The Emirati officials putting safety at the heart of the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

The Emirati officials putting safety at the heart of the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Officials from the the Emirates Motorsport Organisation team at the F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. (Supplied)
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Updated 06 December 2024
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The Emirati officials putting safety at the heart of the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

The Emirati officials putting safety at the heart of the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
  • Heba Abbas Bahaj and Shuhab Ahmed Al-Shehhi explain the vital roles they play during race week at Yas Marina Circuit

ABU DHABI: As the Formula 1 action begins at Yas Marina Circuit, Emirate officials will proudly represent the UAE as part of a strong and diverse team working behind the scenes to ensure everything runs smoothly and safely.

Among those playing a crucial role at the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend are Heba Abbas Bahaj and Shuhab Ahmed Al-Shehhi. As members of the Emirates Motorsport Organization, their responsibilities include helping ensure the drivers’ safety on track and keeping the public out of harm’s way.

Heba, who has 16 years of experience, will have the best seat in the house when the lights go out at the start of the race, and when the checkered flag waves at the end. As chief flag official, one of her responsibilities is to monitor the start and finish of all sessions and races over the weekend, liaising closely with race control.

“A lot of preparation goes into what is essentially the biggest motorsport event in our race calendar,” said Heba, 41, who volunteered at the first Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2009 before starting her career as an EMSO official.

“For my position, the training sessions include ‘flag refresher,’ ‘communication’ and ‘pit lane’ and they span over two months, culminating in a practical shakedown session at the end. We had to pass a written exam to be ready for the event.”

From Friday to Sunday, Heba says she expects to get approximately four hours of sleep each night, leaving her house at 6 a.m. and returning late in the evening. Despite the long, hectic days it is a job she loves, and she is looking forward to helping make sure the event is a success.

She said: “Yes, we have the best seat at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but it’s not all glamour and easy. As officials, it’s our responsibility to ensure everyone is safe, as well as the safety of the track section we are responsible for. Therefore, we need to be vigilant and attentive at all times, which means standing on our feet for long periods of time, monitoring, and reporting on incidents we see that might affect the safety or integrity of the race.

“As start and finish line officials, we need to be super attentive and monitor what’s going on (on) track, especially when it’s a close finish and the leader is approaching our location. Now, imagine having to do all of this under the watchful eyes of millions of people — yes, it’s a fun and enjoyable time, but it’s also a lot of pressure and responsibility.”

Joining Heba on the EMSO team of officials is Shuhab Ahmed Al-Shehhi. With 12 years’ experience, the 38-year-old enters the F1 season finale as the event’s F1 sector chief.

His main priorities during race week include ensuring his team understand their roles and have the correct equipment for going trackside, monitoring areas for hazardous materials, and attending a daily debrief.

He said: “I am really excited about this week’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, although it will be a busy period. I always try to pass on positive vibes to people that I meet as that is very important and sets the tone ahead.

“Having been in this field for 12 years, what pleases me the most is the dedication of each official and their determination to do their job to the best of their ability, and I believe anyone who wants to be an EMSO official marshal in the future must be willing to learn, be a team player, and be honest.

“More importantly, they must possess a deep passion for motorsports. I recall the first time I sat in an F1 car many years ago, which ignited my love for the sport. Now, I am serving as a race official for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in my home country.”

Mahir Badri, EMSO chief executive, added: “Since the inaugural Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2009, our collaboration with (Grand Prix organizers) Ethara and Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management has been instrumental in developing a robust team of officials. Today, we are proud to say that our UAE teams are among the best in the world — highly skilled and respected internationally.

“The presence of Formula 1 in Abu Dhabi has made this profession increasingly attractive, and we’re especially proud of our Emirati officials and the diverse community of residents who form the UAE’s EMSO team. They consistently go above and beyond, dedicating their time and energy to ensuring the success of major motorsport events.”

He added: “Just days ago, we concluded the Dubai International Baja, a challenging event that tested the endurance and commitment of our officials, who delivered exceptional results under tough desert conditions.

“With over 6,000 active race officials within EMSO, our team not only excels locally but also plays a significant role internationally, supporting prestigious motorsport events across the globe. Their dedication and professionalism continue to be the backbone of our motorsport community.”


