SPORTMonday 17 April 2017

Messi keeps Barcelona'shopes alive

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel pips Hamilton

for Bahrain win

PAGE | 27 PAGE | 29 PAGE | 31Team Qatar embarks on Thailand journey, eyes ICC League crown

April 2017

V

Emir Cup: Mesaimeer to take on Al Arabi Rizwan RehmatThe Peninsula

Football minnows Mesaimeer have a date with Doha giants Al Arabi in the second round

of the Emir Cup, the most popular football tourna-ment in the country.

In another second-round clash, Muaither - who have

been relegated from the Qatar Stars League (QSL) - will take

on Al Khor. N e w l y - p r o m o t e d A l

Markhiya have been drawn to play Al Ahli while Al Wakrah's match against Al Shahaniya will wind up the second-round action in the Emir Cup.

In the third phase of the tournament, Al Gharafa will play the winner of Mesaimeer-Al Arabi clash while Al Sailiyah will tackle the triumphant side from the match between Muaither and Al Khor.

Umm Salal will take on the winner from the match involv-ing Al Wakrah and Al

Shahaniya. The final of the tourna-

ment will be played on May

19, the last day of the ongoing football season.

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, President of the Qatar Football Associa-tion (QFA), attended the draw ceremony that was conducted at Shangri La Hotel, Doha.

Saoud Al Mohannadi, Vice President, QFA, Mansoor Al

Ansari, General Secretary, Ahmed Al Buainain, Executive Committee Member, Hani Bal-lan, Executive Committee Member, Ibrahim Khalil Al Mohannadi, Executive Commit-tee Member, also attended the ceremony.

While talking to the press, QFA President predicted the

45th edition of the tournament would be a memorable event.

The Emir Cup football final will be played on May 19, the QFA President said during his speech at Shangri-La Hotel.

"The fans can expect fierce competition from the participat-ing teams as the club players and the coaches are doing everything

they can to prepare well for this popular football event," the QFA President said.

"With just one month to go in this season, the public is now turning their attention to the Emir Cup," he said.

"The teams and their play-ers will have to up the ante and deliver strong performances to advance in this event.

"A couple of games of the Emir Cup have already been played and we know the remain-ing matches will also witness intense battles on the pitch," he added.

"I am sure fans will get to see surprise results as all teams are looking to win the Emir Cup," he said.

The second round action commences on April 23 while round three matches will be held on April 27 and 28, organisers said yesterday. May 3, 4 and 5 are reserved for round four action while May 13 and 14 will feature round five matches.

Al Arabi Stadium, Qatar SC Stadium, Al Sadd Stadium, Al Ahli Stadium, Al Gharafa Sta-dium and Lekhwiya Sports Club will host the Emir's Cup matches this year.

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The draw ceremony of Emir Cup Football Tournament in progress at Shangri-La Hotel in Doha. Emir Cup heads for exciting second round and the The final of the tournament will be played on May 19, the last day of the ongoing football season.

United rock Chelsea to ignite title race, Liverpool on the rise London AFP

Manchester United blew the Premier League title race wide open with a

2-0 win over lethargic leaders Chelsea, while Liverpool are back in third place after a 1-0 victory at West Bromwich Albion yesterday.

Antonio Conte's Chelsea side were rocked by Marcus Rash-ford's early goal and a deflected Ander Herrera strike soon after half-time at Old Trafford deliv-ered a major blow to their title ambitions.

The Blues barely managed an attack of note and a second defeat in their last four league games leaves them clinging to a four-point lead over second placed Tottenham, who had piled on the pressure with a 4-0 rout of Bournemouth on Saturday.

After appearing set to cruise to the title for most of the sea-son, Chelsea now face a nerve-jangling final six matches as they try to hold off a strong challenge from their London rivals.

It was a sweet moment for United manager Jose Mourinho, who had suffered a 4-0 thrash-ing against Chelsea in October on his first return to the club since being sacked last season.

United were also knocked out of the FA Cup quarter-finals by Chelsea last month and avenging those painful losses kept alive their bid to qualify for the Champions League via a top four finish.

Mourinho's men, unbeaten in their last 22 league games, are now fifth, four points behind fourth placed Manchester City with a game in hand.

Chelsea's cause wasn't helped by the absence of goal-keeper Thibaut Courtois, who was injured earlier in the week, and the pre-match withdrawal of left wing-back Marcos Alonso due to a reported illness.

And the Blues looked less solid than usual at the back as United carved them open to take the lead in the seventh minute.

It was a goal rooted in con-troversy from Chelsea's point of view as United midfielder Her-rera appeared to handle to win back possession.

Even so, Chelsea defender David Luiz was still exposed too easily by Herrera's precise pass, with Rashford allowed to gallop clear before slotting a cool fin-ish under Asmir Begovic for his ninth goal of the season.

United, whose leading scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic started on the bench, were rewarded for a vibrant display

when they struck again in the 49th minute.

Ashley Young's persistence opened space for Herrera and the Spaniard's shot from the edge of the penalty area deflected off Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma before looping over Begovic.

At the Hawthorns, Liverpool playmaker Roberto Firmino set-tled a scrappy game with a close-range header in first half stoppage-time to condemn Albion boss Tony Pulis to his first ever home league defeat against the Reds.

The Brazilian converted a flick-on from Lucas Leiva to seal Liverpool's fifth win in their last seven games.

Liverpool are unbeaten since losing at Leicester in late Febru-ary and now lead City by two points, although Pep Guardiola's team have a game in hand in the race for an automatic spot in the Champions League group stage.

Manchester United's Ander Herrera scores their second goal against Chelsea during their English Premier League match played at Old Trafford yesterday.

27MONDAY 17 APRIL 2017SPORTTeam Qatar embarks on Thailand journey, eyes ICC League crownFawad Hussain The Peninsula

Qatar national team yes-terday embarked on a journey to Thailand, seeking a rise in their status in international

cricket with a title-triumph at the ICC World Cricket League Asia Division 1 starting next week in Chaing Mai.

The team left for Bangkok after an extensive six-month preparation for the tournament dubbed as vital for the compet-ing teams, as the winning side will directly get promotion to Division 5.

Apart from Qatar and hosts Thailand, Kuwait, China, Bhu-tan, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are taking part in the contest, which will conclude on May 1.

The Qatar Cricket Associa-tion (QCA), knowing the importance of the event, devised training schedule for the team in the last six months accordingly, ranging from vigorous training and matches against teams like Saudi Arabia and Kenya. In their final phase of preparation, the team played 50-over matches against various local sides.

“ We are well prepared and ready for the tournament,” Qatar team captain Inam Ul Haq told The Peninsula on the eve of

team’s departure to Bangkok.“ All the teams are tough but

we are very optimistic about winning the tournament after undergoing strenuous prepara-tions for the event,” said the seasoned cricketer who has years of experience in playing at domestic levels in Pakistan, Eng-land, Scotland, Bangladesh and the UAE.

Haq said his team has all the ingredients of winning the tournament.

“ Qatar is one of the best competing teams in the tourna-ment. We have a balanced side and most importantly all the players are showing hunger to win the title,” said Haq who has also represented Pakistan at the junior level.

The Qatari captain praised QCA President Yousef Jeham Al Kuwari for his support for the national team and for promo-tion of the game in Qatar .

“ We have the ability to rise in international cricket and this is because of all out support from the QCA. The president has been very supportive and assisting us in every possible manner.”

Qatar will open their cam-paign against Kuwait on April 22 before taking on Bhutan the fol-lowing day.

They will face the hosts on April 25 and Bahrain the next day. Qatar’s key matches against China and Saudi Arabia are scheduled on April 28 and May 1.

Vice-captain Mohammed Rizlan rated Kuwait, China and Saudi Arabia as main threats for Qatar in their title-bid.

“Qatar has some tough matches lined-up in the event but we are well prepared,” Riz-lan told The Peninsula.

“Kuwait, China and Saudi Arabia are good sides. But we are confident against them specially against Saudis as we have won

a series against them recently and hold psychological advan-tage against them.”

The top order batsman and wicket-keeper said Qatar will take all the matches as final.

“ This is a league event where we will face all the

participating teams. In order to ensure the title we are keen on winning every single match.

“We are desperate to win this tournament to get promoted to Division 5. We are aware that failure to do so will put us five years back. So, we will be firing

on all cylinders to win the title,” said the 32-year-old.

Awais Mali, Khadeer Mohammad, Iqbal Choudhary, Khurram Shahzad, Qalandar Khan, Mohammad Nadeem, Kamran Khan, Tamoor Sajjad, Zaheeruddeen Ibrahim, Muham-mad Tanveer, Noman Sarwar and Dharmang Hasmukh are other members of the team.

QCA Operations Manager Ahmed who will also accompany the team was upbeat about team’s chances of winning the title.

“After a strong build-up of the national team, we’re very much confident of a good dis-play,” he said.

Qatar will play two warm-up matches ahead of the tournament. They will take on Bhutan tomorrow before meet-ing the hosts on Friday.

Qatar team's players and officials celebrate after their win over Saudi Arabia in the Twenty20 match at the Asian Town Cricket Stadium, in this last year's file photo.

Mohammed Rizlan

We are desperate to win this tournament to get promoted to Division 5. We are aware that failure to do so will put us five years back. So, we will be firing on all cylinders to claim the title: Vice captain Mohammed Rizlan

Khetco win Qatar Airways title

The players of Khetco XI and Regal Strikers pose for a group photo following the final of Qatar Airways Twenty20 Tournament at West Bay Gound recently.

The Peninsula

Khetco XI outplayed Regal Strikers to win the Qatar Airways Twenty20 Tour-

nament with a splendid 40-run triumph at the West Bay Ground recently.

Qatar Airways is the spon-sor of the popular tournament, organised by the Qatar Board of Cricket, Hockey and Rugby to boost the sport in the country.

Khetco XI, batting first after winning the toss, ran up a huge 186 for seven in 20 overs.

Jameel and Zohaib batted magnificently to lay the foun-dation of their team’s big total.

Jameel struck a match-high 44. During his 51-minute occu-pation of the crease, he blasted four boundaries and one six off 35 balls. Zohaib was also in aggressive mood, putting up 38 off just 29 balls. His knock was studded with four hits to the rope and two over it.

Firoz got two wickets for 30 runs to finish as the most suc-cessful Regal Strikers bowler.

The chase of Regal Strikers

was marred by fall of regular wickets and they eventually col-lapsed in the 20th over at 146. Naveed got two scalps for 29 in four overs.

Ajay and Shani survived the longest and took the score close to 150-run mark. Ajay’s 36 off 26 balls had four boundaries, while Shani slammed a six and four boundaries in his 24-ball 35.

Kuwari lauded the winners Khetco XI for giving a quality display in the final. He expressed hopes that other teams would

work hard next season and put up a better show to leave an

enduring impression on the tournament.

Youngsters, Al Misnad share trophy after tie The Peninsula

The Qatar Cricket Association (QCA) has been diligently nurturing the sport at all levels in the country, with

an eye on building a strong national sen-ior team.

A total of 64 teams participated in the Qatar Airways tournament which includes in Premier and 3 other groups.

The tournament started in January and ended on April 14.

As many as 164 matches were played in the Qatar Airways Tournament. The final Premier match was played for 50 overs at Asian Town Cricket Stadium between Feroz Youngsters and Galfar Al Misnad on April 14.

The Feroz Youngsters first batting and made a score of 224. The Galfar Al Misnad also made a score of 224.

The match was declared as “tied”

therefore both teams were declared join winners. Tamoor Sajjad was player of final.

Al Feroz's Faisal was declared best batsman while his team-mate Mujeeb was

named as best bowler. The QCA President Yousef Jeham Al Kuwari handed the tro-phies to the players following the match,

Representative from Qatar Airways Ali Farabi, Manager Ticketing Operations

along with Mohammad Ahmad Al Othm-ani and Manzoor Ahmad, QCA Operations Manager were also present.

Ahmad praised QCA President for his support for the promotion for cricket in the country.

