SAN JUAN, Argentina // Spaniard Nani Roma moved into the Dakar Rally lead with victory in the third stage on Tuesday as favourite Stephane Peterhansel suffered a nightmare day.
Frenchman Peterhansel began the day in the overall lead following his victory in Monday’s second stage, but punctured six times as he came home in 28th place, more than 28 minutes down on Roma.
Poland’s Krzysztof Holowczyc came in second 1min 07sec down with South African Leroy Poulter third at 3min 19sec.
In the overall standings, Roma leads a trio of Mini drivers with Argentine Orlando Terranova second at 9min 06sec and Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar in third at 10min.
Terranova was fourth on the day, losing just under 5min to Roma while Al-Attiyah came in seventh after suffering four punctures, and lost just over 10min.
Peterhansel is down in fifth place overall but is 24min 08sec behind Roma.
And the 11-time former winner (six times in the moto section and five times in cars) admitted he had not enjoyed the 301km timed section from San Rafael to San Juan.
“I’ve never known a Dakar stage like this one,” said a frustrated Peterhansel.
“It was a nightmare today. We punctured six times! Unfortunately we opened on the course and we paid for it.
“On the first I hit a big rock, that’s my fault, but then we were the first to go out and we found ourselves completely off-piste in very tall vegetation thanks to a last-gasp swerve due to bad weather and mud.
“And when we got out of that, we had three slow punctures out of four wheels, certainly due to the pines in the sides of the wheels.
“Unfortunately, as we were the first car, we cleared the track for the rest behind. We were thrown into the lion’s den but I can’t see how we could have done anything differently.
“We couldn’t have imagined that in clearing a path in the vegetation we’d get three punctures out of four.”
For Roma it was a particularly satisfying day.
“You know, sometimes the Dakar is crazy and this stage was like that,” he said.
“The drivers in front of me had some problems and I tried to be really concentrated all through the stage and not make mistakes.
“Anyway, I’ve got here and I’m happy, but on the Dakar, Valparaiso is still far. We need to be like that and really concentrate every day.”
In the motorcycle section, Spaniard Joan Barreda on a Honda increased his overall lead by winning the third stage, a 373km timed special.
Frenchman Cyril Despres on a Yamaha came in second 4min 41sec back with Spain’s Marc Coma third on a KTM at 6min 56sec.
Those three remain in those exact positions in the overall standings with Barreda holding a lead of over 13 minutes.
Coming in 2 hrs, 28 mins after the lead bike, Dubai-based Sam Sunderland fell to 75th in the race after winning the second stage.
It was a particularly physically demanding course for the motorcyclists despite the length of the stage being reduced due to heavy rain.
At one point they reached 4.3km above sea level.
It proved treacherous for one rider as Portugal’s Ruben Faria had to be air-lifted to hospital by helicopter after a crash, although that was more for precautionary reasons than anything else.
In quads, Emirati Sebastian Husseini maintained his fourth-place position, finishing 4 min, 51 sec back of leader Rafal Sonik of Poland.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Haltia.ai
Started: 2023
Co-founders: Arto Bendiken and Talal Thabet
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: AI
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Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
THE SPECS
2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid LE
Engine: 1.8 litre combined with 16-volt electric motors
Transmission: Automatic with manual shifting mode
Power: 121hp
Torque: 142Nm
Price: Dh95,900
COMPANY PROFILE
Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Electric vehicles
Investors: Bootstrapped with undisclosed funding. Looking to raise funds from outside
Essentials
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Malaysia Airlines all fly direct from the UAE to Kuala Lumpur and on to Penang from about Dh2,300 return, including taxes.
Where to stay
In Kuala Lumpur, Element is a recently opened, futuristic hotel high up in a Norman Foster-designed skyscraper. Rooms cost from Dh400 per night, including taxes. Hotel Stripes, also in KL, is a great value design hotel, with an infinity rooftop pool. Rooms cost from Dh310, including taxes.
In Penang, Ren i Tang is a boutique b&b in what was once an ancient Chinese Medicine Hall in the centre of Little India. Rooms cost from Dh220, including taxes.
23 Love Lane in Penang is a luxury boutique heritage hotel in a converted mansion, with private tropical gardens. Rooms cost from Dh400, including taxes.
In Langkawi, Temple Tree is a unique architectural villa hotel consisting of antique houses from all across Malaysia. Rooms cost from Dh350, including taxes.
Structural weaknesses facing Israel economy
1. Labour productivity is lower than the average of the developed economies, particularly in the non-tradable industries.
2. The low level of basic skills among workers and the high level of inequality between those with various skills.
3. Low employment rates, particularly among Arab women and Ultra-Othodox Jewish men.
4. A lack of basic knowledge required for integration into the labour force, due to the lack of core curriculum studies in schools for Ultra-Othodox Jews.
5. A need to upgrade and expand physical infrastructure, particularly mass transit infrastructure.
6. The poverty rate at more than double the OECD average.
7. Population growth of about 2 per cent per year, compared to 0.6 per cent OECD average posing challenge for fiscal policy and underpinning pressure on education, health care, welfare housing and physical infrastructure, which will increase in the coming years.
At a glance
- 20,000 new jobs for Emiratis over three years
- Dh300 million set aside to train 18,000 jobseekers in new skills
- Managerial jobs in government restricted to Emiratis
- Emiratis to get priority for 160 types of job in private sector
- Portion of VAT revenues will fund more graduate programmes
- 8,000 Emirati graduates to do 6-12 month replacements in public or private sector on a Dh10,000 monthly wage - 40 per cent of which will be paid by government
Results:
Men's 100m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 15 sec; 2. Rheed McCracken (AUS) 15.40; 3. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 15.75. Men's 400m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 50.56; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 50.94; 3. Henry Manni (FIN) 52.24.
The five pillars of Islam
