Rashid Al Ketbi in action on the Dubai International Rally as he took the lead after the first day of the event.
Rashid Al Ketbi in action on the Dubai International Rally as he took the lead after the first day of the event.

Al Ketbi leads Dubai Rally as Al Attiyah endures problems



Rashid Al Ketbi is on target to win the Dubai International Rally for the first time in his career after Nasser Al Attiyah suffered a scare as he looks to secure his seventh Middle East Rally Championship [MERC] title.

Al Ketbi had spoken beforehand of his determination to provide a home victory in Dubai, to add to the 40th anniversary National Day celebrations, and the Emirati completed the first part of the job yesterday as he led after the first five stages of the event.

He holds a 20.4-second lead going into today's final six stages, but faces a tough challenge to remain in top spot.

His compatriot, Sheikh Abdullah Al Qassimi, is second, with Oman's Hamed Al Wahaibi in third.

Al Attiyah, who was the pre-event favourite, is fourth, just 46.9 seconds behind Al Ketbi after suffering a dramatic opening day.

Needing only seventh place to seal the title, the Qatari driver hit a tree on the opening stage of the scheduled six after getting lost trying to complete the first stage due to the finish to the stage being in the wrong position.

The incident damaged the suspension on his Ford Fiesta and he took a two-minute time penalty to ensure it was fixed properly during a service area break midway through the day.

Despite these setbacks he finished the day strongly, winning the last three stages, and he remains hopeful of triumphing today to take the title in style.

"I want to win the rally," he said. "We have had problems but we have shown good pace. We are thinking of the championship, but if can go for the win we will."

Of his problems, he added: "We were coming to the end of the first stage and found the finish had moved and was different to our recce notes. As we tried to change direction, I struck a tree and it damaged the suspension. We took a penalty in the service area and we had good speed after that.

"It will be an interesting day as you have four people at the front who are all quick and capable of winning and it should be close."

Following the completion of the day's action, the stewards chose to cancel the first stage, deleting the times from the standings, as a consequence of the confusion on where the finish line was supposed to be.

Among the first-leg casualties was the UAE's Sheikh Suhail Al Maktoum, a former Dubai Rally winner, whose Subaru Impreza blew its engine. Also going out was former Middle East Group N champion Ron Oakeley with a blown head gasket on the first stage and Germany's Edith Weiss suffered mechanical problems.

Today's opening stage begins at 9.06am and the event finishes at 4.30pm at Emaar Boulevard in Old Town Dubai.

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Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Director: Todd Phillips 

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Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
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Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren

Favourite travel destination: Switzerland

Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers

Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum

Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021

Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.

The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.

These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.

“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.

“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.

“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.

“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”

Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.

There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.

“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.

“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.

“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”

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Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
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  • Level 2 features curated inspiration zones and solutions for bedrooms, living rooms and dining spaces. This is also where you’d go to customise your sofas and beds, and pick and choose from more than a dozen mattress options.
  • Level 3 features The Home’s “man cave” set-up and a display of industrial and rustic furnishings. This level also has a mother’s room, a play area for children with staff to watch over the kids, furniture for nurseries and children’s rooms, and the store’s design studio.
     
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Harlequins Tries: Kinivilliame, Stevenson; Cons: Stevenson 2; Pen: Stevenson

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