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SINGAPORE — Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel won the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday and runaway championship leader Lewis Hamilton retired mid-race, injecting new life into the fight for the Formula One title.

Vettel led from start to finish in a race that was temporarily interrupted by a fan wandering on the track.

Vettel's third win of the season came by 1.4 seconds over Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was third, as all three finished in the positions they started at the Marina Bay street circuit.

"I was able to look after my tyres and control the pace," Vettel said. "Overall a perfect weekend, I am very, very happy."

Hamilton suffered a power delivery failure that the team took a long time to diagnose and could not fix, forcing him out on lap 33.

His championship lead over Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, who finished fourth, was cut from 53 to 41 points — 252 vs 211 — with Vettel a further eight points back on 203. There are six races left.

Williams driver Valterri Bottas was fifth on Sunday, Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat sixth and Force India's Sergio Perez seventh.

Toro Rosso teenager Max Verstappen finished eighth, refusing team orders in the closing laps to move over for teammate Carlos Sainz Jr who was ninth. Sauber's Felipe Nasr passed Romain Grosjean on the penultimate lap for the last points position.

There were two safety-car periods in the race. The first came following a collision between Williams' Felipe Massa, who was coming out of the pits and Force India's Nico Hulkenberg. Race stewards blamed Hulkenberg, and he will get a three-place grid penalty at the next race.

The second came in bizarre circumstances when a fan was seen wandering on the track near the Anderson Bridge section. Vettel shouted over the team radio "there is a man on the track" and the safety car was immediately deployed. The casually-dressed man soon climbed over a trackside barrier and off the track and the race resumed.

Mercedes struggled all weekend for pace as it was not able to get enough grip from the tyres, and then on race day Hamilton suffered his first retirement of the season.

While this race was likely to be only a temporary aberration to Hamilton's otherwise dominant season, Vettel was not giving up hope of challenging for the championship.

"If we have more weekends like this, yes," Vettel said. "All we have to do is look after ourselves, maximum attack. We still have a small chance. Maybe we can make the impossible possible. We will definitely go for it."

The German made a storming start to the race, leading by three seconds after a brilliant opening lap and extending that to 5.3 seconds after only five laps. Ricciardo had whittled that back to 3.6 seconds after 12 laps and the Australian looked likely to close onto the back of his former Red Bull teammate, but then the first safety car emerged.

After that caution period, Vettel adopted a different strategy, driving conservatively as the field closed up behind him. He then suddenly burst away to put two seconds' gap on Ricciardo in the space of one lap. Again, Ricciardo began to erode the margin, only for another safety car period to effectively destroy the Australian's hopes of catching up by exploiting his superior long-stint pace.

"Both safety cars came out at crucial times, but nonetheless his pace was good," Ricciardo said, while quipping that he was so frustrated by the intruding fan ruining his tactical plan that "I was tempted to swerve and clip him".

Hamilton was racing in fourth place and with the potential advantage of having a softer tyre than his rivals in the final stint, when suddenly the car began to lose power.

"I was feeling super optimistic," Hamilton said. "I was on the prime tyres and the three cars in front were on the options but I was easily keeping up with them and thinking 'we have a race on our hands'. They were telling me to change all these things and then I was overtaken by two Manors so I knew l was last. When they started to pull away, I knew it was over."

AMMAN — The U-16 national football team lost to Kyrgyzstan 4-1 on Sunday in their last qualifier for the 2016 AFC U-16 Asian Championship.

Meanwhile, the women’s national football team lost to Vietnam  2-1 concluding Group A round 2 matches at the 2015–16 AFC Women’s Olympic qualifying tournament currently under way in Myanmar.

They had already lost their qualifying chance earlier after a 3-0 defeat to Taiwan and 2-0 to Myanmar.

AMMAN — Khaled Juma on Friday captured the Jordan Rally Championship title after winning the fourth round in preparation for the Jordan Rally.

Juma and co-driver Imad Juma clocked 1h02m02s in their Mitsubishi Evo 7, followed by Basheer Azar and co-driver Bilal Majdalawieh (1h08m39s) in their Subaru Impreza and Ihab Shurafa and co-driver Rakan Khair (1h09m50s) in their Mitsubishi Evo 9.

Raed Habaybeh and co-driver Marena Habaybeh (1h12m15s) in their Subaru Impreza settled for fourth place.

Juma expressed his happiness to The Jordan Times after the win saying it was very exciting.

“I have a clear ticket for the Jordan Rally as I have built great confidence, and hopefully with more practice I can reserve a place at the podium,’ he said.

“I am happy that I won the fourth round and captured the title. It was such a challenging event and very focused rally and this gives me a lot of hope for the next event,” he added.

With this win, Juma heads the standings with 100 points followed by Azar with 46 points and Ihab Shurafa with 45 points.

“It was the final rehearsal for us before the Jordan Rally. We had the chance to feel and focus more on the route of the rally and this is a chance that is priceless. We hope to have a strong presence in the coming event and make our Jordan proud,’ Juma said.

Drivers had to cover a total distance of 310.76km with six special stages (73.6km) on gravel tracks around the Dead Sea area. Drivers passed through Turky 1 & 2 (9.43km), Shouneh 1 &2 (15.309km) and Baptism site (11.80km). 

The Jordan Rally will be held October 15-17.

AMMAN — The U-16 national football team plays Kyrgyzstan on Sunday in its last qualifier for the 2016 AFC U-16 Asian Championship.

The team is now second in Group B that includes Nepal, Oman and Kyrgyzstan as 45 nations are playing in 11 groups with group winners and four best second-placed teams moving on to the finals.

Jordan beat Oman 2-0 on Friday in their second match after losing their opening match to Nepal 2-1. Nepal took the group lead after they beat Kyrgyzstan 4-2 while Oman beat Kyrgyzstan 2-0.

Coach Abdulla Qitati who took over since from Frenchman Eric Deletang earlier this summer after Jordan finished last at the 5th West Asian Championship said “the match against Gulf Cup champ Oman revived our chances after the unexpected loss to Nepal” adding that “players are upbeat and are seeking a big win in the upcoming match”.

India will host the 2016 AFC U-16 championship with a total of 45 nations including the hosts participating in the qualifiers, and the draw seeding based on the rankings from the last edition in 2014 won by North Korea. The 45 nations were divided into two qualifying zones — West Zone with 24 teams and East Zone with 21 teams. Eleven group winners and four best second-placed teams will qualify for the finals, with host India receiving an automatic qualification (total 16 teams). In case India finishes top of its qualifying group or among the four best second-placed teams, the next (5th) second best placed nation will qualify for the final competition.

Jordan was eliminated from the 2014 AFC U16 qualifiers held in Amman after finishing last in Group D. Jordan lost 2-1 to Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia and drew 4-4 with Syria.

Women’s team plays Vietnam

Meanwhile, the women’s national football team plays Vietnam on Sunday concluding Group A round 2 matches at the 2015–16 AFC Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament currently under way in Myanmar.

Jordan lost 1-0 to Thailand in their third match on Friday and has so far failed to score a single goal. They lost their qualifying chance earlier after a 3-0 defeat to Taiwan and 2-0 to Myanmar. Only the top team from this round will move to Round 3 to play the top five seeded teams — Japan, Australia, South Korea, North Korea and China — and only the top two qualify to represent Asia at the Olympic Games.

Currently 53rd in the latest FIFA rankings and leading all Arab teams at 11th in the Asian continent, team officials had voiced concern that “the task of clinching a berth from some of the best teams in East Asia was not easy”.

It is Jordan’s second time in qualifiers after the 2012 London Olympic qualifiers when it advanced to Round 2. In 2014, the senior women’s team exited Round 1 of the Asian Games and the AFC Women’s Asian Cup where it was also the only Arab team to have ever qualified. The squad is reigning West Asian champs after winning the title with Iran, Lebanon and the UAE missing the event.

AMMAN — The Samsung Amman Marathon kicks off October 9 with the participation of thousands of runners in the 42km, the 21km half marathon and 10km Fun Run.

 “Long distance running is designed to promote healthier lifestyles through training the body and the mind, we, at Run Jordan, have adopted this moto and seek to find partners who share our vision to develop the local community and promote good health. Our partnership with Samsung Electronics over the past seven years has proved to be a very effective one demonstrated by the great success of Samsung Amman Marathon, which has helped in putting Jordan on the international sporting map, as well as promoting the Kingdom as a prime destination for sports and tourism,” HRH Prince Firas Bin Raad, patron of the event and Run Jordan chairman of the board, said during the launching event.

Aqel Beltaji, mayor of Amman, stated that the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) is keen on supporting national initiatives and programmes that contribute to supporting and developing local communities. He also said that GAM is proud of its strategic partnership and Run Jordan’s vision since it brings everyone together for a common goal.

Lina Kurd, vice director general of Run Jordan, told The Jordan Times that this year’s event is all about the city of Amman.

“The event is launched under the theme ‘Run to the Heart of the City of Amman’ and will have a new route for the 10km Fun Run which will start at Princess Alia Street: Al  Hussein sports City-Gate #1, down to Arar Street ending at the finish line at the Hashemite Square- Gate #1,” she said.

Meanwhile the Children’s Race will be held at King Hussein Park on October 2nd.

“As usual the children’s race will be held before the big event in order to give the children the chance to have their own marathon and enjoy it,” she added.

Kurd expressed his satisfaction with the popularity of the race considering it a family event.

“We have been able to attract the participation of individuals from various countries across the world,” she said.

“The Kingdom as a whole benefits from the success of the Samsung Amman Marathon, not only is Jordan now recognised as a prime destination for sports and tourism, but the benefits stretch beyond that as 20 per cent of the marathon proceeds go to charity,” she added.

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics Levant president, Bumsuk Hong, stressed on the long standing partnership with Run Jordan, saying: “Through our social corporate responsibility programs, Samsung aims to improve the societies where it works. The marathon positively impacts individuals’ lives and places special focus on leading a healthy lifestyle by introducing running as a culture, thus creating a sustainable change within the community.”

According to Kurd, registration booths are now open for everyone and they are placed around the city.

“We have booths for registration in the following locations: Cozmo 7th Circle, City Mall, Taj Mall, Avenue Mall, Safeway Shmeisani, and Fitness First Gym in Abdoun and Shmeisani. Moreover, registration at Run Jordan’s headquarters in Shmeisani or online through the website www.runjordancom, is also available. Electronic payment methods are available on Run Jordan’s official website,” she said. 

Last year, Jordan runner Mithqal Abbadi was crowned champion of the 42km Full Marathon while Kenyan runner Sarah Kepasso (2h44m41s) broke all previous records in the same category for women.

Abbadi clocked 2h26m07s, followed by Jordan’s Fathi Al Dayyat (2h38m07s) and Mohammad Muhammad (2h38m44s).

AMMAN — The 64th Jordan Professional Football League enters its second week on the weekend with leaders Faisali playing Ramtha and Jazira taking on Hussein.

After Week 1, Wihdat are in the lead after they beat newcomers Asala 3-1, Faisali beat Ahli 1-0, Jazira beat Kufrsoum 2-0, while Ramtha against Shabab Urdun and That Ras versus Hussein ended 2-2, and Baqaa held Sarih 0-0.

In the kickoff of the local football season, Faisali got off to a positive start when they beat League champs Wihdat to win the 33rd Super Cup 1-0. It was a much-needed win for reigning Jordan Cup champs Faisali after a disappointing 7th place finish in the league last year.

Wihdat have been league champions for the last two consecutive years. Last year, they also won the Super Cup while Faisali won the Jordan Cup title.

Last season, and for the first time in years, the runner-up and third places went to Jazira and Ramtha. There was also a battle at the other end of the standings where, after Ittihad Ramtha dropped to Division 1, former champs Shabab Urdun, Faisali as well as Baqaa could have easily followed suit, but eventually Manshieh were relegated.

AMMAN — The women’s national football team plays Thailand on Friday in their third match at the Asian Round 2 qualifiers for the 2016 Summer Olympics football tournament currently under way in Myanmar.

The Kingdom lost its qualifying chances after losing 3-0 to Taiwan and 2-0 to Myanmar.

Currently 53rd in the latest FIFA World Rankings and leading all Arab teams at 11th in the Asian continent, the team’s preparation period, which only included a series of local matches as well as two matches against 81st ranked Morocco, was not sufficient to the task ahead. Coach Khader Eid had acknowledged that “the task of clinching a berth from some of the best teams in East Asia was not easy.”

Jordan had topped Round 1 Asian Group B qualifiers by beating Uzbekistan 2-0, Hong Kong 1-0 and Palestine 6-0 and qualified to Round 2, where they joined other group leaders Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar. Only the top team from this round will move to Round 3 to play the top five seeded teams — Japan, Australia, South Korea and North Korea and China — and only the top two qualify to represent Asia at the Olympic Games.

 It is Jordan’s second time in qualifiers after the 2012 London Olympic qualifiers when they advanced to Round 2. In 2014, the senior women’s team exited Round 1 of the Asian Games and the AFC Women’s Asian Cup where they were also the only Arab team to have ever qualified. The squad is reigning West Asian champ after winning the title with Iran, Lebanon and the UAE missing the event.

U-16 boys team needs to win

Meanwhile, the U-16 national football team plays Oman on Friday in its second match in qualifiers for the 2016 AFC U-16 Asian Championship where it is playing in Group B with Nepal, Oman and Kyrgyzstan.

Jordan stumbled in its first match losing to lowly Nepal 2-1. Its upcoming match is vital to keep qualifying chance alive before playing host Kyrgyzstan. Oman beat Kyrgyzstan 2-0 in its first match.

The squad lost to Qatar 2-1 in its last friendly before the qualifiers. Earlier it played only four official friendlies losing 3-2 and 4-2 to the UAE and also 3-2 to Palestine before defeating them 2-0. 

Current coach Abdulla Qitati took over after Jordan finished last at the 5th West Asian Championship under French coach Eric Deletang when the squad failed to score a single win — losing 1-0 to the UAE, 5-0 to Iraq, 1-0 to Palestine, before tying Saudi 2-2 in the West Asian event. 

India will host the 2016 AFC U-16 championship with a total of 45 nations including the hosts participating in the qualifiers, and the draw seeding based on the rankings from the last edition in 2014 won by North Korea. Jordan was eliminated from the 2014 AFC U-16 qualifiers held in Amman after finishing last in Group D. Jordan lost 2-1 to Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia and drew 4-4 with Syria.

Spanish clubs gave another demonstration of their efficiency in Europe when Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla began their Champions League campaigns without conceding a goal in convincing victories on Tuesday.

Real, the record 10-time winners and 2014 champions, crushed 10-man Shakhtar Donetsk 4-0 at the Bernabeu, Atletico won 2-0 at Galatasaray and Europa League holders Sevilla thumped Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-0 at the Sanchez Pizjuan.

The success of Spanish clubs marked a sharp contrast with their rivals from the English Premier League, with Manchester United and Manchester City both surrendering their lead in 2-1 defeats at PSV Eindhoven and at home to Juventus.

Real forward Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to reach 80 Champions League goals when he netted a Group A hat-trick against Shakhtar, who had midfielder Taras Stepanenko sent off five minutes into the second half.

Portugal captain Ronaldo, who hit five past Espanyol in La Liga on Saturday, moved three clear of Barca forward Lionel Messi on the all-time scoring chart.

Afterwards, the 30-year-old hit back at critics who had suggested he might be past it after he failed to score in Real’s opening two La Liga games of the campaign.

“Before I was bad and now I am good because I scored eight goals,” Ronaldo told Spanish television.

Antoine Griezmann struck twice for Atletico, the 2014 runners-up, as Diego Simeone’s side made light of what can be a intimidating trip to Galatasaray’s stadium in Istanbul.

The France forward said the Group C victory would help the team put Saturday’s 2-1 La Liga defeat at home to Barca behind them.

Sevilla coach Unai Emery said his side’s Group D performance against Gladbach, when they missed one penalty but scored from two others, would help boost confidence as the Andalusians try to get their stuttering La Liga campaign going following a defeat and two draws in their opening three matches.

“Today we found the identity we are looking for this season,” Emery told a news conference. “It gives us confidence to help turn around our results in La Liga.”

Draxler fires Wolfsburg to win

Julian Draxler’s first goal for Wolfsburg was enough for the Bundesliga runner-up to begin their second Champions League campaign with a 1-0 win over CSKA Moscow on Tuesday.

Draxler, brought in from league rival Schalke to replace the departed Kevin de Bruyne, broke the deadlock in the Group B game five minutes before the break. The Germany midfielder stabbed home the rebound from close range after Igor Akinfeev saved his initial headed effort from Ricardo Rodriguez’ cross.

Wolfsburg dominated the match but failed to take a number of chances to put the result beyond doubt.

“If you look at the chances and counter attacks we had, should have made it 2-0 fairly quickly. Then we would have been a little more at ease,” Wolfsburg winger Andre Schuerrle said.

Schuerrle should have scored early on after being played through by Draxler only to be thwarted by Akinfeev’s foot, and Daniel Caligiuri beat the offside trap, but hesitated and allowed Georgy Shchennikov to make a crucial block.

“We have to be more decisive in front of goal,” Caligiuri said.

The Russian visitors improved somewhat in the second half, Pontus Wernbloom forcing Diego Benaglio into action before Zoran Tosic’s shot was easily dealt with by the Wolfsburg ‘keeper.

The German side’s first Champions League campaign also began with a win over CSKA, 3-1 on September 15, 2009 thanks to Brazilian striker Grafite’s hat trick.

Newcomer Astana beaten

Nicolas Gaitan and Kostas Mitroglou scored in the second half to give Benfica a 2-0 win over plucky Champions League newcomer Astana in their Group C opener Tuesday.

Gaitan got the breakthrough in the 51st minute, breaking into the area from the left flank and firing a low drive into the far corner. Mitroglou extended the Portuguese club’s lead 11 minutes later when he tapped in Eliseu’s cross from the left.

The goals came after a frustrating first half in which Benfica dominated the run of play, but lacked the speed and imagination to pierce Astana’s packed defence.

Astana, the first team from Kazakhstan to reach the competition’s group phase, produced a competent performance and looked poised to upset Benfica when substitute Aleksei Schetkin hit the post in the 46th minute.

Benfica mostly dictated the game but in the first half lacked the speed and imagination to pierce Astana’s packed defence.

Junior Kabananga and Georgi Zhukov threatened for Astana but the visitors didn’t have the sophistication needed to make any real headway.

Benfica are making their sixth consecutive Champions League appearance and has lost just one of their last 15 European games at the Stadium of Light.

Di Maria inspires PSG

Di Maria brought his delicate touch to Paris St Germain’s game as the French champions started their Champions League campaign with a routine 2-0 home win against Malmo on Tuesday.

Di Maria scored after four minutes of their Group A match o and Edinson Cavani made it 2-0 in the 61st minute in a one-way encounter at the Parc des Princes.

Playing against the club where he started his career, PSG forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic looked a bit rusty, having played only one league game in an injury-plagued start to his season. He was replaced by Javier Pastore 15 minutes from time.

Malmo thought their moment had come in the 26th minute but Markus Rosenberg’s goal was disallowed after the forward had fouled Thiago Silva.

AMMAN — The fourth round of the Jordan Rally Championship kicks off on Friday with the participation of nine drivers.

The event is headed by Khaled Juma who is heading the standings with 75 points and is getting ready to participate in the Jordan Rally October 15-17.

Juma, who proved to be a touch contender, will face tough competition from a host of drivers, who are willing to do anything for a place at the podium.

Drivers have to cover a total distance of 310.76km with six special stages (73.6km) on gravel tracks around the Dead Sea area.

Drivers will pass through Turky 1 & 2 (9.43km), Shouneh 1 &2 (15.309km) and Baptism site (11.80km).

In the third round, Juma topped the standings after clocking 1h 02m 06s, followed by Ehab Shurafa (1h07m56s and Basheer Azar (1h12m10s).

Co-driver Barkev Shadian, who is teaming with woman driver Lina Hadidi in a Subaru Impreza, told The Jordan Times that it will not be an easy job.

“We have been training for some time now but we know it will not be easy at all as the level of competition is high and the tracks are really difficult. That puts a lot of pressure on the car and the driver,” he said.

Hadidi clocked 1h14m04s and settled in the fourth place in the third round.

“We will try to have an effective strategy in order to get an advanced position in the event and hopefully we will not face any mechanical issues with the car,” he added.

Jordan Motorsports CEO Othman Naseef said that the event will be a great rehearsal before the Jordan Rally takes place.

“Everyone will be eyeing for more experience to assist them in the upcoming big event. We have one month before the Jordan Rally, the event will have challenging tracks through the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea areas and we are really excited,” he said.

“We hope that everyone will enjoy their time and have a safe rally,” he added.

AMMAN — HRH Prince Feisal, chairman of Jordan Motorsport, has highlighted the vital role played by the Jordan Rally in promoting the Kingdom to the world, according to a statement from the Jordan Rally Media Service.

Speaking with one month to go until the event’s favourite sporting and social event is held on October 15-17, Prince Feisal said that the Jordan Rally is “much more than a sporting event” and delivers a strong global message.

“It is no secret that Jordan is located between a rock and a hard place and that we live in a tough neighbourhood, but despite all that has been happening around us Jordan remains a shining beacon of safety and security,” said the prince in the statement.

“The Jordan Rally is an example of how life goes on here. We have held exceptional events year after year which attract participants, officials and fans from across the world.

“And the media coverage that comes with hosting an event of this magnitude ensures that images of Jordan as an exciting leisure and sporting destination are beamed to millions of televisions across the region and beyond.

“This is why we say that the Jordan Rally is much more than a sporting event. It is a vital marketing tool that shows the world we are open for business, and provides a secure home from home for anyone that wants to come here. A very warm welcome awaits.”

The rally will get under-way on the afternoon of October 15 with a specially created spectator event. It will then be followed by two days of thrills and spills on challenging tracks through the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea areas.

Routes are selected that showcase some of the Kingdom’s most stunning scenery with the event itself based at the lowest land point on Earth on the banks of the Dead Sea, providing a breathtaking natural backdrop.

The region’s very best drivers are expected, and they will be up against some of the best talent that Jordan has to offer.