I am currently feeling decidedly under-whelmed by a sporting summer that promised me the excitement of seeing sporting Gods at work and thrills and spills beyond my wildest dreams but for the most part – failed to deliver.

The 2010 World Cup – the quadrennial gathering of the greatest football talent on Planet Earth didn’t really live up to expectations for most people.

Surely the fact that the words “Vuvuzela” and “Jabulani” are now firmly planted in the mind of everyone who viewed the South African showpiece only backs that statement up.

We were talking about them because Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and to a lesser extent Lionel Messi gave us nothing else to marvel at.

For me the game of the tournament was the Ghana versus Uruguay quarter final.

Anyone not Uruguayan must have felt a tinge of sadness when Asamoah Gyan blasted the ball against the crossbar with the last kick of extra time.

By this point England were long gone of course albeit with a hint of controversy.

Having been ripped to shreds by a German side that was, amazingly, scoring goals like it was going out of fashion, the only crumb of comfort for England’s massive support was that Diego Maradona and Argentina met with a similar fate.

Surely Germany must win the whole thing now? Er, no.

The slow burning Spain expertly put them to the sword before surviving the Dutch assault in the final.

Reports of poor infrastructure, badly organised fan zones and widespread petty crime just add to the desire that this one should be put down to experience.

But now we had the summer staples to look forward to.

Well not really. This sporting apathy lark must be catching.

The first week of Wimbledon was the exception to the rule. Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer were both stretched to five sets in the opening days at SW19.

We also had the record breaker between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut.

I feel it would also be less than honest to ignore the delight felt across at least half the nation by the return of Anna Kournikova to the British summer.

Week two reverted to type.

Andy Murray had coasted through with but was swatted aside by a rampant Nadal. The improving Czech, Tomas Berdych ended the interest of numbers three and two in the world.

Surely he could give the world number one a decent game at the very least?

You know the rest.

Ok then. Chin up David and on to the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Perhaps more than most, this event encapsulated the summer of sport.

An exciting start with Mark Webber almost forcing Sebastian Vettel off the track before a sadly predictable procession to the chequered flag.

The high point of the day was Webber having a go at his own team. “Not bad for a number two driver!”

Come on St.Andrews. Save us.

The opening day of golf’s British Open Thursday belonged to Rory McIlroy who shot a majestic 63. The Old Course looked ready to welcome the second consecutive Northern Irish major winner.

That thought lasted less than a day as Mother Nature saw fit to sigh and blow Rory off course.

Tiger Woods, as ever, was prowling but going into Sunday it was the unfancied South African, Louis Oosthuizen who led the pack.

No way could he hold off the charge of Lee Westwood, Paul Casey et al.

It was never, EVER in doubt.

An easier final day at St. Andrews may never have been seen. On the birthday of Nelson Mandela, the South African kept his head as all around lost theirs.

What might have been this past couple of months?

So it’s down to you Mr Ryder to perk me up after one of the more disappointing summers of sport.

Don’t let me down.

Mika Salo

The former Formula One driver Mika Salo, is set to test a Sprint Cup car next month, amid rumours that he has his eye set on a move to the NASCAR series.

The 42-year-old, began his career in F1 at the penultimate round of the 1994 season for the ailing Lotus team, but after only two races the team folded and he moved to the Tyrrell team for 1995.  The Finn remained with the team for the next three years where he scored several points.

Salo looked set to have a promising future with the Arrows team in 1998 but failed to land a full-time seat for the following season.  However, during the 1999 season, he was called upon to replace the injured Ricardo Zonta at the BAR team for three races.

The Finn was also given his dream drive in 1999, when he was asked to fill the seat of Michael Schumacher in the Ferrari after the British Grand Prix crash left the German driver with a broken leg.  Selected to partner Eddie Irvine, he almost scored a win at the German Grand Prix, in only his second race, but was forced to follow team orders to let his team-mate pass as Irvine was fighting for the championship with Mika Häkkinen.

In 2002, Salo was back in the championship having signed for the Red Bull Sauber team, but after finishing in eleventh place at the end of the season, he made the move to the brand new Toyota team.  After scoring a sixth place for the team on it’s debut year in F1, Salo was surprisingly sacked from the team at the end of the season.

Salo has continued his racing career and in 2007 won the American Le Mans series in the GT2 class.  It had now been revealed that he will be testing for the Michael Waltrip Racing crew in one of their Toyota Camry Cup cars sometime next month.

Racing drivers are among the fittest athletes of all, enjoying the extreme sports like skiing holidays during the close season to keep the adrenalin pumping.

Neil Hodgson - Honda Racing CBR 1000RR Superbike

The former British Superbike rider and double World Superbike Champion Neil Hodgson, has been left without a ride for the 2010 season after the Corona Extra Honda Race Team pulled out of the AMA championship with immediate effect.

The team announced the news at the weekend saying;

“Corona Extra Honda race team participated in this series with our award-winning 2009 CBR1000RR in the AMA Superbike class, unfortunately participation in this series did not meet our racing goals and objectives.

Regrettably the current AMA/DMG racing environment does not align with our company goals. Effective today 9/18/09, AHM will not be renewing contracts with Corona Extra Racing and will be terminating the on-site Road Race operations by 9/30/09. All assets will be put into storage for future consideration.”

Hodgson is rumoured to be looking at returning to the British Superbike series after being spotted in and out of the pit garages at round ten of the Championship at Croft.

Hodgson said of his visit;

Nigel Mansell

The former Formula One Champion Nigel Mansell, is competing in the Silverstone’s Le Mans Series finale on 11-13 September, teaming up with his son Greg and Lawrence Tomlinson.

The 56-year-old, 1992 F1 champion, will be in the cockpit of the Ginetta-Zytek GZ09S which he is believed to have tested as far back as December 2008 and again at the Silverstone festival.

Retiring from Formula One racing in 1995, Mansell went onto race in the British Touring Car Championship in 1998 but was unsuccessful, finishing 18th out of 21 drivers.  In 2005, he had success in the Grand Prix Masters series by winning the inaugural race of the season, continuing by winning the season opening race the following year.

In 2007, Mansell made his debut appearance in the second round of the FIA GT at Silverstone, in a Ferrari 430 GT2 for the Scuderia Ecosse team alongside Chris Niarchos, finishing in 7th in their class and 21st overall.

Mansell is delighted to be back at the Silverstone circuit where he had some of his most memorable wins and is looking forward to racing alongside his sons.

Greg Mansell, 21,  is currently racing in the World Series by Renault while his older brother Leo Mansell, will be competing against the pair as he will be driving for the Ferrari GT2 team in the Le Mans Series.

Here’s a little clip of some of Nigel Mansell’s greatest moments;

A 17,000 strong crowd will be thrilled by the riders as they perform gravity defying tricks to battle it out for the World title in front of the famous white chimneys of the Battersea landmark.

The Red Bull X-Fighters tour has gained a huge international following since it’s inception in 2001, with the riders providing a high power spectacle combining power, skill, bravery and showmanship to excite the growing number of fans. Each year the tricks and jumps have become harder, higher and longer- reaching heights of 40 feet.

In 2008, 170,000 spectators saw the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour climb to new heights with spectacular contests in the bull fighting arenas of Mexico City and Madrid, the stone quarry of Wuppertal in Germany, the Sambadrome parade ground in Rio de Janeiro, a rodeo arena in Texas and a gigantic historic stadium in Warsaw – which was brought back to life for a day before it was then taken down by the wrecking ball.

The series arrives for it’s debut in London, having already held events in Mexico City, Calgary (Canada) Fort Worth Texas (USA) and Madrid (Spain).

Tickets and further information for the event can be found on the Red Bull X-Fighters website.

There is now an innovative X-Fighters YouTube Battle available that lets you Experience the thrills and spills of the ultimate adrenalin-fuelled freestyle motocross competition. Choose your rider and let battle commence! Along the way you’ll have to pick your best tricks to stay in the battle – one false move and you’ll be eating dirt and out of the competition. Choose wisely and you’ll be declared Red Bull X-Fighters champion! Check it out below;