Australian Grand Prix;George Harrison as Motor Sport Fan

It's appropriate to write about George Harrison and the Australian Grand Prix at one sitting,because the late musician was also a lifelong motor racing fan.As a child,he collected photos of race car drivers and their cars.Indeed,he attended the 1955 British Grand Prix at Aintree when he was 12.He saw the great drivers Juan Manuel Fangio and Sterling Moss there.In 1979,he attended the Adelaide Grand Prix in Australia,which was won by Ayrton Senna,with Alain Prost second and Damon Hill third.
It's a hobby for me.It's a change from the film or record business,George told Australia's Channel 9.*
The Australian Grand Prix is on Sunday at Albert Park,Melbourne.The first two Free Practice sessions were held Friday.The top three in the first session were Nico Rosberg of Germany (Mercedes),England's Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and Valtteri Bottas of Finland (Williams).Australia's Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) finished in tenth,and his teammate Daniil Kvyat of Russia was eleventh.
In the second Free Practice,Rosberg and Hamilton were again first and second,but Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) of Germany was third fastest.Ricciardo sat the session out while his engine was being changed,but the Russian Kvyat got the sixth fastest time in the Red Bull Renault car.
Two-time Australian Grand Prix champion Fernando Alonso of Spain,who is with McClaren this year,will not be racing because of an injury.
The rest of the broadcast schedule Eastern time on NBCSN is as follows:
Saturday 12:30 am Free Practice 3 (replay)
2:00 am Qualifying Live
Sunday 12:00 am F-1 Countdown Live
12:30 am Race Live
3:00 am F-1 Extra Live
6:00 am Race Encore (replay)
4:00 pm Race Encore (replay)
This year's broadcast crew will be the same as 2014's:Leigh Diffey,David Hobbs and Steve Matchett calling the race and Will Buxton covering the paddock.*
The George Harrison video featured this week was filmed at the second Prince's Trust charity concert at Wembley Arena,London in 1987.Playing alongside Harrison in "Here Comes The Sun" were Ringo Starr,Phil Collins,Jeff Lynne,Eric Clapton and Elton John.Princess Diana was in attendance.

Taking Note:Nicole Scherzinger,Lewis Hamilton,Race To Dubai

Despite being a star for many years,Nicole Scherzinger,36,makes her first appearance in this blog with her video for "Run."For more than a decade,she has been a top performer on both sides of the Atlantic,selling 16 million solo records and 54 million as a member of the girl group The Pussycat Dolls.She has been both a judge and co-host of The X Factor TV programme and had musical theatre roles in "Evita" and "Phantom of the Opera."In 2013,she won a Glamour Award for TV Personality.Born Nicole Prescovia Elikolani Valiente in Honolulu,Hawaii,she is the girlfriend of Formula One race car driver Lewis Hamilton.*
The UK's Lewis Hamilton is the favourite to win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix,as well as the World Driving Championship,in Sunday's race in the UAE.He needs at least a second place finish to take the WDC.His AMG Petronas Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg of Germany will put up a stiff fight for the race win.
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be broadcast on NBCSN at 7:30 am on Sunday,preceded by qualifying at 8 am on Saturday on CNBC.*
Also in the UAE,golf will be prominent as the European Tour's Race To Dubai concludes with the DP World Tour Championship at the Jumeirah Golf Estates.After two rounds,Sweden's Henrik Stenson topped the leader board at ten under par,while World Number One Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland,Richie Ramsay of Scotland and England's Danny Willett shared second place at eight under.

Kesha;Coldplay;Avril Lavigne

In this edition,you get a bonus track-quite a deal.It is Kesha's "TikTok" from her first album "Animal."The song had more than 43 million views as of Friday afternoon,with more than 14 million units sold since its 2010 release.Kesha,born Kesha Rose Sebert,27,has just gotten out of a two-month rehab stint for eating disorders.She is feeling well now and says she has written a ton of new songs.Kesha has also dropped the satirical dollar sign from her first name.Her second album "Warrior" came out in 2012.
To this point,Kesha's had a party girl image.Will that change after her rehab experience?In real life,she has said she is repulsed by the gluttony and excess of a lot of celebrities.*
England's Coldplay has just debuted some new songs,including "Magic," at the SXSW event in Austin,Texas.Their new album "Ghost Stories" is scheduled for release on May 19.The band,led by frontman Chris Martin,formed at University College,London in 1996.They've won five MTV Video Music Awards and seven Grammys over their long career.*
Ontario native Avril Lavigne,29,has sold more than 30 million LPs worldwide.She was born in Belleville,but grew up in the little town of Napanee just up the road.Her second husband,Chad Kroeger of the band Nickelback,is featured in "Let Me Go," which came out in 2013.Lavigne is also known for her Abbey Dawn clothing line and several fragrances.*
In motor racing,qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix is about to get underway at Albert Park in Melbourne.It is the start of the Formula One season,with Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel,the defending World Champion,being joined by a new teammate,Daniel Ricciardo of Perth,Western Australia,following Mark Webber's retirement from F1.Germany's Vettel,26,has four World Championships to his name.Will his complete dominance of last year hold up in 2014?With a number of technical rule changes this year,that is in doubt.
Update:Qualifying results-P1.Lewis Hamilton,GBR;P2.Daniel Ricciardo,AUS;P3.Nico Rosberg,GER
The race will be broadcast on NBCSN at 1:30am Eastern on Sunday.It will be rebroadcast at 6:00am.