Organisers are confident that the Middle East Rally Championship (Merc) will have two events in the UAE next year, with the Abu Dhabi Rally set to join the Dubai International Rally on the schedule.
The Abu Dhabi Rally reappears on Friday after an eight-year absence from the local scene, with an eight-stage race around Abu Dhabi.
Thursday night, 14 cars raced in a spectator stage at the Yas Marina Circuit.
But the return will only be fully complete if the sport’s governing body, FIA, agrees that the rally should join the Merc circuit next year. FIA observers are already here assessing what essentially amounts to a two-day candidate event.
Abu Dhabi was announced as a provisional host on the 2015 calendar in September and the event represents a final audition.
The return of the rally has been engineered by Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi over the last 10 months, in his capacity as chairman of the Abu Dhabi Racing Club (ADR). Sheikh Khalid, one of the region’s leading racers, will be taking part in the rally and is confident the event will be approved.
“This is the first time in a number of years the rally is happening here, and now it is being organised by ADR and Yas Motor Racing Club, which is a new club and which will be regulating all rally events.
“We have all the facilities and infrastructure at Yas Marina, and that will help. We want to begin with a low-key event to make sure we get FIA approval, and then in February, hopefully, we will have the official international event. That is when we become part of the calendar and I see we are very close to getting it.”
The country’s history of staging international motorsport events and the value of the set-up at Yas Marina means that when the candidacy is placed before the FIA later this year, approval is expected.
The FIA’s vice-president for the Mena region is in Abu Dhabi and is a strong backer of the bid. Nasser Khalifa Al Attiyah is eager to find and develop new territories for motorsport in the region. Abu Dhabi, which already hosts an F1 race, is an obvious candidate.
“The Abu Dhabi infrastructure is so strong and of such high quality,” he said. “On the organisational side, they are very professional and they already have a history of this before.
“So it’s adding value to the regional scene. There are rules and regulations they have to fulfill, but I supported this very strongly, to try and add more rallies in the region and this is part of our mission, to discover new terrain and markets.
“We are very happy with the set-up here, especially for Yas Marina to be the official office for race control and rally headquarters, that gives a lot of value.”
Al Attiyah will present the report from the event to the general assembly in Doha in December.
“We already want them in the calendar, they are already there for 2015,” he said. “We just need general assembly approval now.”
osamiuddin@thenational.ae
Visit thenational.ae/sport for a map of the rally
Follow us on twitter at @SprtNationalUAE
Which products are to be taxed?
To be taxed:
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
Products excluded from the ‘sweetened drink’ category would contain at least 75 per cent milk in a ready-to-drink form or as a milk substitute, baby formula, follow-up formula or baby food, beverages consumed for medicinal use and special dietary needs determined as per GCC Standardisation Organisation rules
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Kill%20
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Company%C2%A0profile
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Etwo%20permanent%20magnet%20synchronous%20motors%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Etwo-speed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E625hp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E850Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERange%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E456km%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh737%2C480%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
T20 World Cup Qualifier A, Muscat
Friday, February 18: 10am - Oman v Nepal, Canada v Philippines; 2pm - Ireland v UAE, Germany v Bahrain
Saturday, February 19: 10am - Oman v Canada, Nepal v Philippines; 2pm - UAE v Germany, Ireland v Bahrain
Monday, February 21: 10am - Ireland v Germany, UAE v Bahrain; 2pm - Nepal v Canada, Oman v Philippines
Tuesday, February 22: 2pm – semi-finals
Thursday, February 24: 2pm – final
UAE squad: Ahmed Raza (captain), Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Raja Akifullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Zafar Farid, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Rahul Bhatia
All matches to be streamed live on icc.tv
The Farewell
Director: Lulu Wang
Stars: Awkwafina, Zhao Shuzhen, Diana Lin, Tzi Ma
Four stars
The biog
Name: Atheja Ali Busaibah
Date of birth: 15 November, 1951
Favourite books: Ihsan Abdel Quddous books, such as “The Sun will Never Set”
Hobbies: Reading and writing poetry
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Results
4pm: Al Bastakiya Listed US$300,000 (Dirt) 1,900m; Winner: Emblem Storm, Oisin Murphy (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
4.35pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Wafy, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 $350,000 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Wildman Jack, Fernando Jara, Doug O’Neill.
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
6.20pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 $400,000 (T) 1,800m; Winner: Barney Roy, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 $600,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Matterhorn, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
7.30pm: Dubai City Of Gold Group 2 $350,000 (T) 2,410m; Winner: Loxley, Mickael Barzalona, Charlie Appleby.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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South Korea
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Haltia.ai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202023%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Arto%20Bendiken%20and%20Talal%20Thabet%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20AI%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2041%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20About%20%241.7%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Self%2C%20family%20and%20friends%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
