DUBAI // A service was held yesterday in memory of Pascal Grosjean, the 39-year-old motorcycle champion who was killed in an accident at Dubai Autodrome last Friday.
About 150 family members and friends attended the service at Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa, some flying in to pay their respects.
The reigning UAE Sportbike 600cc champion from Switzerland had been completing a warm down lap after winning the Sportbike Championship, Race 1, when he was involved in a high speed collision with the bike of Tony Jordan, a fellow competitor. The British rider was seriously injured in the accident and remains in the intensive care unit of Rashid Hospital.
Mr Grosjean's family had prepared a speech before the service, which was read by a close friend. In it, they expressed their grief and said their hearts and prayers went out to Mr Jordan's family. In the speech, Mr Grosjean's mother spoke of her son finding his passion for riding when he was five years old, describing him as a loving man who was always in high spirits.
His sister said she had always looked up to her brother. Mr Grosjean's mother, younger sister and brother had flown from Switzerland earlier in the week after hearing of the accident. They decided to stay longer to attend the service and meet those who had known him.
Following the speech, a moment of silence was held, after which a song Mr Grosjean had recorded with a friend was played. A slideshow of photographs that showcased his character was displayed on a big screen while his mother spoke a few words in French.
Jason Burnside, the British rider who finished second to Mr Grosjean in last weekend's race, spoke highly of the man he described as his biggest and most respected competitor. He was the last person to communicate with Mr Grosjean before he died.
"We had just passed the finish line and nodded a congratulations to each other and we were side by side. We had just shook hands when all of a sudden he was hit," said Mr Burnside. "I know Tony as well and this is a terrible tragedy that has left a big hole. It will be very hard to continue."
As he looked up at the slideshow showing pictures of them together, he said working with Mr Grosjean had been an amazing experience.
"He was just as committed and fun off the track," he said.
An investigation into the incident has been launched, details of which are yet to be released.
According to accounts last week, Mr Grosjean and Mr Burnside had slowed down after passing the finish line when Mr Jordan, who was in third place, collided with Mr Grosjean.
Mr Jordan's speed was estimated at 200kph when, despite trying to brake, he crashed into Mr Grosjean's bike 300 metres after the finish line.
Both men were thrown from their vehicles and suffered multiple injuries. Mr Burnside was not injured.
After being airlifted to Rashid Hospital, Mr Grosjean died from his injuries a few hours later.
It was the second fatal accident at the Dubai Autodrome this year following the death of the 29-year-old Belgian driver Christophe Hissette on April 23 during the qualifying session for the final round of the GulfSport Radical Cup.
Carissa Crowley, a close friend of Mr Grosjean and the public relations and marketing manager for his racing team Gros Gros in Dubai, said the memorial service was the perfect way to say goodbye.
"He had a great sense of humour and was an all round champion," she said. "He was unbeatable and set the bar so high for everyone who wanted to be like him. He was so interested in the UAE motorbike culture and had big dreams."
These dreams included bringing popular European riders to the UAE during the winter to boost the industry.
He had opened a riding improvement school in the city and trained other motorcyclists in the region including Abdulrahman al Shamsi, the Emirati racer.
Mr Grosjean's father was a director of motorcycle races in Switzerland and his mother was a competitive motorcyclist.
melshoush@thenational.ae
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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.”
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Bookshops: A Reader's History by Jorge Carrión (translated from the Spanish by Peter Bush),
Biblioasis
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