Teams owners Tom Brady, Will Smith and Didier Drogba prepare for E1 Jeddah Grand Prix

Teams owners Tom Brady, Will Smith and Didier Drogba prepare for E1 Jeddah Grand Prix
Updated 21 sec ago
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Teams owners Tom Brady, Will Smith and Didier Drogba prepare for E1 Jeddah Grand Prix

Teams owners Tom Brady, Will Smith and Didier Drogba prepare for E1 Jeddah Grand Prix
  • The UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF, the world’s only all-electric racing boat championship, starts its second season Jan. 24-25
  • 2024 winner Team Brady prepare to defend crown against Team Drogba, Team Rafa and Racing Team Aoki

JEDDAH: Just under a week remains for Tom Brady, Will Smith, Didier Drogba, Virat Kohli and a host of other celebrity owners to prepare their teams for this season’s UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF, which begins with the Jeddah GP.

The all-electric RaceBird boats took to the Red Sea waters off Jeddah for the E1 Championship’s global debut in February 2024, and the season concluded with Team Brady crowned the 2024 Champions of the Water.

Qualifying for the 2025 E1 Jeddah GP takes place on Friday, Jan. 24, and is followed on Saturday by the main race, presented in partnership with the Kingdom’s Ministry of Sport and the Saudi Water Sports and Diving Federation.

Prince Sultan bin Fahd bin Salman, president of the SWSDF, said: “For owners, pilots, organizers and fans, the countdown is on for the start of what will be a fascinating UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF at the Jeddah GP.

“This is where relentless innovation, marine preservation, and exhilarating races all come together, unveiling a new season for the Championship.

“In such a spectacular setting, this popular event highlights Saudi Arabia’s commitment to pioneering sustainable sports and furthering its reputation as a global hub for innovation and eco-tourism.”

The teams, each featuring male and female pilots sharing driving duties, are owned by celebrities from the world of sports and entertainment.

They include Smith (Westbrook Racing), Marc Anthony (Team Miami powered by Magnus), Steve Aoki (Racing Team Aoki), Brady (Team Brady), Kohli (Team Blue Rising), Drogba (Team Drogba), Rafael Nadal (Team Rafa) and Marcelo Claure (Team Brazil by Claure).

In its first season, E1 races took place in Venice, Monaco, Puerto Banus and Lake Como.


Longines World’s Best James McDonald set for Saudi Cup International Jockeys’ Challenge

Longines World’s Best James McDonald set for Saudi Cup International Jockeys’ Challenge
Updated 6 min 10 sec ago
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Longines World’s Best James McDonald set for Saudi Cup International Jockeys’ Challenge

Longines World’s Best James McDonald set for Saudi Cup International Jockeys’ Challenge
  • John Velazquez, Hollie Doyle, Christophe Soumillon and Rachel King among strong IJC field at King Abdulaziz Racecourse next month

RIYADH: Recently crowned Longines World’s Best Jockey James McDonald will line up at the 2025 International Jockeys’ Challenge at King Abdulaziz Racecourse on Feb. 21, the day before he bids for Saudi Cup glory aboard Romantic Warrior. 

It is the first time the globetrotting New Zealander, who has ridden 106 Group 1 winners in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, the UK and Japan, will compete in Saudi Arabia.

McDonald has forged a much-lauded partnership with the record-breaking, three-time Hong Kong Cup winner Romantic Warrior. Following the IJC he will attempt to guide the world’s highest-earning racehorse to victory in the $20m Saudi Cup on Feb. 22.

An array of global stars headlines this year’s IJC, with seven male and seven female riders.

John Velazquez, who has well over 6,000 winners in the USA to his name, including six Classic victories, will make his debut after riding on Saudi Cup night last year.

Another global superstar making his IJC debut is Christophe Soumillon. The Belgian has taken a handful of rides at King Abdulaziz Racecourse over the years, with a single success back in 2004.

Top British rider Hollie Doyle, a dual Group 1 winner in the UK and Ireland last year, returns to ride in her second IJC after competing in 2021. She will be joined by four-time British Champion Jockey Oisin Murphy, who finished third in last year’s Group 3 Longines Red Sea Turf Handicap aboard Giavellotto before going on to guide the Marco Botti charge to success in last month’s Group 1 Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin.

Australia-based British rider Rachel King is no stranger to the big stage. A multiple Group 1-winning jockey in Australia, she also recently secured a Group 3 victory in Japan.

Maryline Eon will return to defend her IJC title, having claimed the prize last year when finishing seven points clear of Saudi Arabia-based rider Camilo Ospina. She will be joined by the winner of the inaugural IJC in 2020, Germany-based Sibylle Vogt, who will be competing in her third IJC.

