat.


2012 South Korean presidential election
Presidential elections were held in South Korea on 19 December 2012. They were the sixth presidential elections since democratization and the establishment of the Sixth Republic, and were held under a first-past-the-post system, in which there was a single round of voting and the candidate receiving the highest number of votes was elected. Under the South Korean constitution, a president is restricted to a single five-year term in office. The term of the then incumbent president Lee Myung-bak ended on 24 February 2013. According to the Korea Times, 30.7 million people voted with turnout at 75.8%.


2012 South Korean presidential election
Park Geun-hye of the Saenuri party was elected the first female South Korean president with 51.6% of the vote opposed to 48.0% for her opponent Moon Jae-in. Park's share of the vote was the highest won by any candidate since the beginning of free and fair direct elections in 1987 and the first such election in which any candidate won a majority.


2012 South Korean presidential election
In 2017, following Park's impeachment and removal from office, Moon would go on to succeed her as the 12th president of South Korea following a second, successful bid for the presidency in the 2017 presidential election.


2012 South Korean presidential election, Background
Lee Myung-bak was elected President of South Korea in 2007 as the nominee of the conservative Grand National Party after a closely contested primary in which he narrowly defeated Park Geun-hye, and assumed office in February 2008. His victory brought to a close ten years of liberal administration under Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun.


2012 South Korean presidential election, Background
The Lee Myung-bak government pursued the reduction of government bureaucracy and a laissez-faire economic policy, and came under criticism from the left for political scandals and controversial policies such as the Jeju-do Naval Base and its support of the South Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement, although both were initiated under the previous administration. Despite the fact that he was elected in a landslide victory and received initial approval ratings of 70%, Lee's ratings had declined to below 30% by 2012.


2012 South Korean presidential election, Background
At the end of 2011, Park Geun-hye assumed control of the Grand National Party, which was subsequently renamed the Saenuri or New Frontier Party in February 2012. She distanced herself from Lee and led the party towards the center. In legislative elections in April 2012, Park guided the party to an upset victory, returning its majority in the National Assembly. This contributed to an increase in her poll ratings and consolidated her position as frontrunner for the Saenuri nomination.


2012 South Korean presidential election, Background
Opposition to Saenuri is divided primarily between the Democratic United Party and independent supporters of Ahn Cheol-soo, who has emerged as a leading potential candidate despite his ostensible silence on the race. In the DUP, focus initially lay on Sohn Hak-kyu as a potential nominee, but by late 2011 Moon Jae-in, a confidant of former president Roh, had overtaken Sohn in polls. Although the DUP invited Ahn to join the party, only 2.3% of respondents to a poll on 21 April thought that Ahn was best suited to be DUP nominee. The DUP itself has been troubled by the split between pro-Roh members such as Moon Jae-in and the "Honam wing" of former president Kim Dae-jung, represented by Chung Dong-young.


2012 South Korean presidential election, Registered candidates
Ballot numbers for party candidates were given according to the candidate's party seat distribution in the National Assembly. Ballot numbers for independent candidates were determined through a random lottery by the National Election Commission.


2012 South Korean presidential election, Nominations, Democratic United Party, Campaign
The 2012 Democratic United Party presidential primary saw an open primary system implemented for the first time. This new open primary introduced "mobile voting"; it was hailed as a "revolution in voting" because people could participate in voting more conveniently. However, controversies persisted during the primary elections, as questions of the legitimacy and trustworthiness of the voting results were raised. The official result was announced on 16 September 2012, at 15:32 KST, naming Moon Jae-in the presidential candidate from the Democratic United Party. After winning the nomination, Moon stated that he would like to join forces with Ahn Cheol-soo.


2012 South Korean presidential election, Nominations, Democratic United Party, Candidates
Jo, Kim J and Kim Y were disqualified by the party through a cutoff poll, where only top five candidates were allowed to pass to primaries. Park withdrew before the primaries began.


2012 South Korean presidential election, Nominations, Democratic United Party, Results
P= Pre-registered electors who voted at Polling booths; M: Pre-registered electors who voted through Mobile devices; D= Party Delegates who voted at the polling booths


2012 South Korean presidential election, Nominations, Democratic United Party, Results
Moon Jae-in won the nomination on the first ballot, so no run-off contest was needed.


2012 South Korean presidential election, Nominations, Saenuri Party, Campaign
The first member of the Saenuri Party to officially announce their candidacy was Kim Moon-soo on 22 April. Kim, a former labor activist, stated in his announcement that he would focus on combating regional and socioeconomic divides, emphasized his commitment to a policy of multiculturalism, and argued for a revision in Saenuri's primary system. He stated further that Park Geun-hye's leadership of the party represented only an "ambiguously prevailing trend", and could not be relied upon to reach victory in the elections. Although Kim said that he was "convinced" he could "attract more support than [Park]", he was not widely expected to garner a high level of support. His early announcement was regarded as an attempt to preemptively form an anti-Park faction in the party.


2012 South Korean presidential election, Nominations, Saenuri Party, Campaign
Chung Mong-joon, a billionaire and longstanding member of the National Assembly, followed on 29 April. In his announcement, Chung emphasized the need to confront regionalism and factional politics, and stated that he would "write a new history of the Republic of Korea by facilitating [his] experience of managing a business, engaging in diplomacy and creating unity in the nation". He stressed that his task was to "bring together the divided hearts of the people" and that he was concerned that the "country could collapse in its current situation". Like Kim Moon-soo, Chung is expected to be at a disadvantage to Park. Chung previously declared his candidacy in the 2002 presidential elections but later dropped out to endorse Roh Moo-hyun.


2012 South Korean presidential election, Nominations, Saenuri Party, Campaign
The former Mayor of Incheon, Ahn Sang-soo, declared his candidacy on 6 May, emphasizing his economic credentials and stating that he would relieve the burden of debt. Former presidential Chief of Staff Yim Tae-hee followed on 8 May, issuing a call for Park Geun-hye to act as a "kingmaker" that was interpreted as a request for her to step aside. Yim, a moderate, proposed to join hands with independent Ahn Cheol-soo and DUP frontrunner Moon Jae-in in a bid to "demolish outdated politics". On 10 May, five-term lawmaker and former Minister for Government Legislation and Special Affairs Lee Jae-oh announced his bid, promising to reform the constitution and cut his term as president to three years.


2012 South Korean presidential election, Nominations, Saenuri Party, Campaign
The campaign for the Saenuri primaries has been characterized by a dispute between Park Geun-hye, as frontrunner and party leader, and her opponents in the party. She was cited in 2009 as the most influential politician in South Korea, and has outranked other candidates in many polls throughout 2012, though as of early May 2012 she is yet to officially declare her candidacy. Park's opponents have called for Saenuri to adopt an open primary system rather than the present system based on an electoral college and opinion poll results.


2012 South Korean presidential election, Nominations, Saenuri Party, Campaign
At the end of April the Democratic United Party suggested a joint discussion on the issue of fully open primaries. Park has been criticized for her taciturn and authoritarian style in leading the party, and Kim Moon-soo described her as overly "secretive". Chung Mong-joon stated that under Park's leadership, "democracy in the party [had] gone missing". Park strengthened her position when her ally Lee Hahn-koo was elected Saenuri's floor leader on 9 May.


2012 South Korean presidential election, Nominations, Saenuri Party, Campaign
During a primary debate on 7 August 2012, primary candidate Kim Tae-ho asked if Park Geun-hye would agree that the May 16 coup by her father (Park Chung Hee) was both a coup and a "necessary decision", regarding Park's previous stance that the overthrow was a "revolution to save the country". Park confirmed her stance by answering, "I don’t think it’s the place of politicians to be fighting over whether [the 16 May incident] were a 'coup d’etat' or a 'revolution'”.


2012 South Korean presidential election, Nominations, Saenuri Party, Campaign
She furthermore commented that "no one can refute that the events themselves did happen, whether you call them a 'coup' or a 'revolution. '” and that "we need to leave that issue" for history to decide. In addition, during another debate on 8 August 2012, the moderator asked Park the minimum hourly rate for a part-time worker as of 2012. Park replied "I think it’s over 5,000 won, isn’t it?,” when the legal minimum wage was 4,580 won.


2012 South Korean presidential election, Nominations, Saenuri Party, Campaign
In response, The South Korean Confederation of Trade Unions responded with a statement in which it said, "It is terribly discouraging when a person who wants to become president does not even know the country’s minimum wage, which is a minimal right for survival and the first step toward a welfare state".


2012 South Korean presidential election, Nominations, Saenuri Party, Candidates
Chung and Lee, in protest of the controversial primary rule negotiations, withdrew their bids for nomination before the convention.


2012 South Korean presidential election, Nominations, Saenuri Party, Results
The official result was announced at Saenuri National Convention, which took place on 20 August 2012 at 05:40 KST, nominating Park Geun-hye as the presidential candidate for the Saenuri Party.


