Manateq International Rally of Qatar All Set for Flag-Off from Souq Waqif Record-Breaking Attiyah Heads Regional Field Into Season Finale TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK LOSAIL
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Afiffif scoresscores in Qatar’s winin ooverver Switzerlanddwitzerlandd in LugLuganoano friendlyendly PAGEAGE 19 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2018 Qatar Racing’s Roaring Lion wins TENNIS PAGE 18 ‘Cartier Horse Of The Year’ award ATP WORLD TOUR FINALS Manateq International Rally of Qatar all set for flag-off from Souq Waqif Record-breaking Attiyah heads regional field into season finale TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK LOSAIL THE 2018 Manateq International Rally of Qatar gets underway with a brand new ceremonial start against the backdrop of the hustle and bustle of Souq Waqif in downtown Doha on Thursday evening. All three regional rally titles were decided in Kuwait two weeks ago and that means that individual pride and outright wins are at stake on this weekend’s revised final round in the northern Qatar deserts. The Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) has attracted 15 potential teams on the FIA start- ing list, plus National Rally entrants, Mechanics work to prepare Saleh Bin Eidan’s Mitsubishi for Rally of Qatar action. Omani teams prepare the cars for Manateq International Rally of Qatar. and competitors from eight nations to the final round of the FIA Middle opened the door for Rashed al Nu- already clinched the title, but Jor- 2018 Manateq International Rally of Qatar East Rally Championship (MERC). ami to take his solitary MERC win. dan’s Khaled Juma is heading for This is despite the conclusion of the Resistance in the R5 category the runners-up spot in the absence LIST OF STARTERS (*UNOFFICIAL) respective category battles. comes from Czech rival Vojtech Stajf of both he and rival Ihab al Shorafa. 1. Nasser Saleh al Attiyah (QAT)/Matthieu Baumel (FRA) Ford Fiesta R5 Local hero Nasser Saleh al At- in a Skoda Fabia and fellow Qatari Abdullah al Kuwari returns to 2. Meshari al Thefiri (KWT)/Saffah al Thefiri (KWT) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X tiyah is still celebrating his record- Adel Abdulla, who makes his debut in the hot seat in a Mitsubishi Lancer 4. Adel Hussein (QAT)/Ziad Chehab (LEB) Ford Fiesta R5 breaking 14th regional title and the a Ford Fiesta R5 run by Motortune. Evolution X. 5. Vojtech Stajf (CZE)/Veronica Havelkova (CZE) Skoda Fabia R5 Qatari will also be bidding to break The MERC 2 or Group N cate- The Qatari’s standout perfor- his own record of 13 wins in the Qa- gory will see the closest competition mance so far in the regional rally 7. Saif Abdullah al Harthy (OMN)/Salim al Abri (OMN) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X tar round of the regional series. with eight Mitsubishi Lancers and series was first in Group N and third 8. Mohammed al Meer (QAT)/Ahmad al Fares (KWT) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X Mechanical issues cost him and three Subaru Imprezas set for battle overall in Jordan in 2016. 9. Abdullah al Kuwari (QAT)/Nasser al Kuwari (QAT) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X French navigator Matthieu Baumel through Qatar’s northern deserts. Khaled al Suwaidi is a non-start- 14. Rashid al Mohannadi (QAT)/Yousef Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX the chance to shine in 2017 and Kuwait’s Meshari al Thefiri has er but there are further local entries 15. Saleh bin Eidan (KWT)/Alexei Kuzmich (RUS) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 16. Abdullah al Rawahi (OMN)/Ata al Hmoud (JOR) Subaru Impreza WRX STi 17. Humaid al Waili (OMN)/Mohd al Mazruii (OMN) M’subishi Lancer Evo VIII 18. Zakariya al Shanfari (OMN)/Saif al Hinai (OMN) Subaru Impreza WRX STi 19. Jarah al Tauqi (OMN)/Issa al Wardi (OMN) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII 20. Shaun McGonigal (OMN)/Nathan Marriott (OMN) Subaru Impreza WRX STi 21. Henry Kahy (LBN)/Musa Djiyerian (JOR) Skoda Fabia 1.6 Qatar’s ace rallyist Nasser Saleh al Attiyah. (*subject to FIA technical scrutineering) for Mohammed al Meer and Rashed being refettled against the clock quired by the FIA to make it eligible al Mohannadi. to ensure that it was ready for FIA for full championship points. TITLE SPONSOR Abdullah al Rawahi heads a scrutineering checks. Friday’s Eraida stage has been six-car entry from the Sultanate There is a further entry for Leb- reduced from 17.02km to 15.87km of Oman that also includes entries anon’s MERC 3 champion Henry and Al Dhakira has gone from for Zakaria al Shanfari, Saif Abdul- Kahy in a two-wheel drive Skoda 18.13km to 12.46km. lah al Harthy, Oman-based Shaun Fabia 1.6. Saturday’s opener at Al Khor McGonigal, Jarah al Tauqi and Hu- Route changes forced on rally has been trimmed from 18.37km maid al Waili. officials by the weather have re- to 13.20km, Al Ghariyah remains Saleh bin Eidan returns to the duced the competitive distance from unchanged and the Al Ruwais spe- championship and boosts the en- 203.40km to 153.82km, but the cial is now 14.22km, as opposed to try from Kuwait in a car that was event still remains within the 75% re- 27.02km in the original itinerary. 