" It's an honour to have Mr President and other key official during the match," he said.

The QCA President Yousef Jeham thanked the Qatar Airways representa-tive for sponsoring the tournament and appreciated the national team players performance and wish them good luck for ICC tournament to be played in Cha-ing Mai from Saturday.

The Qatar team will be up against Thailand, Kuwait, China, Bhutan, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia during the tournament which will conclude on May 1.

Qatar will open their campaign against Kuwait on April 22.

Feroz Youngsters and Galfar Al Misnad along with QCA officials pose for a group photo.

Mumbai IANS

Extending their winning streak to four matches, Mumbai Indians

defeated Gujarat Lions by six wickets in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match in Mum-bai yesterday.

Nitish Rana (53), Rohit Sharma (40 not out) and Kieron Pollard (39) were the major contributors to Mum-bai's cause.

Chasing a challenging total of 177, Mumbai started off on a bad note as the home side lost opener Parthiv Patel (0) on the second ball of the first over.

Earlier, put in to bat, Brendon McCullum and Dinesh Karthik's crafty knocks helped Gujarat Lions post 176/4.

McCullum played 44 balls and slammed six boundaries and three sixes to get his 64 runs while Karthik slammed 48 runs off 26 balls that helped Gujarat post a decent score.

For Mumbai, McClena-ghan scalped two wickets while Malinga and Harbhajan chipped in with a wicket apiece.

Meanwhile, Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 27 runs in the match 17 of IPL 2017 yesterday.

After scoring a modest total of 161, Pune successfully restricted Bangalore for just 134 runs.

Earlier, Royal Challeng-ers Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli won the toss and decided to field first against Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) in the match 17 of IPL 2017.

Bangalore are currently struggling at the bottom half of the league table at the sixth position with just 1 win in 4 matches.

Their captain Virat Kohli was back in action since the previous match against Mum-bai Indians and looked in good shape as he scored a 62 off 47 deliveries.

Pune are currently at the rock bottom position in the league table with just 2 points from 4 matches. They have lost consecutive 3 matches in a row.

It was a must win match for both the sides as they are languishing at the bottom of the table.

RCB finally took the big decision to drop Chris Gayle bringing in all-rounder Shane Watson.

Brief ScoresMumbai Indians 177 for

4 (Rana 53, Rohit 40*, Tye 2-34) beat Gujarat Lions 176 for 4 (McCullum 64, Karthik 48*, McClenaghan 2-24) by six wickets

Rising Pune Supergiant 161/8 (AM Rahane 30, RA Tri-pathi 31, MS Dhoni 28) beat RCB 134/9 (V Kohli 28, AB de Villiers 29. KM Jadhav 18) by 27 runs

Nitish Rana

Rana shines as Mumbai overcome Gujarat

28 MONDAY 17 APRIL 2017SPORT

Lekhwiya stars bask in gloryThe Peninsula

Five-time Qatar Stars League (QSL) cham-pions Lekhwiya, celebrated their title coronation on Satur-

day evening with a 2-2 draw with Al Shahania.

On the sidelines of the cele-brations, players of the side were basking in glory insisting that the QSL falcon shield is just the start of the trophy run for the Red Knights as they come into the business end of the 2016/ 2017 season.

Edgar Da Silva may have only played a handful of games for Lekhwiya, replacing injured top scorer Yusef El Arabi for the final games of the campaign. However, the Brazilian attacker was grateful for the chance to play with the side.

“I have had a great time at Lekhwiya, all the players have been joking with me that I play a few games and I become a champion. I am trying my best at the club, and added two goals to the championship and I am so happy to be with the team.”

“Our objective is to add to the trophy that we have. We have chances now in the cups and in the AFC Champions League and if we work hard we will be lifting more trophies this season” added the striker.

Qatari winger Ismael Mohammed has enjoyed another strong season for the Red Knights, suggesting that the Lekhwiya squad did well to cover for the absentees of key players over the season.

“We had a target to win the league and we have achieved this. We were under pressure till

the very end and did well to win the title despite missing key players. After the league we have to take on the cups and we are ready for them, this is our plan now. I am now ready for everything.”

