ABU DHABI // Car enthusiasts wandered past Hummers adorned with diamantes and souped-up four-wheel drives, and skateboarders showed off their stunts nearby as two festivals opened side by side in the capital yesterday.
Adrenaline Sports Live, an extreme sports event, and Barbican Turbo, a custom car meet, will continue through the weekend at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.
There were fewer visitors than expected yesterday, but organisers were optimistic that attendance would pick up today and tomorrow.
For Hisham Ibrahim, a Jordanian, the draw was the cars. He entered his four-wheel drive Nissan Patrol, boosted from 270 to 1,010 horsepower - more powerful than a Formula One car - in the custom cars competition.
Adding the "wow factor" is more than a hobby for Mr Ibrahim, who has a workshop in Musaffah. A lot of people want extra power for their four wheel drives, he said. "Everybody likes his horse to be strong. Fast cars make you feel free."
Mr Ibrahim brought his own car and seven others from his workshop to display at the festival. He described one as "the fastest truck in the world".
"We've not heard about another truck with this power. I'm sure it's the fastest."
With 2,600 horsepower, he said, the pickup can accelerate from 0 to 100 kph in less than two seconds.
Ten customised Ford Mustangs, a Volkswagen Beetle and a bright orange Cadillac Escalade with remote-controlled suspension and neon wheels that cost Dh14,000 (US$3,815) each were among the cars in the main hall.
"It's about the people who have a real passion for modifying," said Daniel Anslow, who works for CMPi, the show's organiser. "When other people are down at the beach, these guys would be at home fitting new wheels and buffing up their cars to make them perfect."
Outside the exhibition centre, Team Orange, one of world's top drifting teams, cut dark rubber swirls into the pavement. Drifting is a technique in which drivers intentionally skid their rear tyres through turns at high speeds and keep their cars under control.
Sergey Nushtayev, 21, a Russian who lives in Abu Dhabi, came especially for the drifting.
"I really love cars. The showy cars are cool but the drifting cars and the drag-racing cars are what I really like," he said.
At the extreme sports festival, skateboarding, wakeboarding and dragon-boat competitions will be held today and tomorrow.
Barbora Furskog, from the Czech Republic, has been wakeboarding for six and a half years and plans to enter the competition. She says it is a rare chance in the region.
"The UAE is the perfect place to wakeboard, but unfortunately there's not much opportunity to compete," she said after practising her tricks.
The festival also gives novices the chance to try out something new. Rabih Zein, 24, a Lebanese financial analyst, has tried bungee jumping and skydiving but wants to improve his watersport skills. "We've been waiting for an event like this for such a long time here in Abu Dhabi. Even in Lebanon they still don't have such an event," he said.
Visitors can try out 15 action sports.
Today, the festival will bring the ancient Chinese tradition of dragon-boat racing to the Emirates for the first time. More than 40 teams will compete in the National Dragon Boating Cup, which will conclude tomorrow.
lmorris@thenational.ae
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Scores
New Zealand 266 for 9 in 50 overs
Pakistan 219 all out in 47.2 overs
New Zealand win by 47 runs
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
In numbers
- Number of children under five will fall from 681 million in 2017 to 401m in 2100
- Over-80s will rise from 141m in 2017 to 866m in 2100
- Nigeria will become the world’s second most populous country with 791m by 2100, behind India
- China will fall dramatically from a peak of 2.4 billion in 2024 to 732 million by 2100
- an average of 2.1 children per woman is required to sustain population growth
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
PRO BASH
Thursday’s fixtures
6pm: Hyderabad Nawabs v Pakhtoon Warriors
10pm: Lahore Sikandars v Pakhtoon Blasters
Teams
Chennai Knights, Lahore Sikandars, Pakhtoon Blasters, Abu Dhabi Stars, Abu Dhabi Dragons, Pakhtoon Warriors and Hyderabad Nawabs.
Squad rules
All teams consist of 15-player squads that include those contracted in the diamond (3), platinum (2) and gold (2) categories, plus eight free to sign team members.
Tournament rules
The matches are of 25 over-a-side with an 8-over power play in which only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Teams play in a single round robin league followed by the semi-finals and final. The league toppers will feature in the semi-final eliminator.
Upcoming games
SUNDAY
Brighton and Hove Albion v Southampton (5.30pm)
Leicester City v Everton (8pm)
MONDAY
Burnley v Newcastle United (midnight)
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
F1 drivers' standings
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes 281
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 247
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes 222
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull 177
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 138
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull 93
7. Sergio Perez, Force India 86
8. Esteban Ocon, Force India 56
Result
Qualifier: Islamabad United beat Karachi Kings by eight wickets
Fixtures
Tuesday, Lahore: Eliminator 1 - Peshawar Zalmi v Quetta Gladiators
Wednesday, Lahore: Eliminator 2 – Karachi Kings v Winner of Eliminator 1
Sunday, Karachi: Final – Islamabad United v Winner of Eliminator 2
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ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope
Defenders: John Stones, Harry Maguire, Phil Jones, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Gary Cahill, Ashley Young, Danny Rose, Trent Alexander-Arnold
Midfielders: Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fabian Delph
Forwards: Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck
