ABU DHABI // Romain Grosjean, DAM's French driver who raced with Renault F1 in 2009 and is hoping for a call from Lotus-Renault, will start on pole this afternoon in the GP2 Asia season-opener after finishing fastest during qualifying at Yas Marina Circuit yesterday.
The Swiss-born Frenchman clocked a fastest time of 1min 36.041secs as he snaked his way around the track.
Jules Bianchi, the ART driver who will test with Ferrari this season, was placed second, little more than four-hundreths of a second behind, while Davide Valsecchi gave Air Asia a memorable debut in the continental series with a third-placed time.
Grosjean said strategy is irrelevant at this early stage of the season and the most important thing is continuing to emulate yesterday's performance.
"It's always good to be on pole," Grosjean, 24, said.
"I knew my first lap was not bad and that I could improve and was happy that things worked out.
"Consistency is the main thing this season; we can adjust strategy if need be, but for now it is not so important."
Valsecchi was jubilant to be starting today's race from third place on the grid.
"It's a great feeling to be competitive," said Valsecchi, who denied that being the reigning GP2 Asia champion has landed additional pressure on his shoulders.
"Maybe we were not competitive enough to reach pole, but we were always in the top five," he said.
"The team has done an incredible job and we were always confident to finish in the top five.
"Finishing 10th in qualifying would have been difficult, but finishing third means we can maybe challenge Romain and Jules."
Lotus-Renault are searching for a driver to replace Robert Kubica, who was badly injured in a rally crash and will miss at least the first two months of the F1 season.
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
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Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
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Jigra
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The specs
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Power: 154bhp
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Race card
5.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,400m
6.05pm: Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (T) 1,400m
6.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (T) 1,200m
7.50pm: Longines Stakes – Conditions (TB) Dh120,00 (D) 1,900m
8.25pm: Zabeel Trophy – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (T) 1,600m
9pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (T) 2,410m
9.35pm: Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (T) 2,000m
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Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
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The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
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Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
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Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
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Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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RESULTS
Bantamweight title:
Vinicius de Oliveira (BRA) bt Xavier Alaoui (MAR)
(KO round 2)
Catchweight 68kg:
Sean Soriano (USA) bt Noad Lahat (ISR)
(TKO round 1)
Middleweight:
Denis Tiuliulin (RUS) bt Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)
(TKO round 1)
Lightweight:
Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR) bt Joachim Tollefsen (DEN)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 68kg:
Austin Arnett (USA) bt Daniel Vega (MEX)
(TKO round 3)
Lightweight:
Carrington Banks (USA) bt Marcio Andrade (BRA)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 58kg:
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) bt Malin Hermansson (SWE)
(Submission round 2)
Bantamweight:
Jalal Al Daaja (CAN) bt Juares Dea (CMR)
(Split decision)
Middleweight:
Mohamad Osseili (LEB) bt Ivan Slynko (UKR)
(TKO round 1)
Featherweight:
Tarun Grigoryan (ARM) bt Islam Makhamadjanov (UZB)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 54kg:
Mariagiovanna Vai (ITA) bt Daniella Shutov (ISR)
(Submission round 1)
Middleweight:
Joan Arastey (ESP) bt Omran Chaaban (LEB)
(Unanimous decision)
Welterweight:
Bruno Carvalho (POR) bt Souhil Tahiri (ALG)
(TKO)
England v West Indies
England squad for the first Test Cook, Stoneman, Westley, Root (captain), Malan, Stokes, Bairstow, Moeen, Roland-Jones, Broad, Anderson, Woakes, Crane
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1st Test Aug 17-21, Edgbaston
2nd Test Aug 25-29, Headingley
3rd Test Sep 7-11, Lord's
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How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope