Sports

NICE — Tributes poured in for French driver Jules Bianchi, who died from injuries sustained in a head-on crash during the Japanese Grand Prix last October.

The 25-year-old Bianchi died in a hospital in his hometown of Nice, his family said in a statement released early Saturday.

Nice was about 30 kilometres from the track where he sealed the best performance of his young Formula One career, the Monaco Grand Prix. It was on Monaco’s tight and sinewy circuit last year that Bianchi, driving for Marussia — now known as Manor Marussia — finished in ninth place and gave the unheralded team its best finish and first points in F1.

“Words cannot describe the enormous sadness within our team this morning, as we come to terms with losing Jules,” said John Booth, team principal of Manor Marussia. “He has left an indelible mark on all our lives, and will forever be part of everything we have achieved, and everything we will strive for going forward.”

Bianchi’s drive that day was a mixture of flair, steely determination, and panache; exactly the traits that were spotted in him early on, when he was touted as a future star after graduating from the Ferrari academy in 2009. He competed in 34 Grand Prix.

“Jules was a shining talent. He was destined for great things in our sport: Success he so richly deserved,” Booth said in a statement. “He was also a magnificent human being, making a lasting impression on countless people all over the world ... he was an extremely warm, humble and intensely likable person who lit up our garage and our lives.”

F1 champion Lewis Hamilton tweeted: “A sad, sad day today, guys. Please pray for Jules’ loved ones. RIP Jules. God bless.” His Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg also offered his condolences.

Bianchi was a much-liked driver in the sometimes edgy and brittle F1 championship.

Countryman Romain Grosjean, a rival driver for Lotus, expressed that reality in this tweet: “Yesterday we lost one of the best guys and best drivers I’ve ever met. I’ll miss you so much my friend.”

British driver Max Chilton, Bianchi’s teammate last year, tweeted: “No words can describe what his family and the sport have lost. All I can say it was a pleasure knowing and racing you.”

McLaren tweeted: “The thoughts of everybody at McLaren are with the friends and family of Jules Bianchi. You will be sorely missed. [hashtag]RIPJules [hashtag]ForzaJules”

Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne, who raced against Grosjean and Bianchi, said: “I have no words... We will miss you my old friend...” Alongside his tweet, Vergne added a photo of a fresh-faced Bianchi, the joy and optimism clear on his face.

As part of its online tributes, L’Equipe’s website showed a collection of pictures of a young Bianchi.

One showed Bianchi aged 4, driving a toy go-kart, a look of fixed concentration on his face, and another with proud father and son together after a junior karting race.

“He only had that [racing] in mind,” his father Philippe said in an interview with Var-Matin newspaper. “We looked after a track in Antibes and he would spend his time watching the customers going around the tarmac. As soon as his feet touched the pedals, he wanted to climb into a kart.”

Former F1 driver Jean Alesi, who raced in 202 GPs, also paid his respects.

“He fought right until the end. We thought a miracle could happen,” Alesi told RMC radio. “He was an endearing boy, very fair on the track and outside of it. He was well loved. He was joie de vivre personified. It’s a shock for everyone.”

Bianchi was from racing stock.

His great uncle Lucien Bianchi raced in 17 GPs and competed in the Le Mans 24 Hours. He died in 1969, in an accident during testing at the Le Mans track, a year after winning the race.

“The world of motorsport is in mourning today,” motorsport’s governing body FIA said in a statement. “The sport has lost one of the most talented drivers of this generation, from a family that has such a strong presence in the history of the sport.”

Bianchi is the first driver to die of injuries sustained in an F1 race since three-time world champion Ayrton Senna and Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger were killed at the 1994 San Marino GP.

Bianchi died at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire in Nice, where he had been since his emergency treatment in Japan in the days after the accident.

“Twenty-one years after the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger, we have now lost Jules, who has died as a direct consequence of an on-track accident,” the Grand Prix Drivers Association said in a statement. “Despite considerable improvements, we, the Grand Prix drivers, owe it to the racing community, to the lost ones and to Jules, his family and friends, to never relent in improving safety.”

Bianchi’s accident occurred at the end of the race at the Suzuka Circuit. In rainy, gloomy conditions, Bianchi’s car slid off the track and ploughed into a crane picking up the Sauber of German driver Adrian Sutil, who crashed in the same spot one lap earlier.

“Last night we lost a truly great guy and a real fighter,” British driver Jenson Button, the 2009 F1 champion, tweeted.

Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas of the Williams team tweeted “You will be never forgotten.”

Nicolas Deschaux, the president of the French Motorsport Federation, paid tribute on France Info radio.

“Jules Bianchi was one of the surest hopes for French motorsport,” Deschaux said. “He was brimming with talent and well-liked by all drivers. The world of motorsport is grieving today.”

Tributes came in from outside of F1, and outside of sport itself.

The Elysee Palace of French President Francois Hollande expressed its “sincere condolences”.

World rally champion Sebastien Ogier tweeted: “So sad to hear Jules Bianchi passed away,” while French tennis player Caroline Garcia said, “Such sadness to hear about the death of Jules Bianchi at the age of 25.”

Luc Alphand, a former French Alpine skier who then switched sports and drove in the Dakar Rally, said on BFMTV that “when destiny strikes in this way, it’s truly awful.”

PARIS — As FIFA slid toward what has now become a full-blown collapse of its reputation and credibility, one of Sepp Blatter’s advisers suggested to the president of football’s governing body that he should lift the lid on one of his most tightly guarded secrets.

Reveal how much FIFA pays you, Mark Pieth advised. The Swiss anti-corruption expert, recruited by FIFA for his expertise in corporate governance, says he argued that disclosing Blatter’s salary would demonstrate that the discredited organisation is committed to change and transparency.

Blatter wouldn’t have it.

Pieth says the FIFA president explained that doing so risked embarrassing and upsetting his allies on the FIFA board whose pay is also secret.

“He told me: ‘Well, you know, I couldn’t,’” the Basel University professor recalls. “’It wouldn’t go down well with my friends.’”

One million dollars? Five million? More than that? Two years after Blatter rejected Pieth’s advice, the exact extent of his salary and perks remain known only by him and a seeming tiny handful of perhaps no more than four others at FIFA headquarters.

Here is a look at why the secrecy should be lifted:

Set an example

Founded in 1904 with the simple aim of organising football internationally, FIFA has grown into a multi-billion dollar global enterprise largely thanks to the World Cup’s financial success under Blatter’s reign since 1998.

Like multi-national corporations, it publishes detailed annual financial accounts and is audited. Beset by allegations of vote-buying and corruption involving members of its ruling executive committee, FIFA also in 2011 launched reforms that tightened, the way it does business but which haven’t gone far enough for its many critics.

Failing to publish the pay of Blatter and other executives gives the impression that FIFA must still have something to hide, when it should set an example for football to follow.

“The old idea is these guys just put their hand in the till and distribute money wildly because they have so much of it,” Pieth said in a phone interview with The Associated Press.

Others do better

Some football organisations are far more open, making FIFA look secretive.

Obliged to do so by US law, the US Football Federation that governs the sport in the United States files tax returns that give astounding detail about executive compensation when compared to FIFA. The filings are easy to find on the federation website.

The most recent shows federation CEO Dan Flynn got a base salary of $528,209, plus $102,250 in bonuses, for an average 40 hours of work per week in the 2013 tax year and even that the federation pays his health club bill of $180 per month.

The accounts for England’s Football Association, also accessible via its website, aren’t as transparent but do show — as required by British law — that the highest paid director got £550,000 ($850,000) in salary and benefits.

Governed by Swiss law, FIFA’s public accounts lack such detail. They say $39.7 million was paid to “key management personnel” in 2014. That included Blatter and the 24 other members of his executive committee, plus 12 executives at FIFA headquarters. If evenly split between all 37 people, that would be $1 million each. FIFA says the total includes gross salary and social charges but won’t break down who got what or even answer questions about why it fails to do so.

“We have no further comments on individual compensation,” it said by e-mail to the AP.

COPY CONCACAF: The governing body for football in the North and Central Americas and the Caribbean has been hit hard by the latest corruption scandal. Its former general secretary, Chuck Blazer, pleaded guilty in the United States to racketeering, income tax evasion, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies and was banned from the game for life on Thursday by FIFA’s ethics committee.

To prevent the confederation from imploding, CONCACAF this week announced reforms that include exemplary policies on pay which will be more transparent than FIFA’s. As US Football does, tax returns reporting executive salaries will be published on CONCACAF’s website. CONCACAF is also proposing that executives’ compensation be approved annually by its congress.

These changes could pressure others, including FIFA, to follow suit.

“We think if we can do it, they can do it,” CONCACAF legal adviser Sam Gandhi said in an AP phone interview. “Sports federations shouldn’t be worried about the truth. ... If people are valuable, people recognise that they should be paid a valuable amount. But we shouldn’t have anything to hide when it comes to this stuff.”

Cost vs worth

FIFA executive committee members are treated like royalty, housed in the best hotels, ferried in limousines and, on top of reportedly generous per diems when conducting FIFA business, also paid $300,000 a year, one insider confirmed to AP.

Without breaking down the expenses, FIFA’s accounts show it spends a prince’s ransom on meetings: $35.5 million in 2014, including travel and accommodation for its 209 member associations to a congress in Brazil.

Jim Boyce, an executive committee member from 2011-2015, bristled at the suggestion that FIFA is overly lavish.

“Bankers, for example, are getting millions of bloody bonuses and all the rest of it and their banks are going down the tube,” he said in an AP interview. “There are many people in many walks of life who are paid a salary for doing a job... That’s a personal thing between a company and the employee. It’s not dishonest if people pay their taxes.”

But without detail on who gets what exactly, it’s impossible for outsiders to judge whether FIFA and the sport it is meant to serve is getting value for money.

Obstacles

When Blatter announced June 2 that he’ll be standing down, he also said he would use his remaining months to drive “far-reaching, fundamental reforms”. Domenico Scala, overseeing that effort, said one goal is to publish the pay of the president and executive committee members, because “FIFA recognises that many have questioned the transparency by which FIFA operates.”

But how that will be done and whose approval they need wasn’t explained and FIFA wouldn’t elaborate when asked by AP. While some executives say they wouldn’t mind if their salaries are made public, others from countries where pay is seen as more of a private matter and not easily discussed may resist.

And Blatter’s record doesn’t inspire confidence that he can pass this last big test of his presidency.

“Whenever Blatter has a choice where to side whether with his friends or with the general public, with the critics and so on,” noted Pieth, “he chose to side with his friends.”

AMMAN — The Kingdom’s football teams have started to finalise their line-ups as they get ready for the local and regional football agendas. 

On the clubs level, the 33rd Super Cup will see league champs Wihdat play Jordan Cup titleholders Faisali in the opening of the 2015-16 football season on August 21. The Jordan Professional League is set to kick off on September 10 and the preliminary round of the Jordan Cup is set for September 13 for First Division teams from which four teams will join the knockout Round of 16 of the Jordan Cup, which will be played from September 27-30 and the quarters from December 25.

Wihdat, who won their 14th league title as well as 32nd Super Cup last year, are scrambling to boost their line-up and have signed former star Abdullah Theeb as they hope to retain local titles and compete on the Asian scene with Syrian coach Imad Khankan leading the team this season. 

For the first time in years, last season saw Wihdat trailed in runner-up and third place by Jazira and Ramtha. After finishing at a disappointing 7th place in the League, Faisali managed to beat That Ras to win the 35th Jordan Cup title. The league’s top two teams will also represent Jordan in regional events such as the AFC Cup and Asian Champions League.

Last season also witnessed a big battle at the other end of the standings as Ittihad Ramtha were relegated to Division 1 after failing to score a single win, and former champs Shabab Urdun and Faisali could have easily followed suit. It was only in the final week that Baqaa also held on to their post and Manshieh were relegated.

On the Asian club level, Wihdat and Jazira’s impressive run at Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup came to an end in the Round of 16. 

All national teams are busy this season. Jordan lost to Qatar in the final match of the 8th West Asian Football Championship (WAFC) last year and this season the squad has started Group B qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, doubling as part of the qualification for 2019 Asian Cup as well. The Kingdom beat Tajikistan 3-1 in its opening match and will play Kyrgyzstan on September 3.

The women’s team topped Asian Group B qualifiers and moved to Round 2 — the second phase of the qualifying journey to the 2016 Summer Olympics Football tournament.

Jordan’s U-16 boys team has started the final countdown to the 5th West Asian Championship kicking off in Amman on July 29. 

“We hope the officials will succeed in securing serious friendlies as they are vital for our upcoming agenda,” U-16 coach Abdullah Qitati was quoted as saying after the team only played two friendlies against Palestine whom they beat 2-0 after losing the first match 3-2. The U-19 team is gearing up for Asian Football Association U-19 qualifiers kicking off October 2 and the U-23 are slated to play the first West Asian Championship kicking off on September 29.

MADRID — Former Barcelona and Spain midfielder Xavi has hit out at Real Madrid for failing to give departing captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas the send-off he deserved before his switch to Porto.

A tearful Casillas appeared alone in the Bernabeu Stadium press room on Sunday and the 34-year-old choked up several times as he read a farewell statement that brought to an end 16 seasons in the Real first team.

A wave of criticism followed, with Casillas’s parents also saying in a newspaper interview their son had been forced out of the club by President Florentino Perez.

Real responded by organising an official presentation with Perez and Casillas at the Bernabeu on Monday, when hundreds of fans who turned up in sweltering heat chanted for the president to quit and gave Casillas a rousing ovation.

The contrast between Sunday’s surreal appearance and the send-off Barca gave his close friend Xavi was telling.

A product of Barca’s academy, Xavi, 35, joined Qatari side Al Sadd at the end of last season and fans, officials and team mates paid homage to him at a packed Nou Camp stadium where the midfielder was surrounded by family and friends.

Xavi wrote in Spanish daily La Vanguardia on Tuesday that Casillas had not changed since they first met at the U-17 World Cup in Egypt in 1997 and that he remained “a good person”.

“That’s why it leaves a bad taste what is happening with him now,” Xavi wrote.

“In recent years, I have seen that he is not enjoying himself like before.

“He even seems bitter and I think everyone in this country [Spain] should think about this.

“It cannot be that maturing Spanish athletes are not shown sufficient respect, that people neglect to value everything they have done for their sport and instead focus on their defects, sometimes with malicious intent.”

Xavi drew a comparison with Juventus and Italy keeper Gianluigi Buffon, who he said still appeared to be enjoying himself in goal at the age of 37.

“I look at Iker and I have the feeling that lately he is playing under pressure, as if he has to prove what a great keeper he is in every match, without the joy he always had.

“Now he is going to Porto and I am sure he will be welcomed as a hero. Away from here they will appreciate him more.”

Casillas had no words of regret or rancor as he put an emotional end to his 25 years as a Real Madrid goalkeeper on Sunday, promising instead to “not let down” his new fans at FC Porto.

“After 25 years defending the colours of the best team in the world, the difficult day has arrived when I say goodbye to the institution that has given me so much,” Casillas said in what could be his final appearance at the Santiago Bernabeu.

“Thanks, a thousand thanks, I will never forget you. Wherever I go I will continue shouting ‘Hala Madrid!’.”

Casillas joined Madrid’s youth academy at age 9 before debuting for its first team in 1999. He won 19 trophies for Madrid, including three Champions League titles and five Spanish league crowns, while also captaining Spain to the 2010 World Cup and two European championships.

Avoiding any mention of Madrid President Florentino Perez or the drawn-out negotiations over the past week to complete his transfer, Casillas said his reasons for leaving were based on the interest shown by Porto.

“I am going to Porto for two reasons,” he said. “The first is the excitement that the coach and the president of the Portuguese club have expressed and, second, because of the messages of support I have received from their fans during these days. They have won me over and their interest has made me very happy. ”

Neither club has released the financial details of the deal, but Spanish media report Madrid is paying for part of Casillas’ salary that was due to him over the final two seasons of his contract with the Spanish side.

AMMAN — The Kingdom’s U-19 football team is gearing up for Asian Football Association (AFC) U-19 qualifiers kicking off October 2.

The squad was drawn in Group E alongside host Iran, Kuwait and Nepal in qualifiers which involve team from across the continent with group winners as well as best second-placed teams booking a slot to the AFC U-19 Championship set for Bahrain in 2016.  The top-four sides of the U-19 Championship advance to the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Jordan’s squad regrouped earlier in the year as coaches described the draw as “tough”, but said the team will spare no effort to be ready for the qualifiers. Preparations were hampered by students’ examinations and head coach Islam Diyabat said training will continue before the final line-up is announced. 

The team will have a training camp following the Eid and prepare to play Oman on August 21 and 23, Lebanon on September 10 and the UAE on September 18 and 20, and the team will have a final camp in the UAE.

“All these friendlies will help boost the competitive edge and point out to any gaps before heading into our final training camp,” Diyabat noted as the team played a series of friendlies against local clubs over the past two weeks.

South Korea, who beat Iraq in the 2012 final, has won the U-19 championship a record 12 times since it started in 1959. Qatar won the last edition in 2014.

The seeding for the draw was based on the rankings from the AFC U-19 Championship 2014. A total of 43 member associations including Bahrain will compete in the qualifiers divided into two zones — the West Zone, which has 25 teams, and the East Zone with 18 teams. Ten group winners and five best second-placed teams will qualify for the finals while hosts Bahrain received an automatic qualification (total 16 teams). The qualifiers will be held from September 28 to October 6.

If Bahrain finish top of their qualifying group or one of the five second best-placed teams, the next (6th) second placed team will qualify for the final competition.

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — Point guard Jeremy Lin is in search of some stability with Charlotte Hornets.

Lin said he has no regrets about leaving New York Knicks after the 2012 season to sign with Houston Rockets during his introductory press conference Monday. But the 26-year-old, one-year sensation made it pretty clear he’s eager to find the right fit.

Three teams removed from “Linsanity” fame, Lin believes he may have found it with Hornets.

Lin said he walked away excited after an in-depth conversation with Hornets coach Steve Clifford about how the team plans to use him — talks that the five-year NBA veteran said were few and far between with previous organisations.

“Just having that open line of communication early and being proactive about it was very big for me,” said Lin, who signed a two-year, $4.37 million contract last week.

The 1.9 metre Lin said he believes Clifford will give him an opportunity to do the things he did in the second half of the 2011-12 season with the New York Knicks, where he turned from a waiver-wire pickup to a late season phenomenon with a knack for big shots and solid production, averaging 14.4 points per game.

Lin left New York to sign a three-year, $25 million with Houston after that season, but his playing time and production decreased during his two seasons with the Rockets and was later traded to Los Angeles Lakers.

He never quite fit in there, either.

“I want to get back to what makes me what I am as a player, which is being aggressive, being on the attack and always charging toward the rim,” Lin said. “I think that will help create easier shots for this team.”

That’s what Clifford is counting on.

Hornets were last in the NBA in three-point shooting in 2014-15 and the team has made three pre-draft trades with that in mind.

Lin also fills that need.

“One, Jeremy has the ability to make the three, but two, he is a playmaker and has the ability to create offense for himself and his teammates,” Clifford said.

Lin is also excited about the idea of playing for Hornets and living in Charlotte, one of his favourite NBA cities and one he refers to as the East Coast version of his hometown Palo Alto, California.

Lin said the “Linsanity” era “feels like a decade ago” and he’s a much improved player now.

He remembers hearing plenty of criticism for his lack of defence, tendency for turnovers, poor shooting and inability to drive left. Despite reduced playing time in Houston and Los Angeles, he believes he’s shown improvement in those areas.

“I do believe I am a more refined player, a more all-around player,” Lin said. “I do think the work I have put in has made me better. I just don’t think I have had the same fit or opportunity.”

That could change in Charlotte where he’ll work as the second-team point guard behind Kemba Walker and possibly see some action at the two-guard spot, Clifford said.

“I don’t know what my limit is or how could I can be, but my goal is to find out,” Lin said.

Said Clifford: “He’s hungry to continue to improve. As you know that is not always the case in any pro league. So I’m confident he will continue to get better.”

Hornets didn’t make the play-offs last year.

Lin sees that changing next season following the additions of Nicolas Batum, Spencer Hawes and Jeremy Lamb this offseason via trades, and the selection of Frank Kaminsky from Wisconsin in the NBA draft.

“We want to make the play-offs and we don’t just want to sneak in at the eighth spot,” Lin said.

AMMAN — Jordan’s U-16 football team has started the final countdown to the 5th West Asian Championship kicking off in Amman on July 29 with Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq, Palestine and Jordan competing for the title.

The Kingdom’s team is undergoing a heavy training regimen although some technical issues seem to have made its task more difficult. Head coach Eric Deletang took time off this month with the championship now only two weeks away as coach Abdullah Qitati tried to best prepare the team’s fitness and competitive sides. 

“We hope the officials will succeed in securing serious friendlies as they are vital for our upcoming agenda,” Qitati was quoted as saying after the team only played two friendlies against Palestine, whom they beat 2-0 after losing the first match 3-2. 

Following the event, the U-16 team hopes finalising some friendlies against its Saudi Arabian and Syrian counterparts that will put finishing touches on preparations as it get set for Group B qualifiers for the 2016 AFC U-16 Asian Championship where Jordan will play alongside Nepal, Oman and Kyrgyzstan from September 12-20 in Kyrgyzstan.

India will host the 2016 AFC U-16 championship with a total of 45 nations including the host 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 hosts India receiving an automatic qualification (total 16 teams). In case India finishes top of their 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 U-16 qualifiers held in Amman after finishing last in Group D. Jordan lost to Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia 2-1, and drew 4-4 with Syria.

AMMAN — Women’s football teams are upbeat as they prepare for upcoming qualifiers and competitions with an uphill battle ahead for both the senior and U-16 squads.

The women’s team has regrouped for the second phase of the qualifying journey to the 2016 Summer Olympics Football tournament with Round 2 Asian qualifiers kicking off in September . 

Jordan topped Asian Group B qualifiers when they beat Uzbekistan 2-0, Hong Kong 1-0, and Palestine 6-0 and qualified to Round 2 where the tough task lies ahead as the Kingdom will join other group leaders Myanmar, Taiwan, Vietnam and Thailand, following which only the top team will move to Round 3 to play the top five seeded teams — Japan, Australia, South Korea, North Korea and China – which eventually qualifies the top two to represent Asia at the Olympic Games.

The Jordanian squad is scheduled to have a training camp abroad in mid-August ahead of Round 2. The Jordan Football Association is also trying to secure matches from August 24-26 against North African teams — Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco — to ensure the team’s competitive readiness.

 It will be Jordan’s second time in qualifications 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 2014, where they were 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.

Meanwhile, as Jordan has started the countdown to hosting the 2016 U-17 Women’s World Cup, team head coach Maher Abu Hantash said the opportunity to represent Jordan would be open to all players adding that “the best would be chosen to undertake the tough task”.

The team is readying to hold a training camp in Germany from August 2-7 which Abu Hantash described as “vital”.

Women’s teams have been competing in all age divisions in the Asian zone. In 2014, the U-19 team was eliminated from Group A qualifiers for the 2015 AFC U-19 Women’s Championship. The squad was hoping to qualify for the second time after Jordan was the first Arab team to play in the 3rd finals in 2007. The U-16 girls team also failed to qualify to the 2015 AFC U-16 Women’s Championship after qualifying in 2013. 

This week, the women’s team went up one spot to 53rd in the latest FIFA World Rankings and the Kingdom leads all Arab teams at 11th in the Asian continent trailing Japan, North Korea, Australia, China, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Myanmar and Uzbekistan.

Newly crowned women’s World Cup champs the US now lead the top 10 table after overtaking Germany, followed by France, Japan, England, Brazil, Sweden, North Korea, Australia and Norway. 

AMMAN —  Abdullah Dasouqi on Saturday was crowned champion of the Micro Max category in the 3rd and 4th rounds of the Jordan Karting Championship (Rotax Max Challenge) which was held at the Jordan Speed Centre, with the participation of 21 drivers representing Lebanon, Oman and Jordan.

Dasouqi secured the championship with one round left to be held in August. Ameer Najjar won first place in the Mini Max category followed by Fadi Habaybeh.

The Senior Max category was won by Abdullah Rawahi of Oman followed by Lebanon’s Kristof Rezq and Oman’s Sanad Rawahi. Ala Khalifeh won the DD2 category followed by Mohammed Hilo.

Najjar also won the Junior Max category followed by Royd Hanoush and Abdullah Hamadeh. Lina Hadidi won the Ladies’ Cup.

In Friday’s 3rd Round Ameer Najjar the Mini Max Category. Tareq Sukhtian won the Senior category followed by Ezz Bustami. Ala Khalifeh won the DD2 category followed by Hilo. Najjar won the Junior Max.

PLUMELEC, France — Race leader Chris Froome heads to the first mountain stages of the Tour de France in confident mood — and with an unexpected main rival.

The British rider, seeking his second Tour win after his dominant victory in 2013, safely kept the yellow jersey after his Team SKY finished one second behind American rider Tejay van Garderen’s BMC in Sunday’s team time trial, the ninth stage of a crash-marred race.

Van Garderen is 12 seconds behind Froome in second place, putting him ahead of Nairo Quintana of Colombia, the 2013 Tour runner-up and the Giro d’Italia winner in 2014, as well as two-time Tour winner Alberto Contador of Spain and defending Tour champion Vincenzo Nibali of Italy.

The 26-year-old van Garderen has never finished higher than fifth at the Tour, but is so far riding like a contender.

“Those guys have that tag of ‘Fab Four’ which is getting a bit irritating,” van Garderen said. “All those guys in the top four have won Grand Tours... It doesn’t mean I’m intimidated by them... I’m not afraid to beat them.”

The most disappointing of the ‘Fab Four’ has so far been Nibali, who cracked in a short climb at the end of Saturday’s eighth stage and lost more time in Sunday’s TTT, when his Astana team finished fifth, behind Contador’s Tinkoff-Saxo and Quintana’s Movistar.

“I thought [Nibali] was going to be the one guy from the main contenders who would gain time in this first phase of the race,” the 30-year-old Froome said. “I am surprised.”

Contador, who entered the Tour on the back of his second Giro d’Italia win and seventh Grand Tour title, is in fifth place — 1 minute, 3 seconds behind Froome — while Quintana is 1:59 behind in ninth and Nibali sits 2:22 behind in 13th spot.

“It’s one thing not to lose any time to your rivals, but it’s another to gain time on them,” Froome said. “The pressure’s certainly not on my shoulders.”

Following Monday’s rest day, Tuesday’s 10th stage snakes up the Pyrenees mountains.

There is only one significant climb, right at the end. But it is a notable one — 15.3 kilometres up La Pierre-Saint-Martin, a mountain resort hosting a stage for the first time. The ascent is classed as Hors Categorie (Beyond Classification) — the rating given to the toughest climbs.

Wednesday’s 11th stage features a climb up the Category 1 Col d’Aspin and then an HC trek up Col du Tourmalet, a famed Tour climb.

A few riders might crack on Thursday’s 12th stage: featuring two Cat. 1 climbs and an HC up Plateau de Beille to top things off.

Froome has identified van Garderen, second behind him at last month’s Criterium du Dauphine race, as his main Tour rival.

“[The Pyrenees] will be the test who is fit enough to win the Tour and the Alps will [show] who has enough stamina to get to the end,” van Garderen said. “With the way I was climbing at the Dauphine, compared to Froome, I think I’m pretty close.”

Before Sunday’s 9th stage, van Garderen was 13 seconds behind Froome in third place, meaning his BMC team — world champions in the discipline — needed to win the TTT by 14 seconds for the American rider to take the yellow jersey.

The 22 teams started the TTT within five minutes of each other over a 28-kilometre trek that ended with a short and sharp hill of 1.7 kilometres. Teams have to get five riders over the line with the overall time credited to the fifth rider to finish.

BMC’s team featured four riders from the team that won last year’s worlds: van Garderen, Rohan Dennis, Daniel Oss and Manuel Quinziato. The Australian rider Dennis won the Tour’s opening individual time trial in a record average speed.

At the Criterium du Dauphine, BMC won the team time trial with Froome’s Team Sky placing sixth, 35 seconds behind — but on a less challenging course.

“The team in the first week has been incredible, we passed every test with flying colours, it gives me the morale for the mountains, it gives the team a lot of morale,” van Garderen said.

With an experienced team around him, van Garderen survived bunch-splitting winds, cobbled sectors and escaped multiple crashes.

“Everything is clicking, it’s all about momentum and we’ve gained a lot of momentum this first week,” the American said.

Froome has singled him out as his main rival, but van Garderen remained cautious.

“That’s tall order. First the Pyrenees are going to be the test, who’s going to be fit enough to win the Tour and the Alps will show who’s going to have the stamina to make it to the end,” the 26-year-old said.

Van Garderen was beaten by Froome in the Criterium du Dauphine last month, but the Briton failed to gain a lot of time in the final climbs.

“I think I’m pretty close to Froome, we’re really going to know that in the first week [in the mountains] to see who really has the depth,” said van Garderen,

“The tour is a marathon, we’re not close to the end.”

Thousands of fans, many waving the black-and-white flag of the Brittany region, packed the undulating route. Starting in Vannes and rolling past Chateau de L’Hermine, a resplendent castle residence for Dukes of Burgundy between the 14th and 16th century, it ended in Plumelec.

BMC and Sky were level at the first time check, Sky one second ahead at the next.

Wearing a tailor-made yellow skin suit, Froome hammered down on the pedals as his team reached speeds of 70kph approaching the final climb. But then they lost time.

Belgian rider Greg Van Avermaet — a BMC rider — is third overall behind Froome, 27 seconds behind, while Slovak sprinter Peter Sagan is fourth, 38 behind.

But neither is a contender for the Tour win.

“Right now, the biggest threat is Tejay van Garderen,” Froome said.

Meanwhile, former Giro d’Italia winner Ivan Basso is withdrawing from the tour after revealing he has testicular cancer on Monday.

“We discover this two hours ago, I have to stop,” the 37-year-old Italian told a news conference on the first rest day of this year’s tour.