DUBAI // Indian organisers of the i1 Superseries last night confirmed the beleaguered inaugural season has officially been cancelled following a series of unplanned schedule changes.
Darshan M, the chief executive of Machdar Motorsports, the organisers of the series, told the Press Trust of India that the five-race calendar, which included rounds in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, has been postponed until next year because of schedule conflicts with many of the drivers.
Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 Formula One world champion, and 2011 F1 drivers Karun Chandhok and Vitantonio Liuzzi, had previously been confirmed, while the Dubai-based Indian driver Zaamin Jaffer was expected to be involved.
"Dates of a bulk of drivers were conflicting with other international events," Darshan said. "Also most of the team owners felt that they were not ready. So we thought we should not do it this year, but hold it around the same time next year."
Although nine franchises were made available and Indian celebrities such as Shah Rukh Khan and Sachin Tendulkar were strongly linked with them, it is understood only four teams were finalised.
"We are currently engaged in discussions with a few more parties and would add a few more teams before the event takes place next year," Darshan said, adding that he is hopeful three more franchise owners will be announced in April.
The series was originally set to start in January in Malaysia, but that changed last month with Doha becoming host of the first race and Kuala Lumpur's Sepang circuit being removed. The championship was also scheduled to visit Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Dubai before finishing at New Delhi's Buddh International Circuit.
No one was available for comment last night from either Yas Marina Circuit or Dubai Autodrome.
gmeenaghan@thenational.ae
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
RESULTS
Cagliari 5-2 Fiorentina
Udinese 0-0 SPAL
Sampdoria 0-0 Atalanta
Lazio 4-2 Lecce
Parma 2-0 Roma
Juventus 1-0 AC Milan
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The Way It Was: My Life with Frank Sinatra by Eliot Weisman and Jennifer Valoppi
Hachette Books
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5