2012 South Korean presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independent candidates, Registered
Lee Jung-hee (Unified Progressive Party)Former leader of UPP and former Member of National Assembly


2012 South Korean presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independent candidates, Registered
Kim So-yeon (Independent)Elected to the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions


2012 South Korean presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independent candidates, Registered
Kim Soon-ja (Independent)A Cleaning worker, and New Progressive Party candidate in 2012 South Korean legislative election


2012 South Korean presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independent candidates, Withdrawn
Ahn Cheol-soo Former Dean of Seoul National University Graduate School of Convergence Science and TechnologyFormer Chairman of software firm AhnLab Inc


2012 South Korean presidential election, NIS interference, Public opinion manipulation controversy
On 11 December 2012, the Democratic United Party claimed that agents of the Psychological Operations group in the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) were influencing public opinion under orders by the NIS, by posting comments on the Internet. They followed these claims by identifying one such agent. In a police raid, that agent did not emerge from the rented office and claimed that she was not involved in such actions. Right after the last TV debate between candidates Park Geun-Hye and Moon Jae-in, police announced that no evidence was found.


2012 South Korean presidential election, NIS interference, Public opinion manipulation controversy
After Park Geun-Hye was sworn into office, evidence emerged that the agent in question and many others were involved in activities manipulating public opinion in the presidential election. On 27 May 2013 the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and Seoul Suseo Police Station was found to have delayed delivering evidence, and turned in fabricated laptop hard drive analysis reports. The police already had evidence that the agent in question posted political comments, the analysis report was not submitted to the Suseo Police Station and was destroyed.


2012 South Korean presidential election, NIS interference, Public opinion manipulation controversy
In 2013, prosecutor Yoon Seok-youl led a special investigation team that looked into the National Intelligence Service (NIS)'s involvement in the scandal. Yoon sought the prosecution of the former head of the NIS, Won Sei-hoon for violating the Public Official Election Act for his role in the case. Yoon accused Park Geun-hye's Justice Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn of influencing his investigation. In February 2015, Won was convicted on charges of instructing NIS officials to manipulate internet comments and sentenced to three years in prison. However the conviction was overturned on appeal, leading to a retrial.


2012 South Korean presidential election, NIS interference, Public opinion manipulation controversy
In a second trial, Won was sentenced to four years in prison in 2017. The Supreme Court upheld the sentence in April 2018. When Moon Jae-in won the 2017 election, his administration pursued nine additional charges of political interference against Won, resulting in a subsequent 7 year jail sentence in 2020.


2012 South Korean presidential election, NIS interference, Public opinion manipulation controversy
In August 2017, the NIS formally acknowledged that it was involved in the election manipulation after an internal inquiry. In December 2020, the National Assembly passed reforms curbing powers of the NIS, explicitly banning the agency and its employees from interfering in domestic politics.


2012 South Korean presidential election, NIS interference, Interference with overseas voters
In June 2021, according to a MBC News report, Won Sei-hoon pushed South Korean embassies abroad to delay issuing new passports to Korean nationals, who tend to lean liberal in order to limit their ability to vote for Moon Jae-in. A NIS whistleblower also claimed that he was tortured after objecting to the operation by being placed for several days in a small white room intended to cause sensory disorientation.


2012 South Lakeland District Council election
The 2012 South Lakeland District Council election was held on 3 May 2012 to elect members of South Lakeland District Council in Cumbria, England. One third of the council was up for election, having been elected "all out" in 2008 and "in thirds" every year thereafter.


2012 South Lanarkshire Council election
Elections to South Lanarkshire Council were held on 3 May 2012 on the same day as the 31 other local authorities in Scotland. The election used the twenty wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with 67 Councillors being elected. Each ward elected either 3 or 4 members, using the STV electoral system.


2012 South Lanarkshire Council election
The election saw Labour retain their traditional position as the largest party on the Council as they gained 3 seat from 2007 to be just 1 seat short of an overall majority. The Scottish National Party also increased their representation and remained in second place on the authority with 4 net gains. The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party were the biggest losers, falling from 8 seats to just 3. Independents lost a seat to return to the Council with 2 seats. The Scottish Liberal Democrats lost 1 seat to be reduced to a solitary member. Following the election the Labour Party again formed an administration.


2012 South Lanarkshire Council election
In February 2013, Labour gained overall control of South Lanarkshire Council after winning a Rutherglen South by-election from the SNP.


2012 South Lanarkshire Council election, Election result
Note: "Votes" are the sum of first preference votes across all council wards. The net gain/loss and percentage changes relate to the result of the previous Scottish local elections on 3 May 2007. This is because STV has an element of proportionality which is not present unless multiple seats are being elected. This may differ from other published sources showing gain/loss relative to seats held at dissolution of Scotland's councils.


2012 South Ossetian presidential election
Presidential elections were held in South Ossetia on 25 March 2012, with a second round on 8 April. The election selected the first full president since the country gained partial international recognition.


2012 South Ossetian presidential election, Background
The date was set by the parliament after the 2011 election was annulled by the Supreme Court after Alla Dzhioyeva was disqualified following allegations of electoral violations by Anatoly Bibilov. A deal was reached on 9 December 2011 under which the incumbent Kokoity stepped down at the end of his mandate and was replaced by Prime Minister Vadim Brovtsev as acting president. Though Dzhioyeva was previously barred from running again, she was allowed to register in the re-run of the election. However, Kokoity and his supporters reneged on parts of the deal, calling into question the stability of the compromise.


2012 South Ossetian presidential election, Candidates
No candidate participating in the 2011 election registered, including the previous leaders Dzihoyeva and Bibilov. There were four registered candidates:


2012 South Ossetian presidential election, Candidates
Dzhioyeva did not register to run in the election after she was in hospital with allegations of being beaten and held against her will.


2012 South Ossetian presidential election, Campaign
Tibilov and Sanakoyev disagreed with former President Eduard Kokoity who said that South Ossetia would eventually be a part of Russia. Sanakoyev said: "In November–December [2011], it became very clear that those supported by Kokoity did not win. Everyone saw it."


2012 South Ossetian presidential election, Opinion poll
A week before the election, an opinion poll by the IR media centre suggested Medoyev or Tibilov would win.


2012 South Ossetian presidential election, Monitors
In addition to Russian observers the election commission said that it would call on the Council of Europe.


2012 South Ossetian presidential election, Results
With 40% of the votes counted, Tibilov was in the lead with 42.5% of the votes, Sanakoyev followed with 24.6% of the votes, Medoyev was third with 23.80% of the votes and Kochiyev trailed with 5.62% of votes counted. First round turnout was over 65%, with expatriate voting still to be counted. Without an absolute winner the election was set for a run off.


2012 South Ossetian presidential election, Results
The second round occurred on Easter with 84 voting centres opening at 8:00 for the 35,000 registered voters. The preliminary result with 95.64% of the ballots counted, indicated Tibilov winning with 53.74%, or 15,257, of the votes, with Sanakoyev getting 42.98%, or 12,272, of the votes.


2012 South Ossetian presidential election, Results, Reactions
After the first round, Tibilov said that "today's figures show that my candidacy is taken normally. Let's hope the second round confirms this." He also denied having Russian backing, but said that he would consult Russia in choosing his new government.


2012 South Sydney Rabbitohs season
The 2012 South Sydney Rabbitohs season was the 103rd in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2012 Telstra Premiersip under rookie coach Michael Maguire and finished the regular season 3rd (out of 16), Having made the finals for the 2nd since 1989, the Rabbitohs then came to within one game of the 2012 NRL Grand final but were knocked out of contention by eventual grand finalists the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.


2012 South Sydney Rabbitohs season, Pre-season
The Rabbitohs played three pre-season games in 2012. The Rabbitohs were initially planned to play the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks at the fourth annual Return to Redfern, then the Warrington Wolves in Coffs Harbour. However, due to a scheduling clash with Warrington's first season match, the games were rescheduled. The changes meant the clash with Warrington would need to be in late January, and Redfern Oval played host to its first international match in the re-developed configuration. At the clash, in front of a sold-out crowd, the head coach, Michael Maguire announced the new captaincy arrangement, and presented the 2012 squad.


2012 South Sydney Rabbitohs season, Pre-season
On the field, Warrington held onto a late comeback by South Sydney to win 34 points to 28. A fortnight later, at the conclusion of the annual 'Camp Rabbitoh' pre-season training camp in Coffs Harbour, the Rabbitohs played the 2011 Grand Finalists, the New Zealand Warriors, in which South Sydney were again beaten by 8 points. In the final pre-season clash, the Rabbitohs took on the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the annual Charity Shield clash at ANZ Stadium. The match, in which South Sydney were defeated by 6 points, drew over 21,000 fans, and was again the only pre-season clash to be televised.


2012 South Sydney Rabbitohs season, Regular season
While the Rabbitohs got off to a rocky start to 2012 under new coach Michael Maguire, losing 3 of their first 4 games. With the heir-apparent to the fullback position, Nathan Merritt, out for the first 7 rounds, and a struggling Dylan Farrell playing out of position, coach Maguire moved Greg Inglis to fullback in the 40–24 thrashing of Penrith, setting their season alight. From the next 17 games, South Sydney managed to lose only 4, and all bar one were closely fought losses, won in the dying minutes of the game.


2012 South Sydney Rabbitohs season, Regular season
In Round 19, South Sydney fought out one of the wins of the season, pipping the Sydney Roosters with 2 back-to-back tries within the last 3 minutes of the game, a feat which the Roosters had pulled in Round 1 over South Sydney. The team experienced a minor hiccup losing back-to-back games in Round 23/24 for only the second time all year. South Sydney bounced back however, with an inspiring victory over the Parramatta Eels in which Greg Inglis posted one of the best individual performances of all time, as measured by Sportsdata's CVR Ratings. The Rabbitohs then wrapped up their first Top 4 spot since 1989 with a win over Newcastle.


2012 South Sydney Rabbitohs season, Finals Series
After finishing the season proper in third place, the Rabbitohs travelled to Melbourne to take on the second placed Storm. Souths put in an uncharacteristically poor performance, with Melbourne rolling Souths 24–6, with the only Rabbitohs try going to forward Eddy Pettybourne, for his first try of the year. Despite the loss, South Sydney proceeded through to an Elimination final against the Canberra Raiders at ANZ Stadium. Against a home crowd, Souths turned in a dominant performance, piling on 38 points; tries going to Adam Reynolds, Sam Burgess, Dylan Farrell, and a double to Andrew Everingham.


2012 South Sydney Rabbitohs season, Finals Series
Additionally, a rare penalty try was awarded to Greg Inglis, after Canberra's Blake Ferguson tackled Inglis without the ball as he was about to receive an offload from forward Luke Burgess. During the game, halfback and Rookie of the Year Adam Reynolds kicked 7/8 goals to become only the second South Sydney player to score more than 200 points in a season. Souths then moved on to a Grand Final Qualifier against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, played in front of a bumper crowd of more than 70,000. The Rabbitohs scored their only try through Issac Luke, however after halfback Adam Reynolds left the field with a hamstring injury, the momentum of the game swung and the Bulldogs surged ahead to end the Rabbitohs season.


2012 South Sydney Rabbitohs season, Current squad
The following list comprises players who are in the Rabbitohs full-time first-grade squad for the 2012 season in the NRL Telstra Premiership.


2012 South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council election
The 2012 South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 3 May 2012 to elect members of South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council in England. This was on the same day as other 2012 United Kingdom local elections. One third (18) of the seats were being contested, of which Labour won 17, and the Conservatives one.


2012 South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council election, Ward results, Hebburn North ward
In 2008, Joe Abbott stood, and won, in this ward as a Liberal Democrat candidate.


2012 Southampton City Council election
The 2012 Southampton Council election took place on Thursday 3 May 2012 to elect members of Southampton City Council in Hampshire, England. One third of the council (16 seats) was scheduled for election, whilst two additional vacancies, caused by the resignation of sitting councillors, were also filled in Bitterne Park and Peartree wards, meaning a total of 18 of the city's 48 seats were elected.


2012 Southampton City Council election
The ruling Conservative party had come under intense public scrutiny for their sweeping programme of privatisation of council services and implementing pay cuts to council jobs, which led to union disputes. Labour won a majority of the seats being contested, and also gained overall control of the council from the Conservatives.


2012 Southampton City Council election, Election result
This summary box compares each party vote share with the corresponding elections in 2008, the last elections at which the majority of this tranche of seats were elected.


2012 Southeast Asian Swimming Championships
Swimming at the 2012 Southeast Asian Swimming Championships was held 13–17 June in Singapore. It consisted of 38 events, swum in a long course (50m) pool.


2012 Southeast Asian Swimming Championships, Diving
20 divers competed from Singapore and Malaysia and Indonesia in 8 events. Team Singapore took away 3 silver and 3 bronze medals from this competition.


2012 Southeast Missouri State Redhawks football team
The 2012 Southeast Missouri State Redhawks football team represented Southeast Missouri State University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by seventh-year head coach Tony Samuel and played their home games at Houck Stadium. They are a member of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 3–8, 2–6 in OVC play to finish the season in seventh place.


2012 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament
The 2012 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament was held at Regions Park in Hoover, Alabama from May 22–27, 2012.


2012 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament, Seeding
The top ten teams (based on conference results) from the conference earned invites to the tournament.


2012 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament, Format
The 2012 tournament increased the number of teams from eight to ten. The event ran from Tuesday through Sunday. Regular season division champions received byes on Tuesday. Games played from Tuesday to Friday were double elimination. Saturday's games featured semifinal match-ups with no "if necessary" games, like in years past. Winners of the two semi-final games faced each other during Sunday's championship game.


2012 Southeastern Conference football season
The 2012 Southeastern Conference football season began on August 30 with South Carolina visiting Vanderbilt, and concluded with the BCS National Championship Game on January 7, 2013. It was also the first season of play for former Big 12 Conference members Texas A&M and Missouri. Texas A&M plays in the West Division, while Missouri plays in the East Division, although, geographically, Missouri is one of the conference's westernmost teams.


2012 Southeastern Conference football season, Preseason
Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino was fired in early April for lying about his affair with an Arkansas employee after a motorcycle accident that he had on April that left him four broken ribs, a cracked vertebra in his neck and numerous abrasions on his face. In the press conference announcing the termination, Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long said, "(Petrino) made the decision to mislead the public, (and it) adversely affected the university and the football program." In Petrino's place, Assistant Coach Taver Johnson will serve as interim coach through the end of spring practice.


2012 Southeastern Conference football season, Preseason
After the firing of Bobby Petrino in April 2012, there was considerable media speculation that Smith would return to Arkansas. This was confirmed on April 23 when multiple media outlets reported that Smith had indeed agreed to succeed Petrino. He was introduced as Arkansas' 29th full-time head coach the next day. Smith signed a 10-month contract, leading to speculation that he was only taking the post on an interim basis for the 2012 season. The Razorbacks' formal announcement described him as "head coach", without any qualifiers; however, it also indicated that Smith's hiring would allow Arkansas to hire "a head coach for the future of the program" in a more appropriate timeframe following the 2012 season.


2012 Southeastern Conference football season, Preseason
At the end of the 2011 season it was announced that Head Coach Houston Nutt resigned from the position of head coach at Ole Miss. His resignation became official once the season ended. In his place, Ole Miss hired Arkansas State Head Coach Hugh Freeze.


2012 Southeastern Conference football season, Regular season
Rankings reflect that of the AP poll for that week until week eight when the BCS rankings will be used.


2012 Southeastern Conference football season, Regular season, Week One
Texas A&M's matchup with Louisiana Tech University was rescheduled to October 13 by agreement of the schools due to the potential impact of Hurricane Isaac on Shreveport, Louisiana, where the game was to be held.


2012 Southeastern Conference football season, SEC vs AQ-conference matchups, Bowl games
Nine SEC teams became bowl eligible, and all were selected for post-season competition. SEC teams are bolded.


2012 Southeastern Conference football season, Awards and honors, All-SEC Teams
The Southeastern Conference coaches voted for the All-SEC teams after the regular season concluded. Prior to the 2012 SEC Championship Game the teams were released. Alabama had the most representatives on the 2012 All-SEC Coaches’ Football Team, the league office announced on Tuesday. Alabama had eight total members, including six on the first team. Florida was close behind with seven, while Eastern Division Champion Georgia and Tennessee had six each.


2012 Southeastern Conference football season, Awards and honors, All-SEC Teams
Ten of the 14 SEC schools had a member on the first-team All-SEC squad. Alabama led with six, while Florida had five and Texas A&M with four. LSU, South Carolina and Texas A&M had five total members on the annual list, while Mississippi State was next with four total selections.


2012 Southeastern Conference football season, Awards and honors, All-SEC Teams
Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.


2012 Southeastern Conference football season, Home attendance
Games played at Arkansas' secondary home stadium War Memorial Stadium, capacity: 54,120.


2012 Southeastern Conference football season, Home attendance
Attendance was 84,644 for the Florida vs. Georgia game in Jacksonville


2012 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team
The 2012 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team represented Southeastern Louisiana University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Lions were led by new head coach Ron Roberts  and played their home games at Strawberry Stadium. They are a member of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 5–6, 5–2 in Southland play to finish in third place.


2012 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team, Media
All Lions games can be heard on KSLU 90.9 FM and online at LionSports.net.


2012 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team, Game summaries, Missouri
The Lions open the season for Ron Roberts on the road against the Missouri Tigers. It will be the first ever meeting between the two schools.


2012 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team, Game summaries, South Dakota State
The Lions first home game comes against South Dakota State. This is the first of a home-and-home series and is the first ever meeting between the two schools. The Lions will head to South Dakota in 2013 to continue this series.


2012 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team, Game summaries, UT Martin
The Skyhawks and the Lions clash for the 6th time in school history with this 2012 contest. Currently the Lions lead the series 4–1.


2012 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team, Game summaries, McNeese State
The Lions try to end a long losing streak against McNeese in 2012. The series looks fairly lose with McNeese holding a 22–15 record against the Lions, but recent history has the Cowboys dominating the Lions as they have won 6 straight.


2012 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team, Game summaries, Lamar
Lamar may be a fairly new rival for the Lions, but they have a 3–1 record overall against Southeastern Louisiana. The last win for Southeastern Louisiana over Lamar was back in 1969.


2012 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team, Game summaries, UAB
Non -conference play concludes to begin October as the Lions and Blazers face each other for the first time.


2012 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team, Game summaries, Northwestern State
The Lions and Demons have had a long and close series overall with this being the 44th meeting. The Demons own a slim 22–21 advantage in the overall series.


2012 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team, Game summaries, Central Arkansas
The sixth contest between the Lions and Bears finds the Lions wanting to turn this series around. The Bears own a 4–1 advantage and have won two straight.


2012 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team, Game summaries, Sam Houston State
As conference play begins to wind down, the Lions and Bearkats meet for the 13th time with the Bearkats owning an 8–4 advantage.


2012 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team, Game summaries, Stephen F. Austin
The final home game features the 15th meeting between the Lumberjacks and Lions. The Lumberjacks own a slim 8–5–1 advantage in the overall series.


2012 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team, Game summaries, Nicholls State
The River Bell Classic ends the regular season for the Lions as they meet their main rival- the Colonels. It's the 22nd meeting with the Colonels owning a 12–9 advantage in the series. The Lions will attempt to push their win streak over the Colonels to two straight.


2012 Southend-on-Sea Borough Council election
The 2012 Southend-on-Sea Council election took place on 3 May 2012 to elect members of the Southend-on-Sea Borough Council in England. This was the same day as other 2012 United Kingdom local elections.


2012 Southern 100 Races
The 2012 Southern 100 held between Monday 9 July and Thursday 12 July on the 4.25-mile Billown Circuit near Castletown, Isle of Man.


2012 Southern 100 Races, Results, Race Results, Race 10; 2012 Southern 100 Races Solo Championship final standings
Thursday 12 July 2012 9 laps – 42.50 miles Billown Circuit


2012 Southern 100 Races, Results, Race Results, Race 10; 2012 Southern 100 Races Solo Championship final standings
Fastest Lap and New Course Record: Michael Dunlop, 2' 14.702 113.584 mph on lap 6


2012 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament
The 2012 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament took place at Fluor Field at the West End in Greenville, SC from May 23 through May 27. The final game was televised on ESPN3


2012 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament
The tournament used a double-elimination format. Only the top eight teams in the conference standings participated, leaving three UNC Greensboro, Wofford, and Davidson out.


2012 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament
Samford went 4-0 to win the tournament, clinching the conference's automatic berth in the 2012 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament and the school's first ever Regional appearance. 2012 also marks the school's first baseball championship since joining the Southern Conference in 2008.


2012 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2012 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament will take place between Friday, March 2 and Monday, March 5 in Asheville, North Carolina, at the U.S. Cellular Center. The semifinals will be televised by SoConTV, with the Southern Conference Championship Game televised by ESPN2.


2012 Southern Conference Men's Soccer Tournament
The 2012 Southern Conference Men's Soccer Tournament is the seventeenth edition of the tournament. The tournament decided the Southern Conference champion and guaranteed representative into the 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. The tournament was held November 3–10, 2012. Top-seed Elon defeated 7th-seed Wofford 2–1 in the Championship game.


2012 Southern Conference football season
The 2012 Southern Conference football season, part of the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season competition of college football, began on Thursday, August 30, 2012 with Western Carolina hosting Mars Hill. The regular season concluded on November 17, while  Georgia Southern, Appalachian State, and Wofford qualified for the NCAA Division I Football Championship.


2012 Southern Conference football season
Appalachian State was eliminated in the first round at the hands of Illinois State. Wofford was subsequently eliminated the following week, losing to North Dakota State 14–7, and Georgia Southern, after defeating Central Arkansas and Old Dominion in the previous two weeks, fell to the Bison as well on December 14 in the tournament semifinals, 23–20.


2012 Southern Conference football season, Preseason Poll Results, Preseason All-Conference Teams
Offensive Player of the Year: Eric Breitenstein, Sr., RBDefensive Player of the Year: Brent Russell, Sr., DL


2012 Southern Conference football season, Regular season
Rankings reflect that of the Sports Network poll for that week.


2012 Southern Illinois Salukis football team
The 2012 Southern Illinois Salukis football team represented Southern Illinois University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fifth year head coach Dale Lennon and played their home games at Saluki Stadium. They are a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They finished the season 6–5, 5–3 in MVFC play to finish in a three way tie for third place.


2012 Southern Jaguars football team
The 2012 Southern Jaguars football team represented Southern University as a member of the West Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Jaguars were led by third-year head coach Stump Mitchell out the outset of the season, but after an 0–2 start, Mitchell was fired and defensive coordinator Dawson Odums was named interim head coach for the rest of the season. The Jaguars played their home games at Ace W. Mumford Stadium. They finished the season with an overall record of 4–7 and mark of 3–6 in conference play, tying for second place in the SWAC's West Division.


2012 Southern Jaguars football team, Media
All Southern Jaguars football games were broadcast on KQXL-FM 106.5 with Chris Powers (play-by-play), Gerald Kimble (analyst), and Eric Randall (sideline) calling the Jaguar Action.


2012 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team
The 2012 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team represented the University of Southern Mississippi in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a member of the East Division of Conference USA. They were led by first-year head coach Ellis Johnson and played their home games at M. M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The 2012 squad finished the season winless with a final record of 0–12 and after only one year at the helm, Johnson along with his entire staff was fired.


2012 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team, Game summaries, Louisville
Last meeting was in the 2010 Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl.


2012 Southern Thailand bombings
The 2012 Southern Thailand bombings were a series of bombings that took place in Yala, Yala Province and in Hat Yai, Songkhla Province, on 31 March 2012.


2012 Southern Thailand bombings, Attacks, Yala
The first attack involved a truck bomb that ripped through a busy shopping district in Yala. About 20 minutes later, a second bomb planted in a motorcycle exploded as rescuers convened at the site of the original bombing. Later, a third explosion from a device placed in a car set fire to nearby buildings. About 11 people were killed and 110 wounded by the blasts, with the second explosion causing a majority of casualties.


2012 Southern Thailand bombings, Attacks, Hat Yai
Following the bombings in Songkhla, an explosion in the basement Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel damaged that building and an adjacent McDonald's in Hat Yai, killing at least four and leaving 416 wounded, mainly from smoke inhalation. It was first reported to be the cause of a gas leak but later was attributed to a car bomb. The bombing was regarded by some sources as an escalation in the insurgency because its target was a hotel popular with tourists from Malaysia and Singapore.


2012 Southern Thailand bombings, Suspects
The attacks have been regarded by most major news outlets as part of the broader South Thailand insurgency. While no terrorist organisation took responsibility for the bombings, the most likely culprit is the Gerakan Mujahidin Islam Patani (GMIP) separatist movement, which is a splinter group of the Gerakan Mujahidin Pattani.


2012 Southern Thailand bombings, Suspects
According to security sources, Sahudin Tohjehmae was suspected to carry out the three bomb attacks with the help of Saifulloh Sahfru, a terrorist suspect who is a friend of Faisol Hayisama-ae, who was suspected of carrying out the bomb attack at Hat Yai International Airport in 2005.


2012 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team
The 2012 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team represented Southern Utah University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fifth year head coach Ed Lamb and played their home games at Eccles Coliseum. This was their first year as a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 5–6, 4–4 in Big Sky play.


2012 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team, Media
All Thunderbirds football games will be broadcast live on KSUU. They will be streamed online at . All conference road games and all home games not on Root will be streamed via .


2012 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament
The 2012 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament took place from May 23–26. The top eight regular season finishers of the league's twelve teams met in the double-elimination tournament held at Texas State University–San Marcos's Bobcat Ballpark in San Marcos, Texas. Texas–Arlington won their third Southland Conference Baseball Championship by a score of 13-4 and earned the conference's automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


2012 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament, Seeding and format
The top eight finishers from the regular season will be seeded one through eight.


2012 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament, All-Tournament Team, Most Valuable Player
Travis Sibley was named Tournament Most Valuable Player. Sibley was a third baseman for Texas–Arlington.


2012 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2012 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, a part of the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, will take place March 7, 8 and 10, 2012 at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas The winner of the tournament will receive the Southland Conference's automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA Tournament.


2012 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
Tournament seeding, 1 through 8, was based upon regular-season winning percentage regardless of divisional place in Conference competition. The quarterfinals were broadcast online by the Conference's Internet streamer, SLC Now. The semi-finals were broadcast regionally on SLC TV and nationally on ESPN3 while the championship game was broadcast nationally on ESPN2 and ESPN3.


2012 Southland Conference Softball Tournament
The 2012 Southland Conference tournament was held at Roadrunner Field on the campus of the University of Texas at San Antonio in San Antonio, Texas from May 11 through May 13, 2012 after heavy rainfall in the San Antonio area forced a postponement of the tournament start. The tournament winner, Texas State Bobcats, earned the Southland Conference's automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament. The Championship game was broadcast on ESPN3 with the remainder of the tournament streaming on SLC NOW. The championship game was called by Lincoln Rose and Chris Mycoskie.


2012 Southland Conference Softball Tournament, Format
The top 6 teams qualified for the Southland Softball Tournament. The tournament was played in a double-elimination format with a maximum of eleven games.


2012 Southland Conference Softball Tournament, Line Scores, Day Two, Game 5 (UTSA vs Texas A&M-Corpus Christi)
Pesina, V. faced 1 batter in the 6th. [ Boxscore]


2012 Southland Conference Softball Tournament, Line Scores, Day Two, Semi-Final Game Two (Sam Houston State vs McNeese State)
Lilly, B. faced 2 batters in the 4th. [ Boxscore]


2012 Southwestern Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament
The 2012 Southwestern Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament took place at Lee–Hines Field, on the campus of Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA from May 16 through May 20, 2012. The Prairie View A&M Panthers won their third tournament championship and earned the conference's automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


2012 Southwestern Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament
The double elimination tournament featured the top four teams from each division, leaving one team from each division out of the field.


2012 Southwestern Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament, Seeding
The top four finishers in each division were seeded one through four, with the top seed from each division facing the fourth seed from the opposite division in the first round, and so on. Alcorn State claimed the second seed from the East by tiebreaker over Alabama State. The teams played a two bracket, double-elimination tournament with a one-game final between the winners of each bracket.


2012 Southwestern Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament, All-Tournament Team, Most Valuable Player
Evan Richard was named Most Valuable Player. Richard was a catcher for Prairie View A&M.


2012 Spa-Francorchamps GP2 and GP3 Series rounds
The 2012 Spa-Francorchamps GP2 Series round and the 2012 Spa-Francorchamps GP3 Series round was a group of motor races held at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps near Spa in Belgium for the GP2 and GP3 Series championships. The races, held on 1 and 2 September, were in support of the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix. The GP2 races were the tenth round of the 2012 GP2 championship, while the GP3 races formed the seventh round of the 2012 GP3 season.


2012 Spanish Athletics Championships
The 2012 Spanish Athletics Championships was the 92nd edition of the national championship in outdoor track and field for Spain. It was held on 25 and 26 August at the Estadio Larrabide in Pamplona, Navarra. It did not serve as a national selection meeting that year, as it took place after the 2012 Summer Olympics. A total of 564 athletes (305 men and 259 women) from 102 clubs competed at the event.


2012 Spanish Athletics Championships
The club championships in relays and combined track and field events were contested separately from the main competition.


2012 Spanish Figure Skating Championships
The 2012 Spanish Figure Skating Championships (Spanish: Campeonato De España De Patinaje Sobre Hielo 2011-12) was held from 17 to 19 December 2011 in Jaca. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, and ice dancing on the senior, junior, and novice levels. The results may be used as part of Spain's selection process for the 2012 World Championships and the 2012 European Championships.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix
The 2012 Spanish Grand Prix (formally the Formula 1 Gran Premio de España Santander 2012) was a Formula One motor race held on 13 May 2012, at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló, Spain, attended by 82,000 people. It was the fifth round of the 2012 Formula One World Championship and the 22nd time the Spanish Grand Prix took place at the track. Williams entrant Pastor Maldonado won the 66-lap event from pole position. It was Maldonado's maiden and only Formula One victory and the first for a Venezuelan driver. He was followed by Fernando Alonso who finished in second driving for Ferrari and Lotus' Kimi Räikkönen was third.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix
Sebastian Vettel entered the race as the World Drivers' Championship leader while his team Red Bull were top of the World Constructors' Championship. Lewis Hamilton qualified his McLaren fastest in qualifying; he was excluded from qualifying for breaking the technical regulations on fuel, forcing him to begin the race from the back of the grid. Maldonado thus inherited pole position and was overtaken by Alonso at the start of the Grand Prix.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix
After the first two cycles of pit stops for a new set of tyres, Maldonado undercut Alonso, who remained out for two more laps and was delayed by a slower driver during the second pit stop cycle. On lap 41, Maldonado's third pit stop was slow due to a tyre fitting fault and retook first by passing Răikkönen on lap 47. Alonso overtook Răikkönen on the following lap and drew close to Maldonado; he could not pass Maldonado who maintained the lead for the rest of the race to win. Alonso finished 3.1 seconds behind in second and Răikkönen took third after being put on an alternate strategy intended to give him victory.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix
The victory was the Williams team's first since the 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix and Maldonado was the fifth driver to win a Grand Prix in the season's first five races. Consequently, Vettel and Alonso jointly led the World Drivers' Championship with 61 points each. Hamilton finished eighth, falling from second to third, as Răikkönen's third-place result promoted him from seventh to fourth. Red Bull with 109 points maintained the World Constructors' Championship lead over McLaren and Lotus in second and third respectively with 15 races remaining in the season.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Background
The 2012 Spanish Grand Prix, on 13 May, was the 5th of the 20 races in the 2012 Formula One World Championship and the 22nd edition at the 16-turn 4.655 km (2.892 mi) Circuit de Catalunya, in Montmeló, 25 km (16 mi) north of Barcelona, Catalonia. Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the yellow banded soft and the silver-banded hard dry compound tyres to the race.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Background
The company had been criticised by McLaren team team principal Martin Whitmarsh and Mercedes' Michael Schumacher over the extreme sensitivity of their tyres, and brought a different set of tyres to better demonstrate a difference in performance and tyre durability. The single drag reduction system (DRS) activation zone was placed on the straight linking the final and first corners. For the race, 1 m (3.3 ft) of artificial grass was installed on turn three's verge and the turn five exit kerb was lengthened by 50 m (160 ft).


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Background
Before the race, Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel led the World Drivers' Championship with 53 points, ahead of McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and Vettel's teammate Mark Webber in second and third. Hamilton's teammate Jenson Button and Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso tied for fourth position with 43 points. Red Bull led the World Constructors' Championship with 101 points; McLaren and Lotus were second and third with a respective 92 and 57 points. Ferrari stood in fourth with 45 points and Mercedes were fifth with 37 points.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Background
Starting on 1 May and ending two days later, the teams conducted a three-day test at the Mugello Circuit in Italy ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix. The test gave teams the opportunity to assess major aerodynamic and mechanical upgrades and the behaviour of tyres. The HRT team elected not to take part in the test, choosing to concentrate on establishing themselves at their new headquarters at the Caja Mágica in Madrid instead. Alonso was fastest on the first day of testing on a drying circuit. Lotus driver Romain Grosjean and Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi set identical lap times to go quickest on the second day of testing. Vettel was quickest on the morning of the final day and Grosjean led the afternoon session.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Background
The championship had so far been tumultuous with four different drivers winning the first four rounds of the season. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said he felt consistency across races which teams could not win would determine the championship winner:


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Background
We’ve consistently managed to be scoring pretty decent points in the first four races. We’ve had four fourth places with Mark (Webber), we’ve had a second, a first, a fifth and an 11th with Sebastian dropping that place with the backmarker [in Malaysia]. And that puts us into the lead of the drivers' and constructors' championship after the flyways, which is certainly not what we were expecting after the first couple of races, so it just shows if you maintain your focus and teamwork, that it can pay dividends.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Background
Alonso had won the Malaysian Grand Prix before finishing no higher than seventh in the next two races and falling ten points behind Vettel in the Drivers' Championship. He said updates to his car would potentially improve his performance in Spain and was uncertain as to whether if it would help him: "Having said that, it's not the case that if we are not on pole in Barcelona then it's the end of the world."


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Background
After finishing second at the preceding Bahrain Grand Prix, Räikkönen said his objective was to win the race in Spain: "That is the target for me and the team. We want to win grands prix. We have a good car and we saw in Bahrain it is good enough to win. That's the target."


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Background
Hamilton believed passing would be difficult in Spain and hoped to achieve a good qualifying performance for an easier race, saying: "It's always been a tough place for passing – as I found out last year – but I really hope DRS and KERS-Hybrid combined will make it a little easier."


