Saudi motorsport star Rakan Al-Rashed ‘gets in the groove’ for WRC 2 Rally de Portugal

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Rally driver Rakan Al-Rashed is co-founder and director of venture capital fund Access Bridge Ventures and chairman of Kudu Corp, a restaurant chain in Saudi Arabia. (Supplied)
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Rally driver Rakan Al-Rashed is co-founder and director of venture capital fund Access Bridge Ventures and chairman of Kudu Corp, a restaurant chain in Saudi Arabia. (Supplied)
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Updated 26 April 2022
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Saudi motorsport star Rakan Al-Rashed ‘gets in the groove’ for WRC 2 Rally de Portugal

  • The 32-year-old pro driver recently competed in the local Rali Terras D’Aboboreira, gaining valuable in-country race experience ahead of the major event in Portugal next month
  • Rakan Al-Rashed: ‘One of the few things that the team and I have identified, and need some improvement on, are our pace notes’

RIYADH: Saudi professional rally driver Rakan Al-Rashed is confident his recent participation in the local Rali Terras D’Aboboreira series will help prepare him for next month’s WRC 2 Rally de Portugal race. 

The 32-year-old, who is also a successful business entrepreneur, used the local series event as an acclimatization experience in the belief that the on-ground local knowledge gained during the race will stand him in good stead for the fourth round of the WRC 2 championship starting on May 19.

“It was challenging since it was my first time in Portugal,” Al-Rashed said.

But since the race was held in the same area planned for the WRC Rally de Portugal, “it was essential for us to participate to get a taste of what we will be facing next month,” he added.

“The experience also helped me get into the groove since staying idle for too long will get me out of racing shape and, with another important championship round coming up, it is crucial that I get back on track.”

Despite being matched against local drivers with more experience of the terrain, Al-Rashed believes the experience was worthwhile and is was still competitive.

With the race held during Ramadan, he had to break his fast due to the physical strain of competing in extremely hot temperatures.

“My body was losing a lot of water, especially with all the equipment I was wearing, such as the tracksuit, the gloves and the helmet. It was essential that I kept hydrated in such an environment for my own safety,” he said.

Al-Rashed and his private team of seven support staff will be looking to use the lessons learned from the post-race debrief to improve their performance as the season progresses.

“One of the few things that the team and I have identified, and need some improvement on, are our pace notes. In tracks that include consecutive corners, each with different characteristics, we need to include more detail on how we note them down since there are several approaches to the different types and styles of corners and it surely is a game changer once you know what is about to come up in more detail,” he said.

Al-Rashed, who began his motorsport career at the 2015 Middle East Rally Championship in Dubai, believes the constant self-critical process of improvement will build a solid foundation that he will leverage to climb the WRC 2 rankings.

“The competition is stronger than ever and my level of experience does not enable me to get to the top five just yet. However, I do plan do participate more and get more races under my belt in the next couple of years, before I can slowly continue my ascent up the ladder to regularly place among the top five,” he said.

Alongside his rally motorsport career, Al-Rashed is also co-founder and director of Access Bridge Ventures, a leading early stage venture capital fund, and chairman of Kudu Corp, a restaurant chain in Saudi Arabia.

The Rally de Portugal will take place between May 19-21.


Weah scores for Juventus in Turin derby win and Leao nets 2 in AC Milan draw at Cagliari

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Weah scores for Juventus in Turin derby win and Leao nets 2 in AC Milan draw at Cagliari

  • Weah’s father, former Ballon d’Or winner George Weah, was watching from the stands
  • Parma came back from a goal down for a 2-1 win at last-placed Venezia with goals from Emanuele Valeri and Ange-Yoan Bonny

ROME: Timothy Weah’s first-half goal for Juventus in a 2-0 derby win over Torino on Saturday marked the US international’s third goal in four Serie A matches.

Weah, who also scored recently against Inter Milan and Parma, was in the right spot to redirect in a rebound of a shot from Andrea Cambiaso.

Weah’s father, former Ballon d’Or winner George Weah, was watching from the stands. Timothy Weah had another potential goal waved off for a handball.

Kenan Yildiz sealed it for Juventus with a crouching header late in the second half.

Juventus moved up to third, level on points with second-placed Inter Milan, who host league leaders Napoli on Sunday.

