Al Ain // A busy season of motorsport in the UAE got under way with the first round of the Rotax Max Karting series at the Al Ain Raceway on Friday.
The same track will host what is effectively the world championship of kart racing, the Rotax Max Challenge grand finals, November 19-26, a week after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina.
The 12-round Rotax series takes in six races at the Al Ain Raceway and three each at the Dubai Kartdrome and Abu Dhabi Al Forsan between now and April, with the series winners potentially taking part in next year's grand finals.
The big race of the day, in the DD2 class, was won by Mohammed Al Dhaheri despite a mechanical failure earlier in the day which forced him to start at seventh place on the grid. A couple of blistering moves soon after the start saw him overtake Hasher Al Maktoum and Maurits Knopjes for the lead, which he never relinquished. Al Maktoum, returning from a two-year absence, finished second; Lebanon's Patrick Jarjour came in third.
Al Dhaheri is the defending champion in the DD2, having won it in April and will be representing the UAE at the grand finals in November.
Over 70 drivers took part in six classes throughout the day. Some, such as Tehmur Chohan, were as young as eight years old.
The young Iranian Taymour Kermanshahchi notched a comprehensive first victory in the cadet class, leading from start to finish, nearly five seconds clear of second-placed Lucas Petersson. Alain Bauwmans completed the podium line-up.
The Al Rawahi brothers of the Oman Karting Team were prominent through the day as well. In the junior Max class, the younger brother and defending champion Abdullah lost out in a gripping four-way battle that saw Cyrus Engineer slip past him with two laps to go to finish first. Al Rawahi eventually finished third behind Ameer Hussain, who sped past him at the infamous first turn. But as champion, Abdullah is already guaranteed a place in the grand finals.
There was something for the Al Rawahi family to celebrate, however, as elder brother Sanad won the senior Max class. Sanad began in pole position, but a first lap error saw him concede the lead briefly to Jarjour. He regained it eventually with such control that he ended up winning by nearly nine seconds. Jarjour's first competitive outing in this class was an impressive one, as he finished second. Nikita Miliakov, another debutant in this class, finished third.
The former champion Andrew Fuller began his season with a win in the Masters Max class, leading from start to finish ahead of the reigning champion Arnaud Bouf.
The grand finals in November will attract more than 260 of the world's best karters from more than 60 countries.
The Middle East will be well-represented. Alongside Al Dhaheri, Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa will also be representing the UAE in the DD2 class at the grand finals. Jarjour will be taking part in the senior category alongside the elder Al Rawahi, while the younger brother will be taking part in the junior class.
The next race meeting is due to be held on October 14 at the Dubai Kartdrome.
osamiuddin@thenational.ae
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier
Results
UAE beat Saudi Arabia by 12 runs
Kuwait beat Iran by eight wickets
Oman beat Maldives by 10 wickets
Bahrain beat Qatar by six wickets
Semi-finals
UAE v Qatar
Bahrain v Kuwait
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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.”
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Kalra's feat
- Becomes fifth batsman to score century in U19 final
- Becomes second Indian to score century in U19 final after Unmukt Chand in 2012
- Scored 122 in youth Test on tour of England
- Bought by Delhi Daredevils for base price of two million Indian rupees (Dh115,000) in 2018 IPL auction
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Under 19 World Cup
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
India squads
Test squad against Afghanistan: Rahane (c), Dhawan, Vijay, Rahul, Pujara, Karun, Saha, Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Umesh, Shami, Pandya, Ishant, Thakur.
T20 squad against Ireland and England: Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rohit, Rahul, Raina, Pandey, Dhoni, Karthik, Chahal, Kuldeep, Sundar, Bhuvneshwar, Bumrah, Pandya, Kaul, Umesh.
ODI squad against England: Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rohit, Rahul, Shreyas, Rayudu, Dhoni, Karthik, Chahal, Kuldeep, Sundar, Bhuvneshwar, Bumrah, Pandya, Kaul, Umesh
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