2018 FIA MIDDLE EAST RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP: Positions after Round 4 1. Nasser al Attiyah (QAT) 146pts 9. Eddy Karam (LBN) 19pts 16. Abdullah al Rawahi (OMN) 11pts, etc 6. Ahmed Shaban (JOR) 25pts 4. Asem Aref (JOR) 30pts 2. Vojtech Stajf (CZE) 93pts 9. Alexandros Tsouloftas (CYP) 19pts 6. George Englezou (CYP) 25pts 4. Matthias Njeim (LBN) 30pts 3. Meshari al Thefiri (KWT) 59pts, 9. Nasser Khalifa al Attiyah (QAT) 19pts 2018 FIA MERC 2 8. Nasser al Attiyah (QAT) 24pts 4. Constantinos Televantos (CYP) 30pts 4. Roger Feghali (LBN) 38pts 12. Ihab al Shorafa (JOR) 17pts 1. Meshari al Thefiri (KWT) 117pts 9. Abdullah al Rawahi (OMN) 23pts, etc 7. Zacharias Manoli (CYP) 23pts 5. Khaled Juma (JOR) 32pts 13. Ahmed Shaban (JOR) 16pts 2. Khaled Juma (JOR) 49pts 2018 FIA MERC 3 6. Christos Demostheous (CYP) 25pts 14. Savvas Savva (CYP) 15pts 3. Savvas Savva (CYP) 37pts 1. Henry Kahy (LBN) 127pts 2018 FIA MERC Junior 7. Rodolphe Asmar (LBN) 24pts 15. Costas Zenonos (CYP) 12pts 4. Ihab al Shorafa (JOR) 33pts 2. Rony Kanaan (LBN) 39pts Championship for Drivers 8. Henry Kahy (LBN) 21pts 16. Rony Kanaan (LBN) 11pts 5. Costas Zenonos (CYP) 30pts 3. Panayiotis Xenophontos (CYP) 37pts 1. Matthias Njeim (LBN) 39pts. Hamilton cool on F1 expansion to new countries AFP LONDON WORLD champion Lewis Hamilton has questioned Formula One’s poli- cy of organising races in new coun- tries after this month’s announce- ment of the Vietnam Grand Prix. Come meet the champions during the ceremonial start of Manateq - Qatar International Rally, Hamilton told the BBC that the final round of the Middle East championship he would prefer to see more stops at Souq Waqif - Western Square as follows: in countries with a genuine racing tradition, rather than expanding to Ceremonial start Prize giving new markets. Thursday, 15 November 2018 Saturday 17 November 2018 “On the racing side, I don’t know how important it is to go to at 07:05 PM at 05:35 PM new countries as such,” said Ham- ilton who sealed his fifth world title last month. “If you had the Silverstone Vietnamese models attend an F1 ceremony in Hanoi. Vietnam will be the 22nd Grand Prix and a London Grand country in the world to be hosting a Formula One Grand Prix. The 2020 race in Prix, it would be pretty cool.” Vietnam will be the third F1 GP to be established in south-east Asia following The Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, Malaysia and Singapore. (EPA-EFE) will hold a F1 street race from 2020 OFFICIAL PARTNERS: CULTURAL PARTNER ORGANIZED BY: after signing a 10-year deal. and now in the States it is starting to and hardly anyone came. Cool track, Formula One has steadily ex- grow,” said Hamilton. “But you only cool weekend but poor audience.” panded beyond its traditional heart- have one event per year in those plac- Formula One has thrived in MEDIA PARTNERS: lands, adding races in China, India, es. If it was my business, I’d be trying Singapore, but it didn’t last long in South Korea, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, to do more events in those countries. India and South Korea. Vietnam Bahrain, Russia, Azerbaijan and He added: “I’ve been to Vietnam also has scant racing tradition. Turkey, with mixed results. before and it is beautiful. I’ve been Hamilton said: “If you have At the same time, historic Euro- to India before to a race which was the German Grand Prix and you’ve pean races in England, Germany and strange because India was such a poor got a Grand Prix in Berlin, I think Italy have come under threat, while place yet we had this massive, beauti- connecting to cities where a lot of France dropped off the circuit for 10 ful Grand Prix track made in the mid- people are is probably a good thing, years before returning this season. dle of nowhere. I felt very conflicted not necessarily going to countries “We’ve got a lot of real racing when I went to that Grand Prix. where they don’t know so much history in England, Germany, Italy “We had a Grand Prix in Turkey about Formula One.” Sports Thursday, November 15, 2018 17 Agnieszka Radwanska announces retirement Former World No. 2 from Poland cites health reasons for her decision TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK Unfortunately I am no DOHA longer able to train and play the way I used to, and ONE of the grittiest tennis recently my body can’t live Switzerland’s Roger Federer in action against Austria’s Dominic Thiem at the ATP Tour Finals at the O2 players on women’s Tour, and Arena in London on Tuesday.