Veteran German driver Timo Bernhard led Porsche to a dramatic third straight win at the 24 Hours Le Mans race to prevent a huge upset win for the lesser category Oreca team on Sunday.
After a series of mishaps to pre-race favorites Porsche and Toyota, the LMP2 category Oreca suddenly found itself in the lead with 19-year-old Frenchman Thomas Laurent behind the wheel three hours from the end of the grueling endurance race.
But the 36-year-old Bernhard, racing in the faster and more powerful LMP1 category Porsche 919 Hybrid, overtook the Oreca with about 1 hour remaining.
As the Porsche No 2 crossed the finish line, there were scenes of relief in the Porsche garage as team members danced around holding up T-shirts with “Hat trick 2015, 2016, 2017” written on them.
“Well done everybody,” an exhausted Bernhard said over team radio. “You’re the best.”
Teammate Brendon Hartley, who had done much of the hard work to drag Porsche back into the race, was in tears.
“It was unreal. This race is always a roller coaster,” said Hartley, who won it for the first time. “It was an incredible team effort. I’m going to remember this forever.”
Hartley and fellow New Zealander Earl Bamber rushed over to jump on the No 2 car as the co-drivers celebrated wildly. Bamber also won in 2015 alongside F1 driver Nico Hulkenberg.
Bernhard finished about one minute ahead of the Jackie Chan DC Racing team car, owned by the action movie star.
Another Oreca LMP2 car – driven by Nelson Piquet Jr, the son of the famed Brazilian F1 driver, finished in third place for the Vaillante Rebellion team.
Bernhard also won the race in 2010 when driving for the dominant Audi team.
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■ In Pictures: Relive the 24 Hours of Le Mans
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It was a fantastic comeback win considering that the Porsche No 2 was held up for more than one hour due to technical problems earlier in the race and at one point was in 56th place.
“It was absolutely crazy. When I heard it [the engine] go ‘Bang’ I thought 100 per cent our race was over,” Bamber said. “The guys turned it around. We thought we would finish in the top five. But this race really chooses you when it wants you to win.”
Porsche entered only two cars in the race, compared to three for Toyota.
A year after American actor Brad Pitt got the race underway, Formula One chairman Chase Carey was the official starter for the 85th edition. While last year’s race provided a Hollywood finish, Carey enjoyed another intense race.
After losing to Porsche on the final lap last year, Toyota encountered further mishap at the Circuit de la Sarthe.
Chasing a first victory, Toyota’s hopes were raised after former F1 driver Kamui Kobayashi broke the lap record in qualifying.
But deep into the night, Toyota’s woes began with Kobayashi cruising in the lead.
At around 1am, Kobayashi seemed to have a gear box failure and was reduced to crawling around the track at 60kph. A short time later, he was forced to abandon the race, climbed out and waved goodbye to the fans.
Just minutes later, Toyota could not believe their bad luck when car No 9 driven by Nicolas Lapierre sustained a rear tire puncture. Then, his car stopped with flames shooting out of it.
That left just one Toyota – the No 8 driven by former F1 driver Sebastien Buemi of Switzerland – which was way behind.
By 9am the Porsche No 1 car was comfortably in the lead.
But then it was Porsche’s turn for a setback.
With about four hours to go, the Porsche No 1 driven by German driver Andre Lotterer started losing oil pressure and limped back to the garage. Despite a complete electronic reset, No 1 Porsche abandoned.
With three hours left, the LMP2 car Oreca driven by teenager Laurent found itself two laps ahead of Hartley’s Porsche – which was chasing at nearly 10 seconds per lap faster.
Bernhard replaced Hartley to set up a thrilling finish around the track.
Laurent’s lead was less than two minutes with about an hour to go, at which point he handed over to Chinese driver Tung Ho-Pin.
There was little chance Tung could hold off Bernhard, but it was still a close call for Porsche to secure their 19th Le Mans trophy.
* Agence France-Presse
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The Sky Is Pink
Director: Shonali Bose
Cast: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim, Rohit Saraf
Three stars
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PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Ethree%20three%20212.7kWh%20motors%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201%2C000bhp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E15%2C600Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERange%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20530km%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dh500%2C000%2B%20est%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eearly%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
World Cricket League Division 2
In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
UAE fixtures
Thursday February 8, v Kenya; Friday February 9, v Canada; Sunday February 11, v Nepal; Monday February 12, v Oman; Wednesday February 14, v Namibia; Thursday February 15, final
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
