The gravel has only just settled on the 2010/11 Cytech UAE GTB Championship but already two of the top drivers appear to be on a collision course for next season.
Jon Simmonds was crowned champion in the final round of the series last month, but he could not bite his tongue over an incident that almost wrecked his title celebration.
"[It was] the final race of the season at Yas, where our main competitor's teammate used his faster car to block and slow me for two laps in the race in order to allow his teammate to gain ground and escape," Simmonds said.
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"It was one of the most unsportsmanlike, dangerous and unbelievable spectacles ever seen in our sport but fortunately the governing bodies of our sport took definite steps to address the issue and dish out justice." Karim al Azhari, the other driver, vehemently defended his manoeuvre, believing his integrity was never in question as he was not punished.
"What I would like to say is that this is only his opinion of my driving on the track that day," al Azhari said.
"It is only his side of the story and it's coming entirely from his limited and restrictive view from his own cockpit.
"The authorities have made investigations into his concerns, shall we say, and the official hearing had the opportunity to hear all the facts about this supposed incident. They have ruled that there was nothing out of the ordinary that day and took no action against me.
"Jon Simmonds should have kept his frustrations to himself. Motorsport is a very intense and emotional sport, but it is important for him to respect the authorities' investigation and stop publicly airing his views as facts. Simmonds is new to motorsport and should recognise it is important that we differentiate between frustration and fact."
The passion of Simmonds, who has called Dubai home for the past five years, is borne out of his desire to be successful in a sport he get involved far later than most.
"I was a very late starter," he said. "My first taste of competitive motorsport was as a 35 year old, when I entered the 2002 Caterham Academy Championship in the UK. After this I raced a Renault Clio in several rounds of the Britcar Championship between 2003 and 2005, securing multiple class wins and podium finishes before moving to Dubai in early 2006.
"Since arriving in the UAE, I have competed in all five 24-hour races at Dubai Autodrome in a variety of cars, including a Golf GTi, Clio, Aston Martin N24 and Seat Supercopa, and have taken a class win and podium against the toughest international competition."
Simmonds is one of the seven drivers who raced in the first UAE TCC event back in 2007 and competed for three seasons, winning Class A and overall UAE TCC crown in 2010 before moving to the UAE GT Championship last year, where clinched the title driving a Porsche GT3 Cup car."
Simmonds, who shared his No 22 car with his co-drivers Tarek Elgammal and Phil Quaife, won three races in the Alex Renner Motors-prepared Porsche, which was one less than Mohammed al Mutawaa, his title rival, in the House of Portier Corvette, but the Briton's consistency and speed, paid off. It was a tough season for Simmonds and he recalls the highlights: "December 17, 2010, at Yas Marina Circuit, where my team, MSW racing, took an unprecedented triple win on the day winning GTA, GTB, with me driving, and Touring Car race.
"Seeing my team's three cars resplendent in team livery in the pit lane with all drivers and crew grinning for Darren Rycroft [the official photographer] as he took our picture was amazing."
Simmonds also cherishes his team's performance in Dubai Autodrome's biggest international race, and he said: "In the Dunlop 24 Hours of Dubai in January 2011, we raced our hearts out in our Seat Supercopa and finished on the same lap as Sunred7, who are the WTCC champions, Spanish Supercopa champions and winners of both 24 Hours of Barcelona and Dubai. We took the fastest race lap in the process."
But motorsport comes with highs and lows. For Simmonds there were a couple of the latter: "Race 6 at Dubai Autodrome where we tested, and qualified fastest and were supremely confident of taking a win only to be mistakenly given the wrong tyres. It was like a bad dream."
The list of people who have a hand in the success is long.
Simmonds said: "There are so many people involved in our racing programme that I'm indebted to that I can't possibly mention them all. Obviously Alex and his ARM team, and my amazing co-drivers Tarek and Phil deserve special mention, but thanks also to everyone who provided financial, technical, product or moral support throughout the season and believed that I could take this championship against such formidable opposition."
* Compiled by Neil Cameron with agency
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
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Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
MATCH INFO
Europa League final
Who: Marseille v Atletico Madrid
Where: Parc OL, Lyon, France
When: Wednesday, 10.45pm kick off (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
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SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
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Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan v Juventus
Saturday, 10.45pm (UAE)
Watch the match on BeIN Sports
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre V6
Power: 295hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 355Nm at 5,200rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km
Price: Dh179,999-plus
On sale: now
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Try out the test yourself
Q1 Suppose you had $100 in a savings account and the interest rate was 2 per cent per year. After five years, how much do you think you would have in the account if you left the money to grow?
a) More than $102
b) Exactly $102
c) Less than $102
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
Q2 Imagine that the interest rate on your savings account was 1 per cent per year and inflation was 2 per cent per year. After one year, how much would you be able to buy with the money in this account?
a) More than today
b) Exactly the same as today
c) Less than today
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
Q4 Do you think that the following statement is true or false? “Buying a single company stock usually provides a safer return than a stock mutual fund.”
a) True
b) False
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
The “Big Three” financial literacy questions were created by Professors Annamaria Lusardi of the George Washington School of Business and Olivia Mitchell, of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Answers: Q1 More than $102 (compound interest). Q2 Less than today (inflation). Q3 False (diversification).
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
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.
MATCH STATS
Wolves 0
Aston Villa 1 (El Ghazi 90 4' pen)
Red cards: Joao Moutinho (Wolves); Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa)
Man of the match: Emi Martinez (Aston Villa)
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 374hp at 5,500-6,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm from 1,900-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.5L/100km
Price: from Dh285,000
On sale: from January 2022