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Background
A total of 12 teams (each representing a different constructor) each entered two race drivers, with no changes from the season entry list. There were four driver changes for the first practice session. Dani Clos, a test driver for the HRT team, was allowed by team principal Luis Pérez-Sala to drive Narain Karthikeyan's HRT F112 car for the first time in an official Formula One session. Alexander Rossi of the Formula Renault 3.5 Series made his debut in a practice session for the Caterham team in Heikki Kovalainen's CT01 vehicle. He was the first American to partake in a Formula One race weekend since Scott Speed in 2007. Williams reserve driver and 2011 GP3 Series champion Valtteri Bottas drove Bruno Senna's car, and Force India reserve driver Jules Bianchi drove in lieu of Paul di Resta.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Practice
Per the regulations for the 2012 season, three practice sessions were held, two 90-minute sessions on Friday morning and afternoon and another 60-minute session on Saturday morning. In the first practice session, which took place in clear and warm weather, Alonso lapped fastest with a time of 1 minute, 24.430 seconds with 21 minutes to go. Vettel, who was quickest for 15 minutes, Kobayashi, Button, Bottas, Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher, Grosjean, Hamilton, Räikkönen and Force India's Nico Hülkenberg occupied positions two to ten. The HRT car of Pedro de la Rosa bottomed out braking for the first corner and removing the right-rear bargeboard. The bodywork was later retrieved from turn one. Clos stopped with a car mechanical problem at the top of the conclusion of the entry to the pit lane.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Practice
Conditions warmed in the second session on Friday afternoon. Button, driving with a chronic understeer, set the day's fastest lap of 1 minute, 23.399 seconds on the soft compound tyres with 55 minutes remaining. Vettel duplicated his first practice result in second, Mercedes' Nico Rosberg was third and Hamilton improved to fourth. The Lotus duo of Räikkönen and Grosjean were fifth and sixth and Webber, Schumacher, Kobayashi and Hülkenberg followed in the top ten. Teams conducted simulations on how their cars would behave in the race. Some drivers ran off the track during the session.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Practice
Webber carried excess speed and drove onto the turn four gravel trap. The floor of Webber's RB8 car accumulated gravel and stones deposited on the racing line after rejoining the circuit via an area of grass between the gravel and a tyre wall. Sergio Pérez went off the track at the same corner in his Sauber car.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Practice
The third session took place in warm and dry weather on Saturday morning. Several drivers led before Vettel set the session's fastest time, a 1-minute, 23.168 seconds on the soft compound tyres. Williams driver Pastor Maldonado set the second-quickest lap and Kobayashi improved to third. Webber, Pérez, Alonso, Toro Rosso driver Jean-Éric Vergne, Button, Räikkönen and Rosberg made up positions four to ten. Grosjean's Lotus car lost power due to a sudden loss in fuel pressure that stalled his engine at turn ten 17 minutes into the session. His session ended early because mechanics were unable to rectify the problem.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Practice
After the session, Schumacher and Hamilton were summoned to the stewards to discuss an incident in which the latter ran wide at turn 13 and rejoined the track in front of the former before slowing at the apex to turn 15. The stewards imposed a reprimand on Schumacher after agreeing it was a minor incident.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Qualifying
Saturday afternoon's qualifying session was split into three parts. The first session ran for 20 minutes, eliminating cars that finished 18th or lower. The second session lasted 15 minutes, eliminating cars that finished 11th to 17th. The final ten-minute session determined pole position to tenth. Cars that qualified for the final session had to start the race on the tyres with which they set their quickest lap times in the session. Conditions were warm and dry for qualifying. The track got faster by around eight-tenths of a second per lap rather than the usual three-tenths of a second.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Qualifying
Unlike other fast drivers, Hamilton did two timed laps and beat Alonso and Maldonado to take what would have been his third pole position of 2012, the 22nd of his career and McLaren's 150th in Formula One with a time of 1 minute, 21.707 seconds. Maldonado qualified provisional second despite an untidy lap while Alonso saved a set of soft tyres and set the third-fastest lap. Grosjean used a setup from what Lotus learnt the day before to take fourth. His teammate Räikkönen, fifth, made minor errors during his lap on the soft tyres.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Qualifying
Pérez was the faster Sauber driver in sixth, with Rosberg seventh after one lap set early in the third session on a new set of left-hand tyres and used right-hand compounds. Vettel and Schumacher in eighth and ninth both elected not to complete a full lap in the third session as a tyre-saving measure for the race. Kobayashi, tenth, suffered a hydraulic leak en route to the pit lane at the conclusion of the second session, causing his team Sauber to instruct him to stop his car to ensure it sustained no further damage.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Qualifying
Button, 11th, was the fastest driver not to qualify for the final session due to a unbalanced car with understeer in high-speed corners and an unstable rear entering slower speed turns when McLaren added angle to his front wing. Red Bull misjudged how much the track would improve and Webber was told to not exit the pit lane for a second timed lap, leaving him 12th after going second early in the second session.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Qualifying
Force India's Di Resta and Hülkenberg were 13th and 14th; the aerodynamic balance on Di Resta's car was altered for his final lap of the second session. Vergne in 15th qualified higher than his teammate Ricciardo in 16th for the first time in the season after Toro Rosso modified their cars overnight. Ferrari's Felipe Massa registered his lowest starting position since the 2010 Singapore Grand Prix in 17th due to heavy traffic during his preparation and slowing his final timed lap of the second session.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Qualifying
Senna in 18th failed to advance beyond the first session due to spinning his car into the gravel trap at turn 12 in a bid to qualify for the second session at the conclusion of the first. Vitaly Petrov, 19th, located a balance on the soft tyres and kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) mapping made him happier braking in his Caterham but ran wide at turn three. He qualified ahead of his teammate Heikki Kovalainen in 20th for the first time in 2012; Kovalainen lost time through an error at turn three.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Qualifying
Charles Pic in 21st beat his Marussia teammate Timo Glock in 22nd by four-tenths of a second, as the latter made an error and had tyre problems. An improved car balance put Pedro de la Rosa of the HRT team in 23rd, while a flat-spotted tyre caused by Karthikeyan spinning at turn three hindered his teammate. Karthikeyan failed to qualify within 107 per cent of Hamilton's fastest time in the first session as a result of a loose rooftoop cowling housing a camera.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Qualifying, Post-qualifying
Hamilton was instructed to stop his car en route to the pit lane because of a lack of fuel to provide the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; Formula One's governing body) a sample, since the refuelling mechanic mistakenly turned a switch to drain Hamilton's car of fuel rather than add some in. The FIA technical delegate reported Hamilton to the stewards for the irregularity. McLaren technical director Sam Michael argued to the stewards that force majeure caused Hamilton to stop on the track but they rejected the argument and deemed the team to have broken the technical regulations on refuelling.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Qualifying, Post-qualifying
Hamilton was therefore ordered to start at the back of the grid and every driver behind him gained one position. This gave Maldonado the first pole position of his career and the Williams team their first since the 2010 Brazilian Grand Prix. The stewards allowed Karthikeyan to start the race after deeming him capable of lapping within the 107 per cent limit in the third practice session.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Qualifying, Qualifying classification
The fastest lap in each of the three sessions is denoted in bold.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Race
The race took place in the afternoon from 14:00 local time, and was attended by 82,000 spectators. A lighting thunderstorm fell on the track overnight but the weather became clear and dry before turning overcast prior to the start of the Grand Prix. The air temperature was between 22 and 23 °C (72 and 73 °F) and the track temperature from 32 to 35 °C (90 to 95 °F); weather reports suggested the possibility of rain during the event.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Race
Every driver began on the soft compound tyres; due to improved wear of the tyres in 2012, it appeared more likely drivers would make three pit stops not four observed in 2011. When the race commenced, Maldonado's clutch slipped more than he expected and he turned right to block Alonso. He pushed Alonso onto the grass but the latter kept accelerating and took the lead from Maldonado on the inside entering the first corner. Pérez overtook Grosjean but the two made contact, puncturing the former's rear-left tyre. He controlled the car on the outside of turn three. At turn four, Rosberg overtook Grosjean for fourth place, and Rosberg's teammate Schumacher began challenging Grosjean for sixth soon after passing Vettel for seventh. Hamilton moved from 24th to 20th by the end of the first lap while Massa made up five positions over the same distance.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Race
At the first lap's conclusion, Alonso led Maldonado by 1.3 seconds with Räikkönen third, Rosberg fourth and Grosjean fifth. Pérez made a pit stop to switch to the hard compound tyres and rejoined the race at the back of the field. Pic lost control of his car exiting turn three but continued without other drivers striking his car.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Race
At the front, Maldonado spent the early laps behind Alonso and not attempting to pass him but remaining as far back as possible to avoid being affected by the aerodynamic turbulence of Alonso's Ferrari to avoid tyre damage and to discover where his car was strong and weak compared to the Ferrari. Alonso was not able to pull clear of Maldonado and began reporting left-hand tyre wear on lap six.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Race
On the following lap, Webber was the first driver to make a scheduled pit stop for the hard compound tyres in a bid to drive without any aerodynamic turbulence affecting his car in his bid to pass Massa. Webber's teammate Vettel followed with a pit stop on the eighth lap and he rejoined the track in 18th on the hard compound tyres. Webber had earlier almost got caught out and avoided hitting the rear of an early braking Karthikeyan trying to pass the HRT driver. Kobayashi, Rosberg and Button followed in due course over the following two laps.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Race
Hamilton forced Hülkenberg to make an driving error at turn nine and passed him for 11th on lap nine. At lap ten's end, Alonso led Maldonado by 1.1 seconds and made his first pit stop for a new set of hard compound tyres. He emerged in third and Maldonado took the lead. Maldonado made his first pit stop to replace his old soft compound tyres at the 11th lap's end, followed by Räikkönen in second. The two exited the pit lane second and third on hard and used soft compound tyres respectively as Alonso retook first.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Race
Räikkönen and his teammate Grosjean drove on used soft tyre; since Lotus thought the lap time difference between the hard and soft tyres would be larger. On lap 12, after Rosberg overtook the yet-to-stop Senna, Grosjean went to the outside of Senna and the two drivers made contact at the first corner, removing part of Grosjean's front wing. Schumacher attempted to draw close to Senna braking for the first corner on the next lap before Schumacher struck the rear of Senna's vehicle following a late attacking move. Schumacher abandoned his car with the front wing folded underneath in the gravel and Senna stopped further around the track and retired.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Race
On the 15th lap, Hamilton had a problematic pit stop from fourth. He struck a detached left-rear tyre leaving his pit box, lifting his car into the air and dropping him to 14th. Grosjean used DRS to pass Rosberg on the outside for sixth into turn one on the next lap; Rosberg delaying Grosjean meant the latter was 20 seconds behind his teammate Räikkönen. Webber lost front load on his front wing, slowing him and dropping him from 9th to 14th behind Di Resta, Vergne, Massa, Hülkenberg and Hamilton during lap 17.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Race
He made a pit stop for a front wing replacement on the lap after and fell to 17th. At the front, Maldonado lapped faster than Alonso and closed the gap from 2.3 seconds to 1.5 seconds by the time Williams chief strategist Mark Barnett asked him to make a second pit stop for a new set of hard compound tyres on the 25th lap. Maldonado rejoined in third, eight seconds behind Räikkönen. Barnett calculated Maldonado could drive 42 laps on his current set of tyres and do another pit stop without losing speed. A wheel problem for Karthikeyan meant he pulled over to the side of the track near the pit lane inside exit to retire.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Race
Alonso was delayed the Pic's slower car entering turn one and he made his second pit stop at the end of lap 26. Williams' strategy enabled Maldonado to pass Alonso who was six seconds behind the former after exiting the pit lane. Räikkönen made his second pit stop from the lead for the hard compound tyres at the conclusion of lap 27 and rejoined the track in third. On lap 28, Vettel and Massa were imposed drive-through penalties for ignoring yellow flags telling them to slow for turn one for Schumacher's stricken car because they deployed DRS.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Race
Massa took his penalty immediately while Vettel served his three laps later. Vettel fell from sixth to ninth, ahead of Hülkenberg and teammate Webber. On lap 32, Maldonado was radioed to manage his rear tyres and maintain his lead of seven seconds over Alonso in second. Alonso remained seven seconds behind Maldonado so as to not to overstress his tyres. During lap 33, Kobayashi overtook Button on the outside entering turn five for seventh with minor contact between the two drivers. Three laps later, Hamilton made his final pit stop for a new set from hard compound tyres from fifth since he pushed hard, wearing his old set of tyres. He rejoined the circuit in heavy traffic in 14th.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Race
Pic was imposed a drive-through penalty for ignoring blue flags for delaying Alonso earlier in the race, but he entered the garage to retire with driveshaft failure on lap 37. On lap 38, Vettel used DRS to pass Button on the outside for seventh at the first corner. Pérez pulled off to the side of the track in the final third of the lap and became the Grand Prix's final retiree with a transmission fault on lap 40.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Race
When Alonso began drawing closer to Maldonado by half a second per lap, Williams chief strategist Mark Barnett asked the latter to stop for a new set of hard compound tyres at lap 41's conclusion. The team had difficulty installing the rear-left wheel, forcing Maldonado to remain stationary for a little longer than expected. Maldonado rejoined the race behind Alonso and Räikkönen in third. Vettel made an pit stop for new tyres and a front wing after sustained damage on the left of the wing on lap 43, falling to 10th.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Race
Maldonado drew closer to the yet-to-stop Räikkönen by a second, as Alonso entered the pit lane for his final tyre stop on lap 45, falling to third. Räikkönen led for two laps until Maldonado deployed DRS to claim the lead into the first corner on lap 47. On the lap after, Alonso passed Räikkönen using DRS on the main straight for second.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Race
Räikkönen, third, made his final pit stop for the hard compound tyres in an strategy that would see him attempt to force Maldonado and Alonso to race beyond the life expectancy of their tyres, allowing him to achieve victory at the last minute. He reemerged in fourth on the 49th lap. By lap 49, Alonso drew to within a second of Maldonado and could use DRS through tyre overuse after the latter was told to slow to preserve his compounds and keep the former in second.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Race
Grosjean made a pit stop from fourth on the 52nd lap to relinquish third to his teammate Räikkönen. The gap between Maldonado and Alonso varied between 1.3 seconds and 0.6 seconds over the following six laps caused by the presence of slower cars as the two drivers were caught by Räikkönen who appeared unlikely to pass them before the race concluded unless their tyres degraded. On the 59th lap, Vettel braked later than Button and passed him on the inside at turn ten for eighth.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Race
The following two laps saw Kobayashi make contact with Rosberg at turn five but he later overtook the Mercedes driver on the inside at the tenth corner for fifth. Vettel withstood Hamilton's defence of seventh to claim the position for himself driving on the outside using DRS entering turn one on lap 63.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Race
On the 65th lap, Vettel passed Rosberg, whose lack of rear grip created wheelspin, on the inside exiting turn eight for sixth. At the front, Maldonado opened up a lead of more than three seconds after Alonso fell back with a feeling of a sudden loss of rear grip which slowed him after mounting the kerbs exiting turn seven with nine laps to go.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Race
He thus finished first to achieve his maiden Formula One victory and the first for a Venezuelan driver in a time of 1 hour, 39 minutes and 9.145 seconds at an average speed of 185.837 km/h (115.474 mph). It was the Williams team's first victory in 130 Grand Prix starts; their previous race win was Juan Pablo Montoya's victory at the 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix. Maldonado was the fifth driver to win a Grand Prix in the season's first five events. Alonso followed 3.195 seconds later in second with Räikkönen third drawing to within 0.689 seconds of Alonso.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Race
Grosjean followed in fourth, ahead of Kobayashi in fifth, Vettel sixth, Rosberg seventh, Hamilton eighth, Button ninth and Hülkenberg tenth. Webber was 11th after failing to pass Hülkenberg in the Grand Prix's final stages. Vergne, Ricciardo, Di Resta after running slower on the hard compound tyres, Massa, Kovalainen, Petrov, Glock and de la Rosa were the final classified finishers.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Post-race
The top three drivers appeared on the podium to collect their trophies and spoke to the media in the subsequent press conference. Maldonado hailed it as "a wonderful day" and described the race as vindication of progress his team had made in the season before: "It was a tough race because of the strategy as well, it was hard especially because of rear tyres, after a couple of laps we were struggling with them, but I need to say I am pretty happy because car was so competitive since the first lap."


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Post-race
Alonso was complimentary towards the spectators and television viewers after finishing second at the Spanish Grand Prix and hoped drivers would realise they need to comply with the regulations after he was delayed by Pic during the event, adding: "It’s more of a penalty the penalty we paid – maybe the race win – but yeah a little bit disappointed."


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Post-race
Räikkönen said he was slightly disappointed to not be competitive enough because he felt the correct strategy would have enabled him to not fall behind too far in the race's final laps but challenge for the lead, adding: "We need, like, ten more laps and then I think we could have been fighting for the win."


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Post-race
Maldonado's victory was celebrated widely in Venezuela, with photographs of his celebrating featured in the Venezuelan press and television. He was elevated to national hero status with residents of the Venezuelan capital Caracas unfurling banners saying "Maldonado, pride of Venezuela!" and blasting car horns to celebrate his victory. Hugo Chávez, the Venezuelan president and a friend of Maldonado's, telephoned the driver on the evening of celebration to offer his congratulations "in the name of Venezuela."


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Post-race
Toto Wolff, a Williams board member, felt Maldonado's performance silenced his critics on his pay driver status and believed his last lap crash at the Australian Grand Prix helped improve his mindset. Conspiracy theories emerged post-race that the Williams team used performing-enhancing tyres supplied to them by Pirelli on Maldonado's car to provide team owner Frank Williams a Grand Prix win a month after his 70th birthday.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Post-race
Team consultant Alexander Wurz dismissed the theory, saying in a 2020 interview with ORF that Williams chief designer Ed Wood and himself were the first to understand how to heat the front tyre over the rim to swiftly resolve the issue of air flow volume cooling the brakes via the rim.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Post-race
The stewards investigated the collision between Schumacher and Senna on lap 13 after the race. They deemed Schumacher wholly responsible for the collision and imposed upon him a five-place grid penalty to be served at the following Monaco Grand Prix. After reviewing television footage, Schumacher was annoyed and said Senna turned right to defend his position before steering left under braking. Senna refuted this, saying he did not expect a collision with Schumacher and turned left because he believed the latter would be on the inside upon observing the Mercedes driver's manoeuvre.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Post-race
Hamilton stated he was pleased with his team bettering the performance of his vehicle and his conserving his tyres and making two pit stops was vindictive of him preserving tyre life: "I was the only one to do a two stopper, despite everyone always telling me how aggressive my driving style is and how much better my team-mate is on tyres than me." Grosjean stated the race start was difficult because he found it hard to get the front of his car working as a result of his first lap front wing damage. Rosberg said tyre management was the issue with his Mercedes team and was bemused it slowed him.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Post-race
As a consequence of the final race positions, Vettel and Alonso were joint leaders in the World Drivers' Championship with 61 points each. Hamilton dropped from second to third with 53 points and Räikkönen's third-place finish promoted him from seventh to fourth with 49 points. Webber's failure to score points demoted him from third to fifth with 48 points. The World Constructors' Championship saw Red Bull maintained their lead with 109 points. McLaren were still second with 98 points and Lotus kept third with 84 points. Ferrari were fourth with 63 points with Mercedes and Williams both holding fifth place with 43 points each with 15 races remaining in the season.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Post-race, Williams garage fire
About 90 minutes after the race, the Williams garage caught fire. Pit crews from the Williams, Force India and Caterham teams were able to bring the blaze under control. Thirty-one people were injured, with seven transferred to local hospitals. All were later released. Early accounts surfaced suggesting that the fire was caused by fuel that exploded while being prepared for a routine post-race inspection.