The UAE-based Irish rider Tadhg O’Shea, whose biggest success to date came on 2024 Dubai World Cup champion Laurel River, will make his IJC debut.

McDonald’s New Zealand compatriot, Kelly Myers, is another riding in the IJC for the first time and will be joined by 22-year-old Canada-based Sofia Vives and Japan’s Manami Nagashina, also 22 years old. Both Vives and Nagashina come to the Kingdom on the back of outstanding seasons, where both celebrated their first Graded successes.

The IJC line up will be completed by two leading Saudi Arabia-based riders to be announced at a later date.

Riders will compete for points across the four IJC races, with the jockey that amasses the most points emerging victorious. In each race, 15 points will be awarded for first place, 10 for second, seven for third, four for fourth and the fifth placed rider will receive two points.

The first two IJC races will be run on the dirt track at King Abdulaziz Racecourse, while legs three and four will take place on the turf track. Each race is worth a total of $400,000.


Arabia Wolves and Mid East Falcons set for Baseball United Series in Dubai

Arabia Wolves and Mid East Falcons set for Baseball United Series in Dubai
Updated 36 min 48 sec ago
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Arabia Wolves and Mid East Falcons set for Baseball United Series in Dubai

Arabia Wolves and Mid East Falcons set for Baseball United Series in Dubai
  • The 3-game series will have the league’s 2 UAE-based franchises play in February at Baseball United Ballpark, part of the Sevens Sports and Entertainment Complex

DUBAI: Baseball United, the first professional league dedicated to the Middle East and South Asia, has announced its first event of 2025 which will have its two UAE franchises face-off next month.

The three-game UAE Series will feature the Dubai-based Arabia Wolves and Abu Dhabi’s Mid East Falcons. The games take place from Feb. 14 to 16 at Baseball United Ballpark, which forms part of The Sevens Sports and Entertainment Complex in Dubai.

The UAE Series will mark the first time Baseball United’s franchises take the field, as well as the first time a professional baseball club competes in the Middle East.

The two franchises have rosters made up of former Major League Baseball players, including former New York Yankees stars Robinson Cano and Didi Gregorius for the Wolves, and former San Francisco Giants standouts Pablo Sandoval and Alejandro De Aza for the Falcons.

The UAE Series will mark the third marquee event hosted by Baseball United in Dubai, following the successful Baseball United Dubai All-Star Showcase in November 2023, and the recent Baseball United Arab Classic in November 2024.

All UAE Series games will be hosted at Baseball United’s new ballpark — the first professional baseball field in the region.

“Thanks to the hard work of our team, and the inspired collaboration with partners, we closed out last year with several historic milestones,” said Kash Shaikh, chairman, CEO, and co-founder of Baseball United.

“We built the first ballpark in the history of the region, we hosted the largest national team tournament in the history of the region, and we launched our official merchandise program at retail and online.

“Next month, we are making history again. Our two UAE-based franchises — the first professional baseball franchises in the history of the Middle East — will take the field for the first time. I’m so excited for our fans in Dubai and around the world to finally see the Wolves and Falcons in action.”

Each team will feature five prospects from the region playing at professional level for the first time. The prospects were selected based on their performance at the Baseball United Arab Classic, as well as via Baseball United’s regional scouting program.

Baseball United’s franchises are made up of professional players from around the world.

The league’s inaugural draft was held in October 2023, with 70 percent of selected players originally drafted by Major League Baseball teams. This includes former MLB All-Stars Cano, Sandoval, Bartolo Colon, and Jair Jurrjens, and four-time Gold Glove Winner Andrelton Simmons.

In addition to the Wolves and Falcons, Baseball United has announced the Mumbai Cobras and the Karachi Monarchs as its two other founding franchises.

Baseball United was co-founded by Shaikh, John Miedreich, and MLB Hall of Famers Barry Larkin and Mariano Rivera in November of 2022.

Its ownership group now includes 20 MLB legends, including Hall of Famer, Adrian Beltre and stars Felix Hernandez, Ryan Howard, Albert Pujols, Ronald Acuna Jr., Robinson Chirinos, and Cano.

Tickets are on sale on Platinumlist. Games will be broadcast across the Middle East and streamed for free on baseballunited.com.


Isak fires Newcastle into Premier League top four, Moyes misery

Isak fires Newcastle into Premier League top four, Moyes misery
Updated 16 January 2025
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Isak fires Newcastle into Premier League top four, Moyes misery

Isak fires Newcastle into Premier League top four, Moyes misery
  • The striker is just the fourth different player to score in eight successive Premier League appearances

LONDON: Alexander Isak fired Newcastle into the Premier League’s top four on Wednesday, scoring twice in a 3-0 cruise against Wolves as David Moyes endured a miserable return to the Everton dugout.
Red-hot Isak found the net for the eighth league match in a row as the Magpies leapfrogged faltering Chelsea into fourth spot in the table.
The Swedish international put the home side ahead in the 34th minute when his shot took a huge deflection off Wolves defender Rayan Ait-Nouri, leaving Jose Sa wrong-footed.
The striker is just the fourth different player to score in eight successive Premier League appearances, after Jamie Vardy (twice for Leicester), Ruud van Nistelrooy (twice for Manchester United), and Daniel Sturridge (for Liverpool).
Isak doubled Newcastle’s lead shortly before the hour mark, controlling Bruno Guimaraes’ pass before firing home for his 15th league goal of the season and Anthony Gordon added a third.
Eddie Howe’s men, who have now won six straight league games, have recovered strongly from a lengthy poor spell to make a powerful case for a Champions League spot next season.
Taking advantage of the faltering form of Manchester City and Chelsea, they are just three points behind third-placed Nottingham Forest.
Moyes, in the first game of his second spell in charge of Everton, watched his toothless side lose 1-0 to Aston Villa at Goodison Park.
Ollie Watkins broke the deadlock in the 51st minute, slotting past England teammate Jordan Pickford after he was sent clear by Morgan Rogers.
Everton huffed and puffed but showed a lack of creativity — unsurprising for a team who have scored just 15 league goals in their 20 matches this season.
The result lifts Unai Emery’s Villa to seventh in the table but Everton remain in deep trouble, just one point above the relegation zone in 16th spot.
The Liverpool club’s new owners, the American-based Friedkin Group, sacked Sean Dyche last week and brought back 61-year-old Moyes, who enjoyed success during an 11-year stint at Goodison Park from 2002 to 2013.
But the Toffees, ever-present in the top flight since 1954, have battled relegation for the past three seasons and are once again in deep trouble.
Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester suffered their sixth straight league defeat, losing 2-0 to Crystal Palace to leave the Foxes second from bottom of the table.
Jean-Philippe Mateta put the visitors ahead early in the second half and Marc Guehi made the points safe with a late second.
Arsenal, winless in three matches in all competitions, are hosting injury-hit Tottenham in the late kick-off on Wednesday.


Police probe abuse of Havertz’s wife after Arsenal star’s woes

Police probe abuse of Havertz’s wife after Arsenal star’s woes
Updated 15 January 2025
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Police probe abuse of Havertz’s wife after Arsenal star’s woes

Police probe abuse of Havertz’s wife after Arsenal star’s woes
  • Havertz missed a penalty in Arsenal’s shootout defeat against Manchester United in the FA Cup
  • The Germany international’s wife, Sophia, reposted two abusive messages she had received on Instagramhavertz

LONDON: Police have launched an investigation into social media abuse aimed at Arsenal forward Kai Havertz’s wife after his latest poor performance.
Havertz missed a penalty in Arsenal’s shootout defeat against Manchester United in the FA Cup third round on Sunday.
Following Arsenal’s second successive loss, the Germany international’s wife, Sophia, reposted two abusive messages she had received on Instagram.
A police spokesman told Britain’s Press Association: “Officers have received a report of malicious communications toward a Hertfordshire resident on Sunday 12 January. Enquiries are under way.”
Speaking on Tuesday, on the eve of Arsenal’s Premier League match against Tottenham, Gunners manager Mikel Arteta flagged the “terrible consequences” of online abuse.
“It’s something that we really have to eradicate from the game, because it’s so cynical as well,” he said.
Havertz has scored 12 goals in 27 matches for Arsenal this season.
But his woeful finishing in the United game and the preceeding 2-0 home defeat to Newcastle in the League Cup semifinal first leg has reopened criticism of the German.
Havertz, who scored the Champions League final winner for Chelsea in 2021, has endured an erratic spell with Arsenal since moving across London in 2023.
But Arteta said there is no excuse for the abuse, saying: “We can accept it and say ‘that’s our job’, but there are certain limits and the line has to be drawn. It cannot happen. That’s it.”