WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2018 18 Desert auto rally Amul, Turkmenistan urkmenistan’s authori- Ttarian leader yesterday A ‘dream’ come true aunched the isolated coun- try’s first international auto rally running through the Monaco driver Charles Leclerc will replace Finnish veteran Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari next season Karakum desert and tracing a spur of the Old Silk Road. The five-stage race in- AFP | Milan, Italy volving more than 80 teams Factfile on Charles Leclerc representing 20 countries is oung Monaco driver Charles Le- set to wind up on Saturday clerc will replace Finnish veteran Name : Charles and will serve as a qualify- YKimi Raikkonen at Ferrari next Leclerc ing tournament for a longer, season with the former world champion Date of birth : October 16, two-week rally through returning to Sauber where he started 1997 three African countries next his career, both Formula One teams an- Place of birth : Monaco year. nounced on Tuesday. Nationality : Monagesque Speaking at the rally’s The 20-year-old Leclerc -- a Ferrari Height : 1.80m opening, President Gur- Driver Academy graduate -- is a rising Team : 2018: Sauber banguly Berdymukhamedov star of the sport winning GP3 in 2016 Race number : 16 said the race from the east- and Formula 2 in 2017, before making his ern city of Amul -- a former debut in F1 this season with the Sauber Formula One career hub on the old trade routes team. Grand Prix started : 14 linking Europe and Asia -- “Scuderia Ferrari announces that, at Teams : Sauber to the western city of Hazar the end of the 2018 season, Kimi Raik- (2018), Ferrari (from 2019) on the country’s Caspian konen will step down from his current Debut : Australia coast would “bring peoples role,” the team said in a statement. “.. 2018 Points : 13 closer together.” in the next Formula One racing season, Best result : 6th in “We are holding the Charles Leclerc will drive for the Team Azerbaijan first international rally alongside Sebastian Vettel,” it added. called ‘Amul-Hazar 2018’,” “Dreams do come true,” Leclerc posted 2017 : Formula Two boomed Berdymukhame- on Twitter. “I’ll be driving for @scuder- champion dov, who has in the past iaferrari for the 2019 Formula 1 World 2016 : GP3 driven racing cars around Championship.” champion for state media. “Welcome.” Leclerc has had a promising start to Contestants will race his rookie season, finishing sixth at the across deserts and wild Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with 16 points terrain spanning approx- from 14 races. imately 1,570 kilometers He has been nurtured by the Scuderia könen will join the team from 2019. The (975 miles). Ferrari for several years and is managed 2007 Formula One World Champion has Jean-Louis Schlesser, a by Nicolas Todt, son of former Ferrari signed for the next two seasons,” Sauber French ex-Formula One team principal and current FIA president confirmed. driver and rally champion Jean Todt. Raikkonen left Sauber for McLaren in who is the director of the “I will be eternally grateful to @scu- 2002 before rejoining Ferrari in 2006. Amul-Hazar race, thanked deriaferrari for the opportunity given. He tweeted: “Guess who’s back?! Next over 150 participants in- To @nicolastodt for supporting me since two years with @sauberf1team ahead! cluding “the big names that 2011. To my family,” Leclerc added. Feels extremely good to go back where responded”. Leclerc also paid tribute to former it all began!” Russian rally raid truck French driver Jules Bianchi, who died Sauber team principal Frédéric Vas- driver Ayrat Mardeev and aged 25 in 2015 from injuries he sus - seur said: “Signing Kimi Räikkönen as British car driver Harry tained at the Japanese Grand Prix. our driver represents an important pillar Hunt are among the bet - “To Jules, thank you for all the things of our project, and brings us closer to our ter-known competitors you learnt me, we will never forget you,” target of making significant progress as a featuring in the Turkmen he added of Bianchi whom he knew from Charles Leclerc team in the near future. Desert Race. his karting days in south-east France. “Kimi’s undoubted talent and im - The 38-year-old Raikkonen has en- tion to the team, both as a driver and on 2014, and was a popular figure with over mense experience in Formula One will tered 287 Grands Prix --- 144 for Ferrari account of his human qualities, has been 87,000 fans signing a petition this week not only contribute to the development -- winning 20 since his debut in 2001 fundamental. He played a decisive role in to keep him at the Maranello-based team. of our car, but will also accelerate the PSG to launch with Sauber. the team’s growth and was, at the same “As a World Champion for Scuderia growth and development of our team as The Finn -- known as the “Iceman” time, always a great team player,” Team Ferrari, he will always be part of the a whole. cryptocurrency -- achieved his 100th podium finish by Principal Maurizio Arrivabene said. Team’s history and family. We thank “Together, we will start the 2019 sea- finishing second at the Italian Grand Raikkonen left F1 two years after win- Kimi for all of this and wish him and his son with a strong foundation, driven by Paris, France Prix in Monza this month after claiming ning the world title with Ferrari and family a prosperous future,” the team the determination to fight for results his 18th pole in style with F1’s all-time spent two years competing in the World added. that count.” rench footballing giants fastest lap. Rally Championship, before returning to Sauber later confirmed Raikkonen Vasseur added: “It has been a great FParis Saint-Germain are This season he has had nine podium F1 with Lotus in 2012. would return to the team he made his pleasure to support Charles Leclerc in launching their own cryp- finishes and is third overall, 92 points debut with in 2001. his rookie year in Formula One. Since tocurrency after announc- behind Lewis Hamilton. Raikkonen returns to F1 roots “The Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team is his arrival, he has given the team great ing a new partnership with “During these years, Kimi’s contribu- Raikkonen moved back to Ferrari in delighted to announce that Kimi Räik- motivation.” Socios.com, a blockchain company based in Malta. In a statement announc- ing the deal on Tuesday, Qatar-owned PSG did not reveal the length of the Fenati loses licence after pulling rival’s brake agreement or how much money they will make from AFP | Milan, Italy Fenati’s actions followed it, although a source told Manzi’s attempt to overtake him AFP they expected it to be isgraced Moto2 rider Ro- a few laps earlier, with both rid- worth “several million eu- Dmano Fenati has lost his ers running off the track. ros”. licence and been banned from The Italian apologised for his Socios.com describes it- competing in all events by the “disgraceful gesture” and said self as a “tokenized foot- Italian motorcycling federation Tuesday he was retiring from ball fan voting platform”, for grabbing a rival’s brake dur- sport and going back to com- with the title derived from ing the San Marino Grand Prix. plete his studies. the Spanish name given to The 22-year-old Fenati had “I’m finished with the motor- members of La Liga giants earlier announced he was re- cycle world, I will not run again. Barcelona and Real Madrid. tiring after being sacked by his I was wrong, it’s true: I apologise PSG, who signed Brazil- Marinelli Snipers team and the to everyone.”Fenati told Italian ian superstar Neymar for Forward Racing team he was newspaper La Repubblica. a world record fee of 222 due to join next season. But he added: “Do you want to million euros ($264m) last Fenati has also been ordered see my helmet and my leathers? year, also want to “release to appear before a disciplinary There is a long black strip, the rewards, exclusive content hearing of the Italian federation Manzi rubber. He attacked me and all kinds of experienc- on September 14 to present his three times and he could have es” through the deal. version of events. killed me too, as you say. Socios.com founder Al- Both riders were speeding “The last time I had it done to exandre Dreyfus says his around the Misano track at over me was 500m before (the brake company’s idea is to “re - 200kph on Sunday when Fena- incident), then I thought ‘now I invent... in more of a 2.0 ti -- aboard a Marinelli Snip - do the same, I’ll show you that style” the concept of the ers-run Kalex bike -- leaned over I can be bad’ and maybe you “socio”, which in Spain and pressed fellow Italian Ste- will finally understand what it means allowing fans to be fano Manzi’s brake lever. Manzi means. directly involved in club de- briefly lost his balance before re- “But I never thought to hurt cision-making. gaining control of his Suter bike. Fenati has been banned for grabbing a rival’s brake during the San Marino Grand Prix. him, I swear.”.