MEXICO CITY: Formula OneGeorginio WijnaldumNewcastle PSVEindhoven Premier League Idrissa GueyeFA CupAston VillaMarc Marquez. The German GP is also set to return to the calendar on July 31 after that race was dropped this year due to financial problems. The FIA approved the provisional schedule with the opening Australian GP set for April 3, followed by China a week later. The Malaysian GP has been pushed back to September to be held a week after the race in neighboring Singapore. Russia moves forward to be the first European event of the season, on May 1, while the Baku race is scheduled for July 17. The US GP in Austin, Texas, is scheduled for October 23, with the season ending in Abu Dhabi on November 27. This year’s calendar has 19 races, and the expansion to 21 would be a record number of races in a season.

Wijnaldum in EPL

NEWCASTLE: Netherlands midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum has joined Newcastle from PSV Eindhoven for a reported fee of 20 million euros ($22 million), making him, the Premier League club’s third most-expensive signing. Newcastle announced the transfer on Saturday, with Wijnaldum signing a five-year deal and becoming the first arrival under new manager Steve McClaren. The 24-year-old Wijnaldum says, “I felt the time was right for me to move and the club have shown they really want me, so I’m very happy to be here.”

Villa sign Gueye

LONDON: Senegalese international midfielder Idrissa Gueye became last season’s FA Cup finalists Aston Villa’s third signing of the close season on Friday when he agreed to a move from French Ligue 1 outfit Lille. The 25-year-old — capped 18 times and who played for Senegal at the 2012 Olympics and this year’s Africa Cup of Nations — signed a four year contract for an undisclosed fee. His arrival may be in part to offset the likely departure of club captain Fabian Delph to Manchester City, despite the former Leeds midfielder having signed a new four-and-a-half year contract with Villa in January and declared then ‘there was no way I’m going to bail out, this is my club’. Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood claimed he had beaten several rivals to secure Gueye’s signature. Gueye, who played 134 times for Lille since joining them in 2010, joins winger Scott Sinclair and defender Micah Richard as new signings, the latter two having arrived from Manchester City.

Marquez takes pole

SACHSENRING: Spain’s two-time defending world champion Marc Marquez will start from pole in Sunday’s German MotoGP after posting the fastest time in qualifying on Saturday. The Honda rider was recording his sixth successive pole spot at the Sachsenring where he is bidding for his sixth consecutive victory in all categories. Marquez has not been in the dominant form of last year and has just the one win to his name this season leaving him fourth in the standings, 74 points off leader Valentino Rossi. Marquez led a Spanish 1-2-3 in qualifying with two-time world champion Jorge Lorenzo on a Yamaha in second and Dani Pedrosa third on a Honda. Rossi posted just the sixth fastest time on his Yamaha.