We've had circuit racing in the Gulf since Bahrain ran its first F1 event seven years ago. By contrast, the first Indianapolis 500 race was run 100 years ago. It's hard to imagine the enormous level of support and interest that is generated by an event that has so much history.
But is it relevant to us? Surely this is some peculiar form of Americans-only event, what with its cars running 220mph (355kph) laps on a 2.5 mile (4km) oval-shaped race circuit with four, high-speed corners banked at nine degrees?
Well, not quite. The event had attracted foreign drivers as early as 1913, with the first success coming from Frenchman Jules Goux winning the event in only its third running in a Peugeot. But after a short run of foreign drivers winning in European cars, it would be another 45 years of American domination before the legendary Scottish racer Jim Clark won the event in a Lotus in 1965. To make matters worse for the locals, the following year Damon Hill's father, Graham, took them by surprise when he beat them in a Lola. In fact, more than a quarter of the races have been won by foreign drivers, mostly from Brazil, UK, France and Italy.
Of the 41 drivers entered for this year's Indy 500, only 12 are American. In fact, the last time an American won this race was in 2006, when Sam Hornish Jr overtook young Marco Andretti on the last lap to win by six hundredths of a second. Not bad for a 500-mile (805km) race, eh?
You may have heard the famous Indianapolis Speedway being referred to as the "Brickyard". In 1909, after several very nasty accidents caused by the rough road surface, it was decided to resurface the track with bricks. Three million of them. Of course, with modern tarmac technology, they have all been replaced, except for one yard of the old bricks that remain at the start-finish line.
Last year, one of Britain's most promising young single-seater drivers, Mike Conway, had an enormous crash at the Indy 500 in which he nearly lost his life. Conway's car was launched into the catchfence and he was left with a broken back and a badly fractured left leg. The accident was caused by a driver running out of fuel and slowing suddenly on the racing line, which meant that Conway, who was running 220mph (355kph) laps, ran into the back of the slowing car. The notion of cars being allowed to run fuel-saving laps to get to the finish creates unnecessary risks.
Conway had to undergo a very challenging rehabilitation programme designed to gradually increase his return to full fitness.
He was able to return to the cockpit in a single-seater racing simulator at the PureTech Racing Centre near London in the UK. And surely nobody who saw that crash would have thought that, less than 11 months later, Conway would be able to race again. Unbelievably, not only was he able to race, but he won the first competition he raced - the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, beating fellow Brit Dario Franchitti. No doubt he will be looking for another win at this weekend's Indy 500.
Barry Hope is a director of GulfSport Racing, which is hoping to produce the first Arab F1 driver through the FG1000 race series. Join the UAE racing community online at www.singleseaterblog.com
Scoreline
Saudi Arabia 1-0 Japan
Saudi Arabia Al Muwallad 63’
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
Schedule:
Friday, January 12: Six fourball matches
Saturday, January 13: Six foursome (alternate shot) matches
Sunday, January 14: 12 singles
The Good Liar
Starring: Helen Mirren, Ian McKellen
Directed by: Bill Condon
Three out of five stars
Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinFlx%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%202021%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amr%20Yussif%20(co-founder%20and%20CEO)%2C%20Mattieu%20Capelle%20(co-founder%20and%20CTO)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%20in%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%241.5m%20pre-seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Venture%20capital%20-%20Y%20Combinator%2C%20500%20Global%2C%20Dubai%20Future%20District%20Fund%2C%20Fox%20Ventures%2C%20Vector%20Fintech.%20Also%20a%20number%20of%20angel%20investors%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
PROFILE BOX
Company name: Overwrite.ai
Founder: Ayman Alashkar
Started: Established in 2020
Based: Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai
Sector: PropTech
Initial investment: Self-funded by founder
Funding stage: Seed funding, in talks with angel investors
RACE CARD
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m
6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 (PA) Listed Dh230,000 1,600m
6.30pm: HH The President’s Cup (PA) Group 1 Dh2.5million 2,200m
7pm: HH The President’s Cup (TB) Listed Dh380,000 1,400m
7.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap Dh70,000 1,200m.
MATCH INFO
England 2
Cahill (3'), Kane (39')
Nigeria 1
Iwobi (47')
