One day, Logan Hannah dreams, maybe there will be world recognition as a leading female driver in the male-dominated world of motorsport.
For now, though, she will be happy if she can make enough of a name for herself that people will remember which is her first name and which is the last.
The 12-year-old schoolgirl will represent Dubai and the UAE at the Sodi World Series Junior Sprint Cup at Le Mans in France this weekend.
She qualified last year as the fastest girl in an event that pitches drivers of arrive-and-drive karts, which predominate at most leisure circuits around the world, into competition against each other. Not a bad effort, considering she only took up racing competitively in September.
Before then, she had raced at the occasional birthday party and to pass the time with her younger sister, Nairne, 11.
If she is successful at one of motorsport’s iconic destinations this weekend, it could open doors that might lead to a career in the sport.
If she is really lucky, maybe the announcer at the autodrome will remember that it is “Logan first, and Hannah second”.
“It has been very exciting,” the Greenfield Community School pupil said of the build-up to her first competition on the world stage.
“It feels like it is really happening now, it is not just something I do with my friends on the weekend.”
Her appetite for racing was forged by watching from close quarters as her father, Graeme Hannah, was involved in motorsport in the UAE over the past three years.
As her lap times at the Dubai Kartdrome got faster, Graeme asked those in the know what they thought. “They asked what her best lap was and when I told them they said it was about as fast as possible in the rentals karts,” the Scotsman said.
“The first year we did it [raced on the senior Radical sports car racing circuit] we were running our own car. Logan would get in there with the spanner, jack the car up, jack it back down.
“As much as she has enjoyed coming to the events, she has always said, ‘Daddy, I’d rather be driving’.”
Her motorsport hero – beyond her own household – is Australian Mark Webber because he drove for her favourite team, Red Bull Racing. The retired Formula One driver’s attacking style of racing also appealed. It is a trait prevalent in her own driving, according to her father, who said she is “gritty and courageous” on the track.
Despite her tender years, she understands the need to keep a rein on the emotions during the heat of competition.
“My friend Fraser, who I race against a lot, almost took me out on one of the corners in a race recently,” she said.
“I asked him what happened and that was it, we didn’t even have a fight. If you physically went in to the back of somebody maybe they would feel a little upset with you, but I have never seen anybody throwing punches like the adults do.”
Her ambition is to graduate to the IndyCar Series, where the likes of Danica Patrick, most notably, have shown that female drivers can compete and be successful.
“They don’t treat me any differently, I am still a racer, the same as them,” Logan said of how her rivals take to competing against a girl. “But every so often they do go to one another, ‘Oh, you are slower than a girl!’ Nothing is ever aimed at me, though.
“I do get bumped around quite a lot, but that is usually by people I don’t know and don’t compete against.”
The British schoolgirl will compete against another UAE representative from the Dubai Kartdrome in the 20-person Junior Sprint Cup in Le Mans, Mansour Al Sarrarj.
“For the juniors this is an experience of a lifetime and I am confident that Logan Hannah and Mansour Al Sarrarj will do the Kartdrome proud,” said Kartdrome manager Ryan Trutch.
pradley@thenational.ae
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If you go
Flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.
The stay
Rooms at Alila Villas Koh Russey (www.alilahotels.com/ kohrussey) cost from $385 per night including taxes.
SPECS
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Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20SCE%20Studio%20Cambridge%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sony%20Computer%20Entertainment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%2C%20PlayStation%204%20and%205%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2018 Infiniti QX80
Price: base / as tested: Dh335,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.1L / 100km
MATCH INFO
Schalke 0
Werder Bremen 1 (Bittencourt 32')
Man of the match Leonardo Bittencourt (Werder Bremen)
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Haltia.ai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202023%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Arto%20Bendiken%20and%20Talal%20Thabet%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20AI%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2041%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20About%20%241.7%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Self%2C%20family%20and%20friends%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh359,000
On sale: now
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20HyveGeo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abdulaziz%20bin%20Redha%2C%20Dr%20Samsurin%20Welch%2C%20Eva%20Morales%20and%20Dr%20Harjit%20Singh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECambridge%20and%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESustainability%20%26amp%3B%20Environment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24200%2C000%20plus%20undisclosed%20grant%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVenture%20capital%20and%20government%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Building boom turning to bust as Turkey's economy slows
Deep in a provincial region of northwestern Turkey, it looks like a mirage - hundreds of luxury houses built in neat rows, their pointed towers somewhere between French chateau and Disney castle.
Meant to provide luxurious accommodations for foreign buyers, the houses are however standing empty in what is anything but a fairytale for their investors.
The ambitious development has been hit by regional turmoil as well as the slump in the Turkish construction industry - a key sector - as the country's economy heads towards what could be a hard landing in an intensifying downturn.
After a long period of solid growth, Turkey's economy contracted 1.1 per cent in the third quarter, and many economists expect it will enter into recession this year.
The country has been hit by high inflation and a currency crisis in August. The lira lost 28 per cent of its value against the dollar in 2018 and markets are still unconvinced by the readiness of the government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tackle underlying economic issues.
The villas close to the town centre of Mudurnu in the Bolu region are intended to resemble European architecture and are part of the Sarot Group's Burj Al Babas project.
But the development of 732 villas and a shopping centre - which began in 2014 - is now in limbo as Sarot Group has sought bankruptcy protection.
It is one of hundreds of Turkish companies that have done so as they seek cover from creditors and to restructure their debts.