Team Abu Dhabi's Porsche Supercup campaign ended with mixed results yesterday.
Sean Edwards, the No 1 driver, clinched a second-place finish, but the UAE's Khaled al Qubaisi suffered a premature exit after his fastest drive of the year.
Having qualified 27th from the 32-strong Supercup field, al Qubaisi's promising debut season ended in spectacular fashion when he slid wide at the Curva Parabolica.The Emirati, who tested at Monza earlier this year, carried too much pace into the long right-hander which leads to the home straight and found himself marooned in the thick gravel.
"This is my best and worst recent result," al Qubaisi said. "I can see myself improving and next season will be a different proposition.
"Earlier this year I thought the guys in front of me were invincible, but now I know I can beat them. I will no longer just be flying the UAE flag and gaining experience, I'll be a mid-field runner next season."
Al Qubaisi's Parabolica exit marred what had been his strongest Supercup performance to date. Having begun the season an average of 3.5secs slower per lap than the frontrunners of the series, he conceded he had surprised himself by clocking laps only 0.5secs slower than the pacesetters. "I recorded the 12th-fastest lap of the whole race," said al Qubaisi. "At first I thought there had been a mistake, but I actually clocked two almost identical laps. It's amazing, mind-boggling even, to have come this far in my first season."
Al Qubaisi, who drives the third Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority-funded Supercup entry, is trying to raise local funding to compete in the regional 2011 Supercup series, but confirmed he will return to the European championship.
"Definitely," he said. "With a little bit more testing I'm sure I can be up there next year."
Having qualified 16th, Sascha Maassen, Team Abu Dhabi's second driver, finished 12th, while Nick Tandy's victory was not enough to prevent Germany's Rene Rast from wrapping up the title.
* Compiled by Euan Megson
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Where to buy
Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com
Fight card
Bantamweight
Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK) v Rey Nacionales (PHI)
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROM) v Hussein Fakhir Abed (SYR)
Catch 74kg
Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) v Omar Hussein (JOR)
Strawweight (Female)
Weronika Zygmunt (POL) v Seo Ye-dam (KOR)
Featherweight
Kaan Ofli (TUR) v Walid Laidi (ALG)
Lightweight
Leandro Martins (BRA) v Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW)
Welterweight
Ahmad Labban (LEB) v Sofiane Benchohra (ALG)
Bantamweight
Jaures Dea (CAM) v Nawras Abzakh (JOR)
Lightweight
Mohammed Yahya (UAE) v Glen Ranillo (PHI)
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) v Aidan Aguilera (AUS)
Welterweight
Mounir Lazzez (TUN) Sasha Palatnikov (HKG)
Featherweight title bout
Romando Dy (PHI) v Lee Do-gyeom (KOR)
Brief scores:
Toss: Nepal, chose to field
UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23
Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17
Result: UAE won by 21 runs
Series: UAE lead 1-0
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The%20specs
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Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.