ABU DHABI // Amid the roar of engines and the smoke from burning rubber filling the air at the Yas Marina Circuit, Abdul Hamid Al Awadhi stands quietly psyching himself up, knowing his dreams of victory could be over in less than just a few seconds.
The veteran of more than 20 years of racing, was preparing for the Yas Super Street Challenge, his first event after a seven year hiatus, and wants everything to be perfect on his return to the sport he has loved with a passion for almost all of his life.
“Basically, I’m a dragster and a tour racer,” says the Emirati. “There were great days in Umm Al Quwain before, but the races stopped, now we’re back and the big hope comes with the Marina Drag racing. This is making our dreams coming true again,”
Being an old school racer the car Mr Al Awadhi chose to compete in for last night ‘s races was a far cry from the shiny new Nissan GTRs and AMG Mercedeses he lined up against. He still drives the Suburu WRX STi from his years on the track in UAQ.
“This car is very special to me, I have collected over 30 podiums in that time, now it’s become very old but I still race it,” says Mr Al Awadhi. “The car isn’t heavily modified because I use it daily but I came here to practice.”
He used to drive what dragsters refer to as an eight-second car, a highly modified non street-legal monster that was tuned to reach over 200 kph in mere seconds.
However, winning a drag race isn’t all about who gets behind the wheel of the most powerful car.
Rather, says Mr Al Awadhi, it comes down to who is the smartest driver with a instinct for racing.
“It’s about commitment and punctuality, you just have to focus, everything has to be 100 per cent. It has to be a passion because you can’t drag race without that, it’s in your blood.”
Moments before he approaches the starting line, or as drag racers call it the “Christmas Tree”, so-called because of the countdown colours of the traffic signal lights, fellow racer Ali Al Kaabi goes into a state of complete focus.
“You know it’s stress, adrenaline, it’s all about your reaction. You want to catch the signal to beat your mate,” says Mr Al Kaabi. “Some people have to practice for it, others it comes naturally, it’s in their blood.”
Still relatively new to the sport, Mr Al Kaabi says the drag racing events at Yas Marina Circuit creates a sense of family, one from which he hopes to learn and hone his skills.
The Emirati races in a 700-hp Corvette C7 2014 Stingray, Hennessy edition specially imported from the US. Driving the car, he says, is just as enjoyable on a trip to the mall with this wife as it is when he takes it to the racetrack.
“Yas is a perfect place for doing car racing, it required a lot of work to make it perfect, to show the whole world that Abu Dhabi can provide a safe environment for the race.”
Saud Al Qaydi, manager of Yas Marina Circuit and Head of Motor Racing Club in the UAE, says that the spirit of competition born from the streets and brought in a professional environment keeps the racers keen and in a safe environment.
“Previously we used to see drivers gathering somewhere with their friends and you’d have guys saying ‘my car is faster than your car – then let’s hit the road and see,’” says Mr Al Qaydi.
Now he says that Yas Marina Circuit provides an environment to capture that sense of competition at the heart of all forms of racing.
“Nowadays they’ll say let’s had out to Yas Drag Centre and try out car out there, it’s safer it’s easier, they get time slips and the proofs,” says Mr Qaydi. “Now they can have their bragging rights for everyone to see.”
nalwasmi@thenational.ae
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Company%20profile
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Chelsea 2 Burnley 3
Chelsea Morata (69'), Luiz (88')
Burnley Vokes (24', 43'), Ward (39')
Red cards Cahill, Fabregas (Chelsea)
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
