Emirati motocross legend Mohammed Al Balooshi believes this summer’s Arenacross finals in Abu Dhabi will “create that spark” to inspire the next generation of UAE motorcycling talent.
Al Balooshi, 45, is a five-time Arab MX champion and three-time FIM Bajas world champion. He was also the first Emirati to compete in the Dakar Rally.
While still an active competitor, he devotes much of his time to mentoring aspiring riders at his MX Academy in Dubai, where young racers hone their skills and dream of making their mark at major international events.
Some of them will get the chance to do precisely that on July 5, when the Arenacross World Tour Finals come to Abu Dhabi for the first time.
The UAE debut of Arenacross – like motocross on steroids and indoors – further cements Yas Island’s status as a global motorsports hub. It also offers UAE talent the chance to shine, with a competition for local riders set to open the show at Etihad Arena.
“[For local riders] to get a platform on such a big stage like this, I think this is the icing on the cake,” said Al Balooshi.
“And I think from here the future is bright for the upcoming riders and for the representatives of the UAE in future competitions.”
Al Balooshi’s academy was founded in 2011 for riders of all levels but with the ultimate aim to “bring up world champions”. He feels the opportunity for his pupils to compete in front of a packed Etihad Arena amid the adrenalin-soaked glamour of Arenacross will provide the perfect incentive for those serious about a full-time career in the sport.
I'm sure this will create that spark, that fire they need to pursue their career. Because we all need that moment. I believe this will be that moment, where they can take off
Mohammed Al Balooshi
“We started the academy in 2011 to give back to the community, to introduce the sport and to reach as many people as possible,” he said. “New clients and new members of the sport, to teach the basic foundations of riding. How to ride safe and how to be safe on the bike because this is such a beautiful sport... It's really a lot of hard work on the body and mind. So, yeah, we started this as our future plan to introduce [the sport] and hopefully to bring up world champions from this academy.
“This is the first time Arenacross is coming [to the UAE], our members are participating in the side event. So, this is their first introduction to this. I'm sure this will create that spark, that fire they need to pursue their career. Because we all need that moment. I believe this will be that moment, where they can take off.”
Al Balooshi describes the UAE as a nation of “petrolheads”, and his career has spanned vast progress across many disciplines of motorsport.
Racing in dirt cars and motorcycles through the open desert is deeply embedded in Emirati culture since the early 1970s which in turn helped establish the UAE as a hot spot for desert rallies such as the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and the Dubai International Baja. Etihad Arena was also the venue for the FIM World Supercross Championships in 2023 and 2024.
“The culture here, before motocross, is off-road. You see around, we have the most beautiful desert in the whole world,” Al Balooshi explained. “So, to do any activity with the automotive industry is the best, because you bring the best of the best to come and race and put a good show where you can introduce a new event for people get to know what this sport is all about.
“The sport has been here since the early 1970s but now finally we see the big growth is coming in and a lot more. In the past 25 years of my career I've seen it growing every year, every five, ten, growing more and more.
“All of us here are petrolheads and we all love our bikes and cars … so it was a cultural thing and then soon we found, oh, you can race them. There is like a controlled environment where you can race and be safe and enjoy.
“The Arenacross is the next step, reaching the next level. I'm a very happy and proud Emirati to see the sport has grown to this point, and this is the best thing that happened to motorsports.”
As a young man, Al Balooshi grew up trying to emulate Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the incumbent FIA president and one of the most successful rally drivers in the Middle East with 14 championship titles.
“For me and for many of us in the sport, he was our hero at the time,” Al Balooshi said of Ben Sulayem. “Everyone at that time, including me, wanted to be like him. However, I didn't go towards the cars but took a liking to bikes.
“When I started the sport, we had only local races. Now we have two major international races – the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and the Dubai International Baja.”
Matt Bates, CEO and founder of Arenacross, is excited to bring the event outside of the United Kingdom for the first time since it was launched in 2013.
A former rider himself, Bates said to stage the season-ending championship race in Abu Dhabi was a breakthrough for the sport.
“Motocross is a sport that's been around a long time and we, many years ago, kind of perfected the art of putting motocross indoors and choreographing a performance and a show,” he said.
“What people can expect are some of the world's best motocross racers competing in an end of season championship, no different to any sport, any motorsport.
“But then what we wrap around that are the performances of freestyle motocross which is bikes backflipping and doing all sorts of tricks.
“We also then put the young kids that are the up and coming future of the sport, not just the sport of motocross but motorsports enthusiasts, and we train them to take part through an academy working with people like Mohammed Al Balooshi in putting the right riders forward and then they also compete in the event.”
Lining up for the championship event are the UK’s Dean Wilson, the current Arenacross championship leader, and compatriots Tommy Searle and Jack Brunell, the 2023 and 2024 Arenacross champions, respectively. Challenging them are French riders Cedric Soubeyras, Thomas Ramette and Adrien Escoffier, to name just a few.
Tickets are available from www.etihadarena.ae.
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
POSSIBLE ENGLAND EURO 2020 SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Dean Henderson.
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier, Joe Gomez, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Ben Chilwell, Fabian Delph.
Midfielders: Declan Rice, Harry Winks, Jordan Henderson, Ross Barkley, Mason Mount, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Forwards: Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Tammy Abraham, Callum Hudson-Odoi.
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 4 (Salah (pen 4, 33', & pen 88', Van Dijk (20')
Leeds United 3 (Harrison 12', Bamford 30', Klich 66')
Man of the match Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
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.”
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
Captain Marvel
Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Starring: Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn
4/5 stars
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
More Expo 2020 Dubai pavilions:
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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
SPECS
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Tips for taking the metro
- set out well ahead of time
- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines
- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on
- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers
