Mohammed Ben Sulayem today tipped former World Rally Champion Carlos Sainz to make a big bid for victory in this year’s UAE Desert Challenge after securing a new sponsorship agreement for the event with Nissan Middle East.
The agreement, which makes the Nissan Patrol the rally’s official car for a fourth year, was signed by Sulayem, President of the Emirates Automobile and Touring Club, and Toru Hasegawa, Managing Director of Nissan Middle East.
“We’re grateful to have the support of a major manufacturer which wants to work closely with us to build on the success of the Desert Challenge,” said Sulayem, who launched the event in 1991. “We have developed a strong working partnership with Nissan and their backing helps to secure the event’s future. We’ll be working hard to make sure it remains the top event in international cross country rallying.”
The new agreement puts a fleet of Nissan Patrols at the disposal of the organisers in the build-up to the event, which forms the final round of the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup for cars and trucks and the FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship for bikes, from 28th October to 2nd November.
Taking place under the patronage H.H.Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the event is also sponsored by Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, ADNOC and Emarat.
“The Nissan patrols will be put to very good use in the weeks ahead as we prepare for the start and finalise this year’s route across some of the most demanding desert terrain in the world,” said Sulayem.
“Vehicles that can perform well in the toughest conditions and handle a wide variety of tasks are crucial in the staging of the event like this.”
Nissan’s Toru Hasegawa said: “We are very happy to extend our commitment to the Desert Challenge, as we’re confident that the event will go from strength to strength in the future.
In the highly competitive world of international cross country rallying, some of the most experienced drivers and teams continue to choose Nissan and this is a powerful endorsement of how trustworthy our vehicles are.”
Sainz, who finished 10th on his Desert Challenge debut last year, currently shares the lead in the 2007 FIA World Cup series with Norway’s Ivar Tollefsen. The Spaniard, a close friend of Sulayem’s, won the opening round in Portugal while Tollefsen scored victory in the second round in South Africa.
“Carlos showed what a great driver he is by taking three special stages here last year and but for mechanical problems might have won the event,” said Sulayem. “We hope to see him back again and I’m sure he’ll push hard for victory.”
Frenchman David Casteu, who clinched the FIM Cross Country Rallies world title with fourth place in the UAE last year, holds a 16-point lead in this year’s title race from another Spaniard, Marc Coma. Casteu has finished second in each of the three rounds so far in Tunisia, Sardinia and Brazil, while Coma, the 2006 Desert Challenge bikes champion, won the first two events. French star Cyril Despres, a four-times winner in the UAE, lies sixth after his victory in Brazil.
The 17th edition of the UAE Desert Challenge begins with a super special spectator stage in Dubai on 28th October before the official start in Abu Dhabi the following morning.
With most of the world’s top drivers and riders again in the hunt, a mighty procession of cars, trucks and bikes head away from the UAE capital for five days of special stage action centred on the Moreeb Hill bivouac close to the Liwa oasis before the finish at Dubai International Marine Club on 2nd December.
Intel World Ahead Program Extends its Benefits in India and Bangladesh
• Government, industry of India Launch E-Health Projects to Extend Benefits of Intel World Ahead Program
• Intel Announces World Ahead Alliance and UNESCO Pact in India
• Intel Chairman Launches World Ahead Program in Bangladesh to Extend Digital Inclusion to Millions
Dubai, United Arab Emirates - 6 September 2007 – In his recent visit to India and Bangladesh Intel Corporation Chairman Craig Barrett announced a sweeping new effort to transform healthcare in rural India and launch the World Ahead Program in Bangladesh to extend digital inclusion to millions. In additions, an alliance of 16 Indian companies has formed to expand Intel’s efforts to provide people in developing countries with the benefits of technology, marking a new phase of Intel’s World Ahead Program.
The health projects, starting in Tamil Nadu, a state with a population of 62 million, reflect an extension of the Intel World Ahead Program, a global initiative to provide people in developing countries with the benefits of better, faster access to information and communications technology (ICT).
During his visit to Tindivanam, a town in Tamil Nadu, Barrett participated in the inauguration of a tele-health pilot project at Tindivanam Taluk Hospital, a 100-plus bed facility serving a taluk of more than 210,000 people. The pilot is being driven by Bangalore’s Narayana Hrudayalaya hospital and Chennai’ Sankara Nethralaya hospital, as well as Indian-based companies Microsense, S.N. Informatics and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
“Applying technology in pioneering ways can help increase access to healthcare and improve quality of care for people everywhere,” said Barrett, who also chairs the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development. “We’ve seen how technology has enhanced people’s lives in Baramati, and look forward to seeing this replicated on a larger scale across Tamil Nadu and the rest of the country.”
While in Tindivinam, Barrett also visited the St. Philomena Girls’ Higher Secondary School for a firsthand look at a children’s health monitoring system developed by TCS. This first-of-its-kind project in the state addresses both healthcare and education by installing technology that helps ensure the government-aided school is a safe and healthy place for children.
While in India, Barrett announced the formation of the World Ahead Alliance in India. The alliance pledges to apply technology to advance health, education and rural empowerment. Barrett also announced that Intel India has signed an agreement with the New Delhi affiliate of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to create a partnership focused on advancing Intel’s education initiatives.
Intel’s World Ahead efforts in India include working with state governments to equip approximately 100 schools with desktop PCs and the Intel-powered Classmate PC, an affordable, full-featured student laptop designed at the Intel’s development center in Bangalore. Intel and 15 state governments have also trained more than 730,000 teachers how to apply technology to improve student learning through the Intel® Teach Program.
“This alliance is a perfect example of the industry partnerships emerging in India today,” said Barrett, who also chairs the United Nations Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Development. “We hope to initiate other efforts like these that can scale to produce positive outcomes and benefit citizens around the world.”
Intel and UNESCO will work jointly in area that includes teacher professional development, developing policies for the innovative use of technology in curriculum and promoting scientific research in higher education.
Marking his fist visit to Bangladesh, Barrett announced one of the most comprehensive deployments to date of the Intel World Ahead Program, a global effort to provide people in developing countries with the benefits of better, faster access to information and communications technology (ICT).
Program elements will be driven largely through a new agreement being forged between Intel and Grameen Solutions, a company founded by Professor Muhammad Yunus to promote economic and social development through ICT and to create affordable technology solutions for ordinary people. Under the terms of the agreement, Intel and Grameen will jointly promote and support digital inclusion projects across Bangladesh to improve education, connectivity and access to technology and localized Internet content and software applications.
“By working together, Grameen and Intel can help Bangladesh make rapid progress in providing its citizens with opportunities for economic and social advancement,” said Barrett. “As Professor Yunus has so eloquently stated in the past, these programs are not about giving handouts, but a hand up.”
Intel and Grameen will jointly introduce several programs to make it easier for people across Bangladesh to access the vast resources of medical, educational and commercial knowledge on the Internet. Together they will deploy a PC ownership program that will offer low-cost PCs on easy monthly installments and will launch a project to set up telecenters across the country. The telecenters will enable employment opportunities for rural citizens to offer services such as Internet access, photocopying, printing and PC usage for e-government and e-commerce services. The centers will be financed through micro-loans.
Intel has worked with numerous governments in the Middle East to offer their services in providing opportunities toward a better education. In December 2006, Barrett launched the Oseem Pilot Project, which saw the impoverished village of Oseem, on the outskirts of Cairo, transformed into a WIMAX center, allowing both students and teachers alike access to the online world.
During Barrett’s visit, Intel executed a pilot for a model ‘Digital Village’ in Oseem, a rural and remote village on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt, to showcase how a complimentary set of cost effective technologies can have great impact on the development and quality of life of these communities. The target is to connect nine schools, one municipal building, one clinic and an e-gov services kiosk. The network was deployed using WiMAX, necessary to provide connectivity and sufficient bandwidth for these applications.
In the Middle East the Intel World Ahead Program integrates and extends Intel’s efforts to drive progress in accessibility, connectivity, education and content. In each area Intel is building upon significant past success while extending efforts in the future and integrating the efforts to multiply their progress.
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