ABU DHABI // Mansour Al Helei will learn Wednesday afternoon whether he has the motorsport X-factor as the FIA Institute’s Young Driver Excellence Academy’s four-day regional selection event draws to a close.
Sixteen participants will be whittled down to five by a panel of judges before an afternoon time trial and a round of interviews will help determine the successful driver set to join the Academy next season.
Al Helei, son of Emirati endurance racer Yahya, has been undergoing a variety of physical, psychological and driving training sessions at Yas Marina Circuit over the past three days. Alongside other participants from the Middle East and Mediterranean, he yesterday underwent a session that involved recovering a car while aquaplaning on a sprinkler-soaked track.
“The FIA institute are giving us the major things to be successful in this career,” Al Helei, 21, an amateur cross-country rally driver, said.
“Almost all of the group are professionals in either karting or track racing, so it has been difficult. But even though I am a relative beginner compared to some of these guys, I am willing to learn and to work, and I have done well.”
Another session the group attended was regarding sponsorship and how to make yourself marketable. Al Helei called it “the best thing I have ever heard” and intends to put his new knowledge into practice as soon as possible.
“I started as a child being taken on rallies with my dad, but earlier this year, I was the only Arab to cross the line in my category of the Desert Challenge,” he added.
“Of this I am proud and happy, but there is a difference between being happy and being satisfied. I always want to be at the top and leading my cross-country rallies, but I also eventually want to get to the World Rally Championship and information like this can help me achieve that.”
Last night, the three judges held a meeting to discuss which of the 16 drivers would make up five-man shortlist to take part in today’s final shoot-out. Their decision will be made public today before the chosen drivers take part in a timed lap of the circuit and a series of interviews to determine the winner.
Previous graduates of the Academy have gone on to hold positions in Formula One and Kate Robson, Fund Programme Manager of the FIA Institute, concedes that while a driver being amateur is not necessarily detrimental to their chances, if they can provide sponsorship, the likelihood of them being selected is greater.
“We certainly look at a driver’s ability to move their career forward,” she said. “If they have sponsorship, we will take that into consideration. We are trying to produce the stars of the future, so if a driver already has a sponsor, that definitely helps.”
Al Helei brings little in terms of sponsorship, an issue continually raised by his father, who was one of the first Emiratis to compete in the UAE Desert Challenge. Regardless, Mansour is remaining upbeat.
“I am here to challenge, but it will be difficult because they are professional,” he said. “I have tried my best and we will see what the judges say. If it is not me, the feedback will still be invaluable and rally is in my blood, so I will keep going.
“I have big plans.”
gmeenaghan@thenational.ae
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
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€39 million: Liverpool agreed a fee, including add-ons, in the region of €39m (nearly Dh176m) to sign Salah from Roma last year. The exchange rate at the time meant that cost the Reds £34.3m - a bargain given his performances since.
13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.
57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.
7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.
3: This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division's best player in November, February and March.
40: Salah joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players in Liverpool's history to have scored 40 times in a single season when he headed home against Bournemouth at Anfield earlier this month.
30: The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.
8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.
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Primera Liga fixtures (all times UAE: 4 GMT)
Friday
Real Sociedad v Villarreal (10.15pm)
Real Betis v Celta Vigo (midnight)
Saturday
Alaves v Barcelona (8.15pm)
Levante v Deportivo La Coruna (10.15pm)
Girona v Malaga (10.15pm)
Las Palmas v Atletico Madrid (12.15am)
Sunday
Espanyol v Leganes (8.15pm)
Eibar v Athletic Bilbao (8.15pm)
Getafe v Sevilla (10.15pm)
Real Madrid v Valencia (10.15pm)
