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MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2016 SPORTS For Mercedes-AMG, Dubai 24-hour race marks the start of a new era DUBAI: With the first competitive outing of Mercedes-AMG GT3 will be delivered to AMG on the organiser’s website the Mercedes-AMG GT3 by AMG Customer Customer Sport Teams for competitions all (www.24hseries.com). Sport Teams, an extensive phase of testing over the world. Based on the great demand for Tobias Moers, Chairman of the Board of and development is coming to an end. the new car, production capacity was signifi- Management of Mercedes-AMG GmbH: “We Following the car’s world debut at an exhibi- cantly increased. are delighted that we can hand over the first tion in March, 2015, the first tests in competi- Additionally, a total of eight SLS AMG GT3s Mercedes-AMG GT3s to our customer teams tive conditions were carried out at the occa- will also be on the grid in Dubai. AMG after an intense and successful time of testing sion of the VLN endurance championship. Customer Sport Teams Gravity Racing and development. We are certain that our new After successful outings on the N¸rburgring- International, Hofor-Racing, V8 Racing, Preci- car will enable the teams to build on the great Nordschleife and an extensive 30-hour-test at Spark, SPS automotive-performance, IDEC achievements of the SLS AMG GT3. For us, the Portimao, the car now has to prove its poten- Sport Racing and GDL Racing are running one Dubai 24-hour race is the first benchmark for tial in the demanding conditions of the 24- gullwing each. Next to its pair of Mercedes- the new racing season.” hour race in the Dubai desert. AMG GT3s, Black Falcon is also running an SLS Jochen Bitzer, Head of AMG Customer With Black Falcon and RAM Racing, two of AMG GT3. AMG Customer Sport Teams will Sports: “We wish all the AMG Customer Sport the most successful AMG Customer Sport also be scoring points for the AMG Customer Teams a good start into the new season. For Teams are responsible for running the new Sports Championship in Dubai. The internal us, the Dubai 24 Hours always have been a Mercedes-AMG GT3. Since 2012, Black Falcon championship, held for the second time in highlight at the start of the new year in the has won the Dubai 24 Hours on three occa- 2016, rewards the most successful AMG past couple of years. With three Mercedes- sions. RAM Racing came second overall with Customer Sport Teams and drivers. AMG GT3s and eight SLS AMG GT3s, we have a the SLS AMG GT3 last year and won the GT3 The 24-hour race in Dubai got underway on very strong line-up in Dubai. Moreover, we are class teams’ title in the 24H Series. In the Friday, 15 January, at 14.00 hrs (local time). delighted to welcome a new AMG Customer upcoming weeks and months, further Live streaming and live timing were available Sports Team with IDEC Sport Racing.” Coe says trust may take over four years to return LONDON: Sebastian Coe, the head of ath- came out from the report relatively letics’ crisis-hit governing body, says trust in unscathed, told the BBC on Sunday. the sport may not return until “way “It may be the case that trust does not beyond” his four-year term as president of return until way beyond my term in office.” the IAAF. The WADA report’s co-author Dick An independent commission of the Pound said he thought Coe was the best World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said in man to reform the sport. the second part of a damning report on The Briton, a double Olympic 1500 Thursday that “corruption was embedded” metres champion who was elected presi- at the International Association of Athletics dent in August, said he took some comfort Federations. that the report found that the IAAF’s sys- The report, whose first part was pub- tems were not chronically broken and that lished in November, said Coe’s predecessor, officials were not “asleep on the job”. He Lamine Diack, ran a clique that covered up said he understood that people would be organised doping and blackmailed athletes sceptical that the IAAF’s council, of which while senior officials looked the other way. he had been a member since 2003, did not “Trust is not going to come over night, it know about doping cover-ups, and added is not as if you make five changes and trust that his own focus had been “limited” due will follow in two weeks’ time,” Coe, who to his other commitments. —Reuters Clarke ‘still has much to learn’ after EurAsia win KUALA LUMPUR: Victorious EurAsia Cup “At the end of the day if your players captain Darren Clarke admitted yesterday don’t perform you can be the best captain he still had much to learn ahead of leading in the world but you’re not going to win. Europe in September’s Ryder Cup against “But this week belongs to the players as the US. Clarke led his team to an emphatic they have just done fantastic. The quality of 13-point demolition of an Asian Tour team golf they have played has been impressive.” to win the EurAsia Cup in Kuala Lumpur Right from the outset each of Clarke’s yesterday. dozen players have been praiseworthy of His 12-man team was never headed his captaincy including his two picks in Lee over the three days leading by three points Westwood and Ian Poulter. Clarke indicated after Friday’s opening fourballs, six points earlier in the week the veteran English pair after the second day foursomes before win- will be a part of his Hazeltine Ryder Cup ning nine of the singles and sharing one in side whether competing or as one of five an 18.5-5.5 points triumph at the non-playing vice-captains. Glenmarie Golf and Country Club. “I have enjoyed this week immensely WENGEN: From left, second placed Italy’s Giuliano Razzoli, first placed, Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen and third placed Italy’stefano S Gross cel- It was Clarke’s first taste of team leader- and it’s been a wonderful learning experi- ebrate at the finish line at the end of a men’s Alpine Skiing World Cup slalom in Wengen, Switzerland yesterday. —AP ship victory. The Northern Irishman joins ence,” said Clarke. “As everyone knows I recent European Ryder Cup captains Paul have been around the game for a long time McGinley (Seve Trophy 2009, 2011) and and done most things in the game. Colin Montgomerie (Seve Trophy 2002, “But this week has been different with Kristoffersen wins 2003, 2005, Royal Trophy 2010) in having the guys seemingly keen to listen to what I led a team to victory ahead of captaining in have had to say and if my little part in this the Ryder Cup. week has helped them along then well be “There are a lot of things I have learnt it. “We will now go back after this week and this week-time being one of them that I sit down with the European Tour what I did World Cup slalom didn’t have an awful lot of,” said Clarke. well as a captain and what I could have “But there are a lot of positives I can take done better, and then work on those areas from this week and... hopefully I will do a so that we can get the whole package even better job when it comes to September. better come September.” — AFP WENGEN: It was Norway all the way, all Italy. Another Italian, Stefano Gross, was .68 downhill course rather than the adjoining weekend at Wengen. back in third. slalom hill that was too difficult to prepare Henrik Kristoffersen won a World Cup The 21-year-old racer’s surge down the during recent warm weather with little snow. slalom yesterday to follow teammates Aksel final section, after slipping .05 behind On an uphill section of gates, Kristoffersen Lund Svindal and Kjetil Jansrud in making Razzoli’s time split, carried him through the preferred to use a skating-style move while Switzerland’s signature Alpine ski meeting a finish area and almost over a protective some rivals chose an aerodynamic tuck posi- three-race Norwegian sweep. airbag at the back. tion typical of downhill racers. Kristoffersen’s fourth win this season, all in “I told the coaches, ‘If I’m behind on the “I haven’t done that much (cross-country slalom, was also a record 12th for Norway in a last steep, don’t worry, I’m going to get it skiing) in my life, but I’m from Norway so I men’s World Cup campaign. This one is still back,’” Kristoffersen said. guess it’s in my body,” the 21-year-old only 19 races old, and has two months and 24 Hirscher made a surprise exit in the sec- Kristoffersen told The Associated Press after scheduled races to go. ond leg, though he was only 10th fastest in his first run in the morning. “It’s pretty unique, it doesn’t happen every the morning on a flat course that did not suit “This is maybe a little bit too flat. But it’s year,” said Kristoffersen, who also won last him. better to have a race than not.” yesterday at nearby Adelboden. “I don’t think “It could be that everything is over, the While Wengen welcomed the Norwegians it’s a secret. The work that the individual ath- slalom and the overall globes,” Hirscher said.

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