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Tom Brady’s powerboat team claim inaugural UIM E1 World Championship race in Jeddah

Tom Brady’s powerboat team claim inaugural UIM E1 World Championship race in Jeddah
Team Brady's Emma Kimilainen and Sam Coleman celebrate their E1 Jeddah GP victory. (Supplied)
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Updated 04 February 2024

Tom Brady’s powerboat team claim inaugural UIM E1 World Championship race in Jeddah

Tom Brady’s powerboat team claim inaugural UIM E1 World Championship race in Jeddah
  • Opening round of new electric series featured eight team-owned sports and celebrities taking part in waters of Red Sea

JEDDAH: Emma Kimilainen of Finland and Sam Coleman of Britain, pilots of Team Brady, on Saturday clinched the first round of the UIM E1 World Championship with a convincing victory in Jeddah in front of thousands of fans on the Red Sea.

The E1’s first Super Final featured eight team-owned sports and entertainment celebrities taking part in the waters of the Red Sea, among them Team Brady, Team Rafa, Team Miami, and Blue Rising, owned by Indian cricket star Virat Kohli.

On the final day of racing, the team owned by American Football legend Tom Brady staged an impressive comeback to beat day-one leaders Team Miami, owned by singer-songwriter Marc Anthony.

The winning margin was almost 20 seconds with Team Brady clocking in a time of 6.58.51.

Team Miami finished in second, while Kohli’s Blue Rising took third place.

Kimilainen and Coleman revealed their delight at the victory in the first round and looked forward to continuing their winning spirit in the upcoming round.

Asked by Arab News how Tom Brady reacted to their victory, Kimilainen said: “We’ve already had a message through from Tom and he’s super happy with the win. Both Sam and I are so incredibly proud to represent Tom and we’re pleased we were able to make history at E1’s inaugural race.”

Prince Sultan bin Fahd bin Salman Al-Saud, chairman of the Saudi Water Sports and Diving Federation, said at the end of the race: “We are very happy to host the first round of the E1 series, and believe me it is a success.”

Meanwhile, Saudi rally driver Masahel Al-Obaidan, the lead pilot of Aoki Racing — which came in at seventh place — was happy to get her first experience of racing on water under her belt.

“It is been a great experience and I am so glad to represent my country,” she said.

Rodi Basso, co-founder and CEO of E1, said: “It is been a fantastic two days here in Jeddah and has surpassed our expectations.”

Meanwhile, Alejandro Agag, co-founder and chair of E1 said: “We have had an incredible weekend here on the Red Sea. It was a great race and hope the thousands who attended the race enjoyed the powerboat race.”

The UIM E1 World Championship will take place this May in Venice.

Championship standings following the Jeddah GP results:

Team Brady – 20 points

Team Miami – 17 points

Team Rafa – 14 points

Blue Rising – 10 points

Sergio Perez E1 Team – 8 points

Team Drogba – 5 points

Aoki Racing Team – 3 points

Team Brazil – 1 point


Teams owners Tom Brady, Will Smith and Didier Drogba prepare for E1 Jeddah Grand Prix

Teams owners Tom Brady, Will Smith and Didier Drogba prepare for E1 Jeddah Grand Prix
Updated 6 min 16 sec ago

Teams owners Tom Brady, Will Smith and Didier Drogba prepare for E1 Jeddah Grand Prix

Teams owners Tom Brady, Will Smith and Didier Drogba prepare for E1 Jeddah Grand Prix
  • The UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF, the world’s only all-electric racing boat championship, starts its second season Jan. 24-25
  • 2024 winner Team Brady prepare to defend crown against Team Drogba, Team Rafa and Racing Team Aoki

JEDDAH: Just under a week remains for Tom Brady, Will Smith, Didier Drogba, Virat Kohli and a host of other celebrity owners to prepare their teams for this season’s UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF, which begins with the Jeddah GP.

The all-electric RaceBird boats took to the Red Sea waters off Jeddah for the E1 Championship’s global debut in February 2024, and the season concluded with Team Brady crowned the 2024 Champions of the Water.

Qualifying for the 2025 E1 Jeddah GP takes place on Friday, Jan. 24, and is followed on Saturday by the main race, presented in partnership with the Kingdom’s Ministry of Sport and the Saudi Water Sports and Diving Federation.

Prince Sultan bin Fahd bin Salman, president of the SWSDF, said: “For owners, pilots, organizers and fans, the countdown is on for the start of what will be a fascinating UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF at the Jeddah GP.

“This is where relentless innovation, marine preservation, and exhilarating races all come together, unveiling a new season for the Championship.

“In such a spectacular setting, this popular event highlights Ƶ’s commitment to pioneering sustainable sports and furthering its reputation as a global hub for innovation and eco-tourism.”

The teams, each featuring male and female pilots sharing driving duties, are owned by celebrities from the world of sports and entertainment.

They include Smith (Westbrook Racing), Marc Anthony (Team Miami powered by Magnus), Steve Aoki (Racing Team Aoki), Brady (Team Brady), Kohli (Team Blue Rising), Drogba (Team Drogba), Rafael Nadal (Team Rafa) and Marcelo Claure (Team Brazil by Claure).

In its first season, E1 races took place in Venice, Monaco, Puerto Banus and Lake Como.


Dakar Rally comes down to a duel in the sand between Lategan and Al-Rajhi

Dakar Rally comes down to a duel in the sand between Lategan and Al-Rajhi
Updated 15 January 2025

Dakar Rally comes down to a duel in the sand between Lategan and Al-Rajhi

Dakar Rally comes down to a duel in the sand between Lategan and Al-Rajhi
  • The South African Lategan leads his Saudi rival by 2 1/2 minutes going into the 11th and penultimate stage in the Empty Quarter dunes
  • Friday’s last stage is a ceremonial drive to the finish in Shubaytah

SHUBAYTAH: Henk Lategan and Yazeed Al-Rajhi will duel in the Saudi sand for their first Dakar Rally title after swapping the lead for a second straight day Wednesday.
The South African Lategan leads his Saudi rival by 2 1/2 minutes going into the 11th and penultimate stage in the Empty Quarter dunes. Friday’s last stage is a ceremonial drive to the finish in Shubaytah.
Al-Rajhi led by seven minutes before the 10th stage, a tricky 120-kilometer loop south of Shubaytah on Wednesday. But he got stuck and relinquished the overall lead back to Lategan.
“We got stuck because we were taking it easy,” Al-Rajhi said. “Everything is going good, that’s the most important (thing). I have a good position, I hope.”
Lategan also took it easy but without finding any trouble, and was 10th on the stage, making up minutes on all of his nearest pursuers.
“It wasn’t the plan to go quickly today,” Lategan said.
On Thursday, he will start 10th and Al-Rajhi 27th and they can push harder by taking advantage of the tracks of those in front.
’Most disappointing day of my life’


Third-placed Mattias Ekström fell two minutes further back to 27 minutes, and five-time champion Nasser Al-Attiyah lost five minutes to drop back to 30.
Al-Attiyah, the only former champion with an outside title shot, got lost about nine kilometers in.
“I’m very disappointed, but what can you do?” Al-Attiyah said. “We had a good pace but we lost a lot of time. This is the most disappointing day of my life.”
Spain’s Nani Roma, one of only three men to win the Dakar in a car (2014) and motorbike (2004), won his first stage in nine years by 18 seconds from Lucas Moraes of Brazil. Brian Baragwanath of South Africa was third.
Sanders on the brink
Australian rider Daniel Sanders was on the brink of his first Dakar title in a motorbike race he’s dominated from stage one.
Sanders was fourth on the 116-kilometer stage but ahead of his nearest rivals, extending his overall lead by about two minutes against Spain’s Tosha Schareina and France’s Adrien van Beveren.
The advantage over Schareina was 16 1/2 minutes, the biggest in the race so far.
“It’s pretty much survival tomorrow and just getting through,” Sanders said. “I think we’ll be all right. I felt really good in the navigation and I was opening a little bit and then, yeah, it felt nice. So yeah, ready for tomorrow.”
Portugal’s Rui Gonçalves won his maiden stage in his fifth Dakar by nearly four minutes from Slovakia’s Stefan Svitko. American Skyler Howes was third.


Al Rajhi takes over Dakar Rally lead after miserable stage for Lategan

Al Rajhi takes over Dakar Rally lead after miserable stage for Lategan
Updated 14 January 2025

Al Rajhi takes over Dakar Rally lead after miserable stage for Lategan

Al Rajhi takes over Dakar Rally lead after miserable stage for Lategan
  • Lategan led the Dakar for the past week
  • Al Rajhi, like Lategan, has never won the Dakar

HARADH: Local driver Yazeed Al Rajhi took advantage of a miserable stage by South Africa’s Henk Lategan to grab the Dakar Rally lead in the Ƶ desert on Tuesday.
Lategan led the Dakar for the past week, but errors and bad luck on the 357-kilometer ninth stage from Riyadh south-east to Haradh turned his overall lead of more than five minutes over Al Rajhi into a potentially decisive seven-minute deficit.
The rally has effectively two days and 400 kilometers remaining in the dunes of the Empty Quarter. The last day, Friday, is a ceremonial drive to the finish line in Shubaytah.
Al Rajhi, like Lategan, has never won the Dakar. This is the Saudi’s 11th attempt with a best finish of third in 2022. He’d been lying second since last Wednesday. The title race appears to be between only them.
Third-placed Mattias Ekström of Sweden and five-time champion Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar were about 25 minutes behind.

 


“It’s a bit of disaster to be honest,” Lategan said. “About 13 kilometers in we got lost. We thought we missed the waypoint but we actually had it. When we got lost we got one puncture and then toward the end we got another one and the wheel is actually flat. So, it was a messy, messy, messy day for us but it’s not the end of the world, we’re still in it.”
Lategan and navigator Brett Cummings were 11th on the stage and Al Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk third.
“We did a great job like we planned to,” Al Rajhi said. “We pushed well. We enjoyed it, that’s the most important. I hope everything goes well the next two or three days to win the Dakar ... I will fight to win. It won’t be easy.”
Al-Attiyah won the stage ahead of Belgium’s Guillaume de Mévius in under three hours to rise to one minute off third place overall.
His 49th car stage win, and first in the Dakar for Romanian manufacturer Dacia, lifted him to only one behind the record jointly held by Finland’s Ari Vatanen and France’s Stephane Peterhansel.
Sanders cushions motorbike lead
Australian rider Daniel Sanders bolstered his motorbike lead to nearly 15 minutes when closest challenger, Spain’s Tosha Schareina, crashed early.
The back wheel of Schareina’s Honda hit a rock and sent him flying only 20 kilometers in. He resumed racing but the nearly four minutes he finished behind Sanders dropped him in the general standings.
Schareina’s teammate Adrien van Beveren of France remained third, more than 20 minutes behind, while Sanders’ KTM teammate Luciano Benavides of Argentina strengthened his position in fourth place by winning his second successive stage.
Benavides, thanks to collecting time bonuses of nearly five minutes by opening the way, beat Van Beveren by nearly two minutes, and repeated his win into Haradh two years ago. Sanders was third after leading until about 70 kilometers from the end.
“I only got lost a couple of times ... and lost a little bit of time,” Sanders said. “I could have pushed and made some more (time) but it’s not too bad.”

 


FIA president commends Ƶ’s efforts in organizing Dakar Rally

FIA president commends Ƶ’s efforts in organizing Dakar Rally
Updated 10 January 2025

FIA president commends Ƶ’s efforts in organizing Dakar Rally

FIA president commends Ƶ’s efforts in organizing Dakar Rally
  • Mohammed Ben Sulayem speaks of Kingdom’s commitment to delivering top-notch experience for participants
  • Rally resumes on Saturday with 7 stages remaining

Ha’il: The International Automobile Federation’s President Mohammed Ben Sulayem commended the Kingdom’s efforts in organizing the Dakar Rally during his visit to Ƶ’s rally bivouac on Friday.
Ben Sulayem also praised the Kingdom’s commitment to delivering a top-notch experience for participants and highlighted the warm hospitality and generosity that embody the spirit of the Saudi people.
The FIA president highlighted that Ƶ’s success in hosting global sporting events, such as the Dakar Rally, has set a benchmark and become a source of pride. He also acknowledged the hard work and teamwork of all rally participants, noting their role in strengthening the Kingdom’s reputation as a world-class motorsport hub.
The participants have taken a well-deserved rest after enduring several days of tough desert challenges. Meanwhile, support teams have continued their vital work, ensuring vehicles are maintained and ready for the next stages to help competitors perform at their best.
After covering about 2,579 km of special stages, 299 vehicles arrived at the bivouac camp in Ha’il. Vehicles included 118 bikes, 58 cars, two stock vehicles, 45 challengers, 33 SSVs, and 43 trucks.
The rally resumes on Saturday with seven stages remaining. Participants will head to Al-Dawadmi, covering 829 km, including 605 km of timed special stages.
The journey will then take them through a circular stage in Al-Dawadmi, followed by Riyadh, Haradh, and finally Al-Shubayta.
The rally concludes with two final stages in Al-Shubayta on Jan. 16 and 17, marking the end of this year’s Dakar Rally.


Al-Attiyah and Van Beveren stripped of Dakar Rally stage wins

Al-Attiyah and Van Beveren stripped of Dakar Rally stage wins
Updated 09 January 2025

Al-Attiyah and Van Beveren stripped of Dakar Rally stage wins

Al-Attiyah and Van Beveren stripped of Dakar Rally stage wins
  • American driver Seth Quintero was promoted to first for the second time in a week, beating Al-Attiyah by one second
  • French rider Adrien van Beveren also had the motorbike stage win taken from him after he was penalized two minutes for speeding in the Ƶ desert

HA’IL: Five-time champion Nasser Al-Attiyah was stripped of a smashing stage win in the Dakar Rally because of a missing spare wheel on Thursday.
Instead, American driver Seth Quintero was promoted to first for the second time in a week, beating Al-Attiyah by one second.
French rider Adrien van Beveren also had the motorbike stage win taken from him after he was penalized two minutes for speeding in the Ƶ desert. Instead, Luciano Benavides of Argentina was given first place by 47 seconds from Van Beveren.
Al-Attiyah initially won the fifth stage from AlUla 428 speedy kilometers east to rocky Ha’il after 4 1/2 hours by a whopping 9 minutes, 59 seconds. But the missing spare wheel cost him a 10-minute penalty, dropping the Qatari to second and bumping Quintero to first.
Quintero also was promoted to first on the first stage on Saturday after he was credited time for helping a crashed rival.
The 22-year-old Quintero, who suffered three punctures on Wednesday, was barely helped in the overall standings as he was 1 1/2 hours behind Toyota teammate and race leader Henk Lategan.
But the penalty was a double blow for Al-Attiyah, who made up only 53 seconds on Lategan and was 35 minutes behind the South African leader going into the rest day Friday.
Lategan was fourth on the stage, stretching his overall lead on second-placed Yazeed Al Rajhi to 10 minutes and third-placed Mattias Ekstrom to 21 minutes. None of the leading three drivers have won the Dakar and only Al Rajhi has made the podium, a third in 2022.
“It was the hardest first week of my career on the Dakar,” Al Rajhi said amidst his 11th Dakar and sixth on home ground. “All the stages were long, tough and difficult everywhere.”
Benavides wins motorbike stage
Van Beveren led the motorbike stage for about the last 200 kilometers and thought he had his sixth career stage win, but his second speeding penalty of the race gave Benavides his fourth career stage win.
Benavides, a four-time top-10 finisher in the five Dakars he’s completed, beat Van Beveren by 47 seconds. Jose Ignacio Cornejo of Chile was third.
Benavides was seventh overall, 24 minutes behind his KTM teammate and race leader Daniel Sanders. But he suggested he was being hampered by team orders.
“I hope the strategy is going to be favorable to me in the second week,” Benavides said. “I’m happy with the bike and my pace. I feel better than I ever have. But, on this race, some decisions are made that call into question the strategic choices prepared several days before.”
The overall leaders didn’t change but Sanders’ gap on the shrinking field was cut after he was penalized eight minutes plus for speeding three times.
That reduced his overall lead to seven minutes over Spain’s Tosha Schareina and 18 minutes over Botswana’s Ross Branch. Van Beveren rose from sixth to fourth, another 30 seconds back.