Leao scores 2 in AC Milan draw

Rafael Leao took advantage of his spot in AC Milan’s lineup after surprisingly being benched lately, scoring twice and helping to set up a third in a 3-3 draw at Cagliari.

Still, Milan struggled at relegation-threatened Cagliari just four days after a win at Real Madrid in the Champions League.

The pre-game attention was on 16-year-old Francesco Camarda getting the nod at center forward following an injury to Alvaro Morata, but it was Leao who made the biggest impact.

Nadir Zortea put Cagliari ahead in the second minute before Leao struck back with a brace before halftime.

First, Leao scored with a lob following an excellent setup from Tijjani Reijnders. Then the Portugal winger took a throughball from Youssouf Fofana and dribbled around the goalkeeper for his second.

Gabriele Zappa equalized for Cagliari shortly after the break and Milan went ahead again with a goal from Tammy Abraham, who had just come on for Camarda.

On a play that began with Leao inside Milan’s half, Abraham redirected in a rebound following a shot from Christian Pulisic.

Zappa then completed a brace, too, with a spectacular volley.

Milan remained seventh.

Parma win matchup of promoted clubs

Parma came back from a goal down for a 2-1 win at last-placed Venezia with goals from Emanuele Valeri and Ange-Yoan Bonny. Hans Nicolussi Caviglia put Venezia ahead five minutes into the matchup of promoted clubs.

Parma hadn’t won since beating Milan in August.

Lecce fire Gotti

Relegation-threatened Lecce fired Luca Gotti following a 1-1 draw with Empoli on Friday. The southern club did not immediately name a new coach.

It’s the second coaching change in Serie A after Daniele De Rossi was replaced by Ivan Juric at Roma.
 


Coco Gauff wins WTA Finals for the first time by rallying to beat Zheng Qinwen

Updated 10 November 2024
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Coco Gauff wins WTA Finals for the first time by rallying to beat Zheng Qinwen

  • The 20-year-old American came from 2-0 and 5-3 down in the final set and was two points from defeat at one stage
  • Gauff beat the world’s top two players — Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek — on her run to the final at the season-ending event in Riyadh

RIYADH: Coco Gauff won the WTA Finals for the first time by rallying to beat Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) in the final on Saturday.
The 20-year-old American came from 2-0 and 5-3 down in the final set and was two points from defeat at one stage.
Yet she took the set to a tiebreaker and won the first six points. Zheng threatened a comeback but Gauff took the victory off her third match point with a forehand winner as she came into the net.
She is the first American to win the Finals since Serena Williams in 2014, and received $4.8 million in prize money.
Gauff beat the world’s top two players — Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek — on her run to the final at the season-ending event in Riyadh.
Zheng was looking to complete a season in which she reached a grand slam final for the first time at the Australian Open and delivered China’s first Olympic tennis singles gold medal.
But Gauff edged the three-hour final which included 26 break points. Gauff also won their only previous meeting, in the Rome quarterfinals on clay in May.
Gauff beat Sabalenka at age 19 in last year’s US Open final to win her only major in singles to date. She teamed with Katerina Siniakova to win the French Open doubles this year.
In the WTA doubles final, Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand beat Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic and Taylor Townsend of the United States 7-5, 6-3. They are the first players from Canada and New Zealand to win the doubles title.


Man City beaten again at Brighton to open door to Liverpool

Updated 09 November 2024
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Man City beaten again at Brighton to open door to Liverpool

  • City had not suffered defeat in the league for nearly a year prior to losing at Bournemouth last weekend
  • Pep Guardiola has lost four straight matches for the first time in his illustrious managerial career

LONDON: Manchester City slumped to a fourth consecutive defeat after blowing the lead to lose 2-1 at Brighton on Saturday, allowing Liverpool the chance to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League.
City had not suffered defeat in the league for nearly a year prior to losing at Bournemouth last weekend.
But after also exiting the League Cup to Tottenham and being on the end of a 4-1 thrashing by Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League, Pep Guardiola has lost four straight matches for the first time in his illustrious managerial career.
The English champions looked set to bounce back from their chastening night in Lisbon on Tuesday when Erling Haaland prodded in his 15th goal of the season at the second attempt after his initial effort was saved by Bart Verbruggen.
City, though, were opened up at will in the second half and were finally punished by a pair of Brighton substitutes.
Joao Pedro fired in the equalizer after City failed to clear in a goalmouth scramble.
Matt O’Riley has had to wait for his Premier League debut after suffering a serious ankle injury days after sealing a move from Celtic.
The Danish international marked his bow in style when he slotted in from Pedro’s pass seven minutes from time.
Liverpool can stretch their lead at the top of the table to five points with victory over Aston Villa at Anfield later on Saturday.
Wolves ended a wait since April for a Premier League win by beating fellow strugglers Southampton 2-0 to move off the foot of the table.
Gary O’Neil was under huge pressure to deliver after a 13-game winless run in the top flight and got the perfect start when Pablo Sarabia swept home Matheus Cunha’s pass for Wolves’ fastest ever Premier League goal.
Cunha smashed home a stunning second goal himself early in the second period to give Wolves a vital three points, which sees Southampton replace them at the bottom of the table.
“He’s huge for us. He has such ability,” said O’Neil on Cunha’s influence. “A big win for us and Matheus Cunha had a big say in it.”
Fulham moved into seventh by inflicting more misery on Crystal Palace with a 2-0 win at Selhurst Park.
Emile Smith Rowe pounced on an error from Maxence Lacroix to open the scoring in first-half stoppage time.
The Eagles’ hopes of a fightback were hit when Daichi Kamada saw red for a wild lunge on Kenny Tete.
Harry Wilson came off the bench to score twice in stoppage time to secure a 2-1 win over Brentford on Monday and the Welsh international was an impact substitute again to wrap up the victory seven minutes from time.
Yoane Wissa scored a brace as Brentford twice came from behind to beat Bournemouth 3-2.
Twice the in-form Cherries led through Evanilson and Justin Kluivert.
But the Bees have taken 16 points from a possible 18 at home this season.
Brentford quickly levelled on both occasions through Wissa and Mikkel Damsgaard.
Wissa then completed the comeback with his seventh goal in eight league appearances this season.
West Ham and Everton did little to quell the discontent among both fanbases in a 0-0 draw.
There were loud boos at full-time at the London Stadium from the West Ham support, but a point does edge Everton four clear of the bottom three.


Green Falcons arrive in Melbourne for World Cup Asian qualifier against Australia

Updated 09 November 2024
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Green Falcons arrive in Melbourne for World Cup Asian qualifier against Australia

  • Team begin preparations with closed training session on Sunday
  • Saudi ambassador to Australia welcomes players at Melbourne Airport

MELBOURNE: The Saudi national football team will train in Melbourne behind closed doors on Sunday in preparation for their 2026 World Cup Asian qualifier match against Australia next Thursday.
The Green Falcons arrived in Melbourne on Sunday morning and are scheduled to face off against Australia on Nov. 14 at AAMI Park as part of the fifth round of Asian qualifiers for the World Cup.
Saudi Ambassador to Australia Sultan bin Fahd bin Khuzaim welcomed the national team upon their arrival at Melbourne International Airport.
Yasser Al-Misehal, president of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, expressed his gratitude and appreciation to the Saudi Embassy for the warm welcome and the facilities provided to the delegation since their arrival.
The Green Falcons delegation left Riyadh on Saturday morning from King Khalid International Airport. They will begin their preparatory program on Sunday with a closed evening training session at 6 p.m. within Melbourne’s Lakeside Stadium.


Vinícius nets hat trick in win as three Real Madrid players go down injured

Updated 09 November 2024
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Vinícius nets hat trick in win as three Real Madrid players go down injured

  • Madrid had heard jeers in their previous two home games
  • Vinícius got his second hat trick of the season

BARCELONA: Vinícius Júnior scored a hat trick to lead Real Madrid a 4-0 win over Osasuna on Saturday in a much-needed victory that was dampened when teammate Éder Militão left on a stretcher.
Madrid had heard jeers in their previous two home games — a 4-0 loss to fierce rival Barcelona and 3-1 defeat to AC Milan.
But the easy victory may have come at the high price.
Militão was taken off after the central defender crumbled to the turf and clutched the back of his right knee shortly before halftime. Rodrygo and Lucas Vázquez also were unable to continue after apparently sustaining muscle injuries in the first half.
Vinícius, who felt overlooked when the Ballon d’Or went to Spain’s Rodri last week, got his second hat trick of the season and took his overall tally to 12 goals. Jude Bellingham added a goal to make it 2-0.
Madrid are in second place in the Spanish league at six points behind leader Barcelona.