2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Post-race, Williams garage fire
Photographs taken at the scene showed Senna's car as being the point of origin of the fire, which ignited when a fuel rig used to drain the car started leaking, while other reports suggested that a spark from the KERS unit initiated the blaze. Senna's FW34 car was damaged as a result; Maldonado's car was not in the garage at the time. Teams were reported as lending replacement equipment to Williams for the Monaco Grand Prix, and the team modified its safety procedures concerning the handling of fuel. Maldonado rescued his twelve-year-old cousin Manuel from the fire, as he had a broken foot.


2012 Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix
The 2012 Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix was the second round of the 2012 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 27–29 April 2012 at the Circuito de Jerez, located in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. Casey Stoner won the MotoGP race, while Pol Espargaró and Romano Fenati won the Moto2 and Moto3 races respectively.


2012 Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix, Classification, Moto2
The race was red-flagged after 17 laps due to rain.


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


2012 Spark
2012 Spark is the thirty-fifth single by the Japanese Pop-rock band Porno Graffitti. It was released on February 8, 2012.


2012 Sparkassen Open
The 2012 Sparkassen Open was a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts. It was the 19th edition of the tournament which was part of the 2012 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Braunschweig, Germany between 2 and 8 July 2012.


2012 Sparkassen Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2012 Sparkassen Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received entry as a special exempt into the singles main draw:


2012 Sparkassen Open – Doubles
Martin Emmrich and Andreas Siljeström were the defending champions but decided not to participate. Tomasz Bednarek and Mateusz Kowalczyk won the final against Harri Heliövaara and Denys Molchanov 7–5, 6–7(1–7), [10–8].


2012 Sparkassen Open – Singles
Lukáš Rosol was the defending champion but decided not to participate. Thomaz Bellucci  defeated Tobias Kamke 7–6(7–4), 6–3 in the final to win the tournament.


2012 Sparta Prague Open
The 2012 Sparta Prague Open was a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts. It was the third edition of the tournament which was part of the 2012 ITF Women's Circuit. It took place at the Tennis Club Sparta Prague in Prague, Czech Republic, from 14 to 20 May 2012.


2012 Sparta Prague Open, WTA entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2012 Sparta Prague Open, WTA entrants, Other entrants
The following players received entry into the singles main draw as lucky losers:


2012 Sparta Prague Open – Doubles
Petra Cetkovská and Michaëlla Krajicek were the defending champions, but both chose not to participate.


2012 Sparta Prague Open – Doubles
Alizé Cornet and Virginie Razzano won the title defeating Akgul Amanmuradova and  Casey Dellacqua in the final 6–2, 6–3.


2012 Sparta Prague Open – Singles
Magdaléna Rybáriková was the defending champion, but she withdrew from the competition.


2012 Sparta Prague Open – Singles
Lucie Šafářová defeated Klára Zakopalová in the final 6–3, 7–5.


2012 Speedway European Championship
The 2012 Speedway European Championship was won by Aleš Dryml, Jr. from Czech Republic


2012 Speedway Grand Prix
The 2012 Speedway Grand Prix season was the 67th edition of the official World Championship and the 18th season of the Speedway Grand Prix era, deciding the FIM Speedway World Championship. It was the twelfth series under the promotion of Benfield Sports International, an IMG company. The series began on 31 March in Auckland and finish on 6 October in  Torun.


2012 Speedway Grand Prix
The Australian rider Chris Holder became World Champion, making him the youngest gold medalist since the start of the Speedway Grand Prix series in 1995. Nicki Pedersen returned to the World Championship podium finishing second, while the American veteran Greg Hancock won the bronze medal.


2012 Speedway Grand Prix, Qualification
For the 2012 season there will be 15 permanent riders, joined at each Grand Prix by one wild card and two track reserves.


2012 Speedway Grand Prix, Qualification, 2011 Grand Prix
The top eight riders from the 2011 championship qualified as of right:


2012 Speedway Grand Prix, Qualification, Grand Prix Challenge
The top eight riders from the 2011 championship were joined by three riders who qualified via the Grand Prix Challenge.


2012 Speedway Grand Prix, Qualification, Nominations
The final four riders were nominated by series promoters, Benfield Sports International, following the completion of the 2011 season.


2012 Speedway Grand Prix Qualification
The 2012 Individual Speedway World Championship Grand Prix Qualification were a series of motorcycle speedway meetings used to determine the three riders who qualified for the 2012 Speedway Grand Prix. The top eight riders finishing the 2011 Grand Prix series automatically qualified for 2012. The final round of qualification – the Grand Prix Challenge – took place on 20 August 2011, in Vetlanda, Sweden.


2012 Speedway Grand Prix Qualification, Grand Prix Challenge
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 Speedway Grand Prix of Croatia
The 2012 FIM Fogo Croatian Speedway Grand Prix was the seventh race of the 2012 Speedway Grand Prix season. It took place on July 28 at the Stadium Milenium in Donji Kraljevec, Croatia.


2012 Speedway Grand Prix of Croatia
The Grand Prix was won by Nicki Pedersen who beat Andreas Jonsson, Tomasz Gollob and wild card Jurica Pavlic.


2012 Speedway Grand Prix of Croatia, Riders
The Speedway Grand Prix Commission nominated Bartosz Zmarzlik as Wild Card, and Piotr and Przemysław Pawlicki both as Track Reserves. Injured Jarosław Hampel was replaced by first Qualified Substitutes, Martin Vaculík. The draw was made on July 27.


2012 Speedway Grand Prix of Croatia, Heat details
e: retired or mechanical failure • m: exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance • t: exclusion for touching the tapes • x: other exclusion • f: fellns: non-starter • nc: non-classifySemi-finals: Heat 21: Riders placed 1st, 4th, 6th & 7th in the intermediate classification (after 20 heats)Heat 22: Riders placed 2nd, 3rd, 5th & 8th in the intermediate classification (after 20 heats)Big Final (heat 23): The first and second placed riders in each of the Semi-Finals


2012 Speedway Grand Prix of Czech Republic
The 2012 FIM Mitas Czech Republic Speedway Grand Prix was the third race of the 2012 Speedway Grand Prix season. It took place on May 12 at the Markéta Stadium in Prague, Czech Republic.


2012 Speedway Grand Prix of Czech Republic
The Grand Prix was won by Nicki Pedersen who beat Jason Crump, Tomasz Gollob and Greg Hancock. All four riders was (Hancock is) World Champions.


2012 Speedway Grand Prix of Czech Republic, Riders
The Speedway Grand Prix Commission nominated Josef Franc as Wild Card, and Václav Milík, Jr. and Matěj Kůs both as Track Reserves. The Draw was made on May 11.


2012 Speedway Grand Prix of Czech Republic, Heat details
e: retired or mechanical failure • m: exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance • t: exclusion for touching the tapes • x: other exclusion • f: fellns: non-starter • nc: non-classifySemi-finals: Heat 21: Riders placed 1st, 4th, 6th & 7th in the intermediate classification (after 20 heats)Heat 22: Riders placed 2nd, 3rd, 5th & 8th in the intermediate classification (after 20 heats)Big Final (heat 23): The first and second placed riders in each of the Semi-Finals


2012 Speedway Grand Prix of Denmark
The 2012 FIM Dansk Metal Danish Speedway Grand Prix was the fifth race of the 2012 Speedway Grand Prix season. It took place on 9 June at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark.


2012 Speedway Grand Prix of Denmark
The Grand Prix was won by Jason Crump who beat Fredrik Lindgren, Greg Hancock and Chris Harris. Jarosław Hampel was injured in Heat 1 (right leg' fibula broken) and was out for next four SGP events and World Cup also.


2012 Speedway Grand Prix of Denmark, Riders
The Speedway Grand Prix Commission nominated Michael Jepsen Jensen as Wild Card, and Peter Kildemand and Mikkel B. Jensen both as Track Reserves. The Draw was made on June 8.


2012 Speedway Grand Prix of Denmark, Results, Heat details
e: retired or mechanical failure • m: exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance • t: exclusion for touching the tapes • x: other exclusion • f: fellns: non-starter • nc: non-classifySemi-finals: Heat 21: Riders placed 1st, 4th, 6th & 7th in the intermediate classification (after 20 heats)Heat 22: Riders placed 2nd, 3rd, 5th & 8th in the intermediate classification (after 20 heats)Big Final (heat 23): The first and second placed riders in each of the Semi-Finals


2012 Speedway Grand Prix of Europe
The 2012 FIM Fogo European Speedway Grand Prix was the second race of the 2012 Speedway Grand Prix season. It took place on 28 April at the Alfred Smoczyk Stadium in Leszno, Poland.


2012 Speedway Grand Prix of Europe
The last SGP in Leszno was won by Chris Holder who beat Tomasz Gollob, Jarosław Hampel and Andreas Jonsson in the final.


2012 Speedway Grand Prix of Europe, Riders
The Speedway Grand Prix Commission nominated Przemysław Pawlicki as Wild Card, and Tobiasz Musielak and Piotr Pawlicki, Jr. both as Track Reserves. The Draw was made on 27 April.