Ahmad Al Fahim celebrated a double success at the inaugural UAE Desert Championship, while fellow Emirati Mohammed Shamsi and Dubai-based South African Sean Gaugain were the other big winners in the new national Baja rally series.
Victory in the fourth and final round of the 2013/14 championship sent Al Fahim past Ahmad Al Maqoodi to clinch the overall cars and buggies titles.
The battle for the quads crown was just as fiercely contested, with Shamsi taking second place on the day behind Colin Mercer, but still beating him by seven points to emerge as champion, with three out of four rounds counting toward the final standings.
Coming under pressure in the bikes title chase from Sam Sunderland, who won his first stage in the Dakar Rally last month, Gaugain held on to take the championship by three points from the Dubai-based English rider, despite being beaten by him into second place on the day.
The new series provides a natural link into to the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, the UAE’s round of both the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies for cars, and the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship for bikes, which runs for the 24th time starting on April.
Automobile and Touring Club UAE president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said: “I’m very happy with the quality and quantity of entries we’ve had in the inaugural UAE Desert Championship.
“We’ve mixed everything together – the cars, buggies, bikes and quads – so it’s a miniature Desert Challenge. We’ve had great support from all the drivers and riders and I want to thank them for that. This is a good start, and we want to grow the Desert Championship next year.”
Double champion Al Fahim said: “This is a good preparation for the Desert Challenge. We really enjoy these type of rallies. It’s a really good environment and the safety factor is very high.”
Sunderland, who finished the series with successive victories, said: “The championship is awesome. It’s really good to promote the sport in the UAE. It’s been a great first series and I’m really happy to have won the last two rounds.”
Warlight,
Michael Ondaatje, Knopf
Fifa Club World Cup:
When: December 6-16
Where: Games to take place at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi and Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain
Defending champions: Real Madrid
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
The five types of long-term residential visas
Obed Suhail of ServiceMarket, an online home services marketplace, outlines the five types of long-term residential visas:
Investors:
A 10-year residency visa can be obtained by investors who invest Dh10 million, out of which 60 per cent should not be in real estate. It can be a public investment through a deposit or in a business. Those who invest Dh5 million or more in property are eligible for a five-year residency visa. The invested amount should be completely owned by the investors, not loaned, and retained for at least three years.
Entrepreneurs:
A five-year multiple entry visa is available to entrepreneurs with a previous project worth Dh0.5m or those with the approval of an accredited business incubator in the UAE.
Specialists
Expats with specialised talents, including doctors, specialists, scientists, inventors, and creative individuals working in the field of culture and art are eligible for a 10-year visa, given that they have a valid employment contract in one of these fields in the country.
Outstanding students:
A five-year visa will be granted to outstanding students who have a grade of 95 per cent or higher in a secondary school, or those who graduate with a GPA of 3.75 from a university.
Retirees:
Expats who are at least 55 years old can obtain a five-year retirement visa if they invest Dh2m in property, have savings of Dh1m or more, or have a monthly income of at least Dh20,000.
Jawan
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The%20Killer
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