“I tried to beat Xavi’s assist record, I am lucky to be battling with such a top player for this honor. I will be targeting to beat him next season now, god will-ing” added the winger who notched up 15 assists over the course of the season.

Chico Flores picked up his second ever QSL falcon shield on Saturday evening. The Spanish defender suggested that Lekhwi-ya’s fifth ever QSL crown will go down in the history books as the finest title win for the Red Knights.

“I am happy for all of the players and staff at the club. This

is an important trophy in the his-tory of Lekhwiya club.”

Flores also noted that Lekhwiya’s triumph was down to winning the big games against their title rivals.

“It’s been a difficult season with Al Sadd, who has a good season. We have only lost one game and I think in the big matches we proved that we deserve to win the title. For me, I am now recovering from injury and I am hoping to take part in the Cup competitions for the side.”

Meanwhile, Lekhwiya’s CEO Adnan Al Ali has hailed the Red Knights fifth QSL falcon.

“I would like to thank the players and coaching staff on this historic achievement. This season has been a real battle with Al Sadd for the title, and

thank God we battled to the very end to lift the title,” said the Lekhwiya chief

“This is just the first trophy for us this season; we still have

to compete in the Qatar Cup and Emir Cup along with still being in the AFC Champions League. We are now looking forward to lifting more tropies this season” added Al Ali on the sides ambi-tions after lifting the QSL falcon shield.

Reflecting on the season, Al Ali talked up the quality of the whole Lekhwiya squad who had to deal with a number of key absentees this season.

“This title win is special because everyone in the squad contributed. It was tough and we lost a number of players through injury, however we battled on and deservedly won the title.”

The Lekhwiya CEO was also eager to praise the effort of the club administration.

“The title is not only for the players, but also for the admin-istration and coaching staff. They have worked so hard over the season, and this is reflected with our fifth ever title. Now we have to look forward and com-pete in the other trophies we are taking part in," he said.

Lekhwiya players celebrate with the Falcon Shield after their last QSL match against Al Shahania on Saturday at Lekhwiya Stadium.

This season has been a real battle with Al Sadd for the title, and thank God we battled to the very end to lift the title: Lekhwiya’s CEO Adnan Al Ali

We had a target to win the League and we have achieved that. We were under pressure till the very end and did well to win the title despite missing key players: Ismael Mohammed

Our objective is to add to the trophy that we have. We have chances now in the Cups and in the AFC Champions League: Edgar Da Silva

Lekhwiya CEO Adnan Al Ali

Star Nam targets treble for Red KnightsThe Peninsula

Lekhwiya’s midfield maestro Nam Tae Hee believes that his side’s title coronation is

only the start of a potential domestic treble this season for the Red Knights.

The South Korean interna-tional said his QSL team has the potential to complete the treble , after winning the lucrative league following a tough battle with Al Sadd.

Nam has been one of Lekhwi-ya’s consistent performers this season, and has delivered regu-lar match winning performances

with the Red Knights only losing on one occasion this season.

Reflecting on the season, Lekhwiya’s number ten suggested it was the best to date during his time with the club.

“This is my fourth title with Lekhwiya, and for me it was the closest title race," said the South Korean star.

"Al Sadd played very well and in the end it was only a two point gap between the two sides. It’s been tough at times this season, but my team-mates have stuck together and played well when we have been missing some big players," he said.

"It’s a fantastic feeling to lift the title again with Lekhwiya,” added the seasoned midfielder.

The 25 year old who is now Lekhwiya’s most successful ever foreign import also revealed that he is targeting further glory this season in both domestic and regional trophies still to play for as the season near end.

“I am so happy to be with the team, we still have important games in the Qatar Cup, the Emir Cup and AFC Champions League," he said.

"The league title is only the first title that Lekhwiya can win this season, after this we can start

to look towards the new season.”

However, Nam noted that Lekhwiya’s quest for a domestic treble will be a challenge with two teams in particular looking to stop the Red Knights in the Qatar & Emir Cup competitions.

“Al Sadd and Al Rayyan have played well this season and they will be a challenge for us in the Qatar Cup and Emir Cup," said the Lekhwiya star.

"Nothing is easy in Qatar when competing for trophies because of tough contest, but we will continue to fight for what is available for the side.”

Nam Tae Hee

Review: Consistency paid off for champs Lekhwiya The Peninsula

The 2016/2017 Qatar Stars League (QSL) season came to a close on Saturday

evening as Lekhwiya lifted their fifth QSL falcon shield in seven seasons.

Overall the title race was a tight affair between Lekhwiya and Al Sadd, with the Red Knights beating their fierce rivals to the crown in round 25 after Al Sadd dropping points in a 2-2 with Al Sailiya.

Lekhwiya enjoyed an impressive season, only falling to one defeat at the hands of Umm Salal. Djamel Belmadi’s boys won the league with a tally of 63 points. Along with one defeat, Lekhwiya only drew on six occasions along with 19 wins.

The Red Knights are also the leading goal scorers this cam-paign finding the back of the net on 79 occasions.

Only two points behind is Al Sadd, who also lost only once in the domestic season against their

title rivals Lekhwiya. Jesaldo Fer-riera’s side have been playing an exciting brand of attacking foot-ball this season, and pushed Lekhwiya all the way to the end in the QSL title race.

The Wolves picked up 61 points this term, registering 18 wins 7 draws and just one defeat. Sadd also have the envious record of the best defense in the league conceding only 23 goals in 26 games this season.

Former champions Al Rayyan finished the season in third place. The Lions brought in Danish coach Michael Laudrup just two rounds into the season after Jorge Fossati was called up to manage the Qatar national team.

El Jaish looked to be title contenders before falling away drastically in the second half of the season. Sabri Lamouchi’s side picked up 45 points overall, and

secured Qatar Cup qualification with two rounds to spare.

Al Gharafa enjoyed a strong season under Portuguese coach Pedro Caixinia, and ran out of steam after Caixinia was hired by Rangers in Scotland.

The Cheetahs finished in a creditable fifth place, and picked up 12 wins, 4 draws and 10 defeats over the course of the season and finshed with a tally of 40 points.

Umm Salal ended the season strongly to finish in sixth place in the QSL standings.

Al Kharaitiyat also enjoyed a late season surge to finish well away from the relegation zone. 10 wins, 4 draws and 11 defeats is the Thunders record this season.

Al Sailiya endured a scrappy 2016/2017 QSL campaign, only confirming safety with two rounds to spare. Sami Trabelsi’s team picked up 28 points in a largely forgettable campaign.

Al Arabi had high expecta-tions for the league this season; however 3 coaches later they

ended up in tenth place with a tally of 28 points.

Al Khor battled out of rele-gation trouble again this season, with Jean Fernandez’s side con-firming their safety with a round to spare. The Knights picked up 25 points registering 6 wins, 7 draws and 13 defeats this season.

Al Shahania is set for a

relegation play-off to determine their fate in the QSL against Qatar SC.

The Oryxes picked up a tally of 22 points picking up just 3 wins along with 13 draws (the most in the league) and 10 defeats. In the relegation zone, Al Wakrah are joined by Muather who picked up respective tallies of 20 and 15 points respectively.

Position Club Matches Win Lose Draw GF GA GD Points1 Lekhwiya 26 19 1 6 79 33 46 632 Al Sadd 26 18 1 7 77 23 54 613 Al Rayyan 26 15 5 6 53 27 26 514 El Jaish 26 13 7 6 45 40 5 455 Al Gharafa 26 12 10 4 42 43 -1 406 Umm Salal 26 9 7 10 32 35 -3 377 Al Kharaitiyat 26 10 12 4 27 32 -5 348 Al Sailiya 26 8 11 7 32 45 -13 319 Al Arabi 26 8 14 4 39 56 -17 2810 Al Ahli 26 7 13 6 33 45 -12 2711 Al Khor 26 6 13 7 27 40 -13 2512 Al Shahania 26 3 10 13 30 53 -23 2213 Muaither SC 26 5 16 5 25 48 -23 2014 Al Wakrah 26 2 15 9 29 50 -21 15

QATAR STARS LEAGUE FINAL STANDINGS

Lekhwiya coach Djamel Belmadi

29MONDAY 17 APRIL 2017 SPORT

The Peninsula

The Qatar Stars League took on extra significance this week as the QSL

joined forces with Save the Dream to highlight the impor-tance of promoting and protecting the values of sport for young people.

Alongside various inspira-tional films of Save the Dream projects that were shown across QSL stadia on final match day of the 2016/17 sea-son, children and young athletes from the International School of London and Birla School, Doha wore special Save the Dream jerseys and shared a symbolic moment with players from Lekhwiya and Al Shahania as they entered the stadium together to underline the powerful and uniting role of sport.

Following the conclusion of the match, Lekhwiya lifted the QSL Falcon Shield as Champi-ons of the 2016/2017 season.

As a global non-profit Movement of organisations, people and athletes who believe in the power of sport to build more fair and inclusive

societies, Save the Dream is committed to promoting and protecting the core values of sport to help young people and future generations and using sport as a vehicle to encourage integrity, respect and inclusion within society.

Since Save the Dream was established in 2012, the QSL and Qatar football community has strongly supported various social projects run in Qatar by Save the Dream, including recently hosting a special blind football match on National Sport Day 2017 which featured several high-profile players from Al Sadd SC.

Hani Taleb Ballan, CEO, QSL said: “The QSL is excited to see how organisations like Save the Dream are proactively working to spread the values of sport in Qatar and around the world and are helping to bring sport where it is most needed.

“Today’s activities along-side Save the Dream have highlighted the important and positive role that football can play in uniting and inspiring people in Qatar and around the world, as well as how it can act

as a powerful and positive force for good in society.”

Save the Dream Founder Mohammed Hanzab said: “On behalf of Save the Dream, I would like to thank the Qatar Stars League for the opportu-nity to bring Save the Dream to the stadia across Qatar and for embracing our cause.

“Next week, thanks to the support of Qatar Airways and the Italian Serie A, Save the Dream will continue our advo-cacy work in football stadia across Italy as part of Save the Dream Week 2017.

“Building on the successful organisation of the Italian SuperCoppa in Doha in Decem-ber 2016, Save the Dream Week 2017 will be another opportu-nity dedicated to promoting the values of sport and we hope to build further bridges between the two countries and unite more people through the power of sport.”

During the Italian Super-Coppa, which took place in December 2016, Save the Dream launched a dedicated donation page to allow people all around the world to support its projects, which aim to

restore hope and create new opportunities through sport and its values in countries around the world, including those affected by conflict.

Massimiliano Montanari, Executive Director of Save the

Dream concluded: “As an Ital-ian working for a global organisation based in Doha, I am very proud to see the coun-try hosting me and my own nation driven by the same motivations and genuinely

supporting humanitarian causes, in this case through the universal language of sport. Save the Dream belongs to eve-rybody, it aims at unifying people around shared causes and it is totally inclusive”.

Save the Dream, QSL join forces to promote sport values

Kerr credits lucky turtle for Lotte triumphKapolei, United States Reuters

Cristie Kerr took advan-tage of a meltdown by South Korean Jang Su-

yeon to win the LPGA's Lotte Championship by three strokes in Hawaii on Saturday.

Kerr, whose previous win on the US women's golf tour came at the CME Group Tour Championship in 2015, carded a bogey-free six-under-par 66 to finish on a combined 20-under 268 for the tournament.

She played the last two rounds without a blemish on her scorecard, including a 10-under 62 in Friday's third round, and delivered 16 bird-ies in her final 36 holes.

The American, who earned $300,000 for the win, said her game clicked into gear unexpectedly on Friday.

"On Friday morning I wasn't playing too well and then I just found something and was able to turn it on and I just kept it going," she told the LPGA's official website.

"I can't remember two and a half days after I strug-gled with my swing feel, and then made so many birdies in my life. It was an unbelieva-ble run."

The 39-year-old credited an encounter with a lucky turtle for turning things around. "I didn't even think about it until after I shot 10-under (on Friday) that tur-tles are really good luck for me. They always have been. I went swimming with the turtles on Friday afternoon and I inadvertently touched one," she added.

"The patrols are out there so that you don't harm them, but it kind of swam at me and I touched it, and it was really, really good luck."

Overnight leader Jang could have used some of that luck. The sponsor's invitee had gone 59 holes without a bogey before dropping three strokes just before the turn to open the door for Kerr.

She finished with an even-par 72 and was one of only two players in the top 30 not to break par in the final round.

Messi keeps Barca hopes alive Madrid AFP

Lionel Messi kept Barcelo-na's title hopes alive with two goals and an assist to

see off Real Sociedad 3-2 as Spain's top two edged five-goal thrillers ahead of next week-end's El Clasico.

Earlier on Saturday, Isco struck at the death to keep Real Madrid three points clear and with a game in hand at the top of the table after twice coming from behind to beat Sporting Gijon 3-2.

Barcelona will need Messi on this form if they are to pro-duce another miracle Champions League fightback against Juventus on Wednesday from a 3-0 first leg defeat suf-fered in midweek.

"I am more than happy with the performance of the players and their ability to manage the frustration after what we expe-rienced in the Champions League this week," Barca boss Luis Enrique told Spanish TV station Movistar.

The Argentine is now just two off his 500th Barca goal as he smashed home an effort from

25 yards to open the scoring.Messi then took his tally to

45 goals in 44 games this sea-son with a far less spectacular finish as he bundled home from close range after Geronimo Rulli had saved from Luis Suarez.

However, Barca passed up the chance to enjoy a comfort-able evening in a three-goal spell in as many minutes just before half-time.

Firstly, Samuel Umtiti turned Inigo Martinez's driven

effort into his own net. Paco Alcacer, deputising for the sus-pended Neymar, briefly restored Barca's two-goal lead with a composed finish from Messi's pass.

Yet, Sociedad scored again almost straight from kick-off as Xabi Prieto cushioned William Jose's cross into the bottom corner.

Madrid can all but secure a first league title in five years with victory when they host Barca next weekend.

But not for the first time this season they needed a late show after Duje Cop and Mikel Vesga put Sporting in front early in both halves.Isco's fine individ-ual effort and a towering header from Alvaro Morata ensured neither lead lasted more than a few minutes.

And Isco sealed the come-back when he drilled home from the edge of the box.

"This is the spirit of Real Madrid," said Isco.

"It is in the DNA of this shirt and this badge, we have shown it so many times and again today. Until the referee blows the full-time whistle it is not over."

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi (right) celebrates with team-mate Luis Suarez after scoring a goal during the Spanish league match against Real Sociedad at the Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona on Saturday.

Cavaliers edge Pacers as NBA play-offs beginClevelandAP

LeBron James scored 32 points and the defending champion Cleveland Cava-

liers, looking to flip the switch after a shaky regular season, began the NBA play-offs by escaping with a 109-108 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Sat-urday in Game 1.

Playing in his 200th playoff game, James added 13 assists and six rebounds while winning his 18th consecutive first-round game.

However, it was anything but easy as the Cavs had to withstand a strong comeback by the Pacers, who could have stolen the opener but C.J. Miles missed a 14-foot jumper in the final second.

Kyrie Irving added 23 points and Kevin Love had 17 for Cleve-land, which has won 12 straight playoff games at home.

Paul George scored 29 points and Lance Stephenson had 16 for

the seventh-seeded Pacers, who will try to even the series on Mon-day night.

George had the ball in his hands on the final possession, but the Cavs double-teamed him, forcing him to pass to Miles, who has always shot well against his former team. His shot was on line, but short and the Cavs survived a disastrous final few minutes.

Meanwhile, Giannis Antetok-ounmpo scored 28 points and rookie Malcolm Brogdon had 16 as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Toronto Raptors 97-83 in Game 1 of the first-round series.

Playing in his second career playoff series, Antetekounmpo made 13 of 18 shots, and added eight rebounds and three assists. Greg Monroe added 14 points.

DeMar DeRozan led Toronto with 27 points, and Serge Ibaka had 19 points and 14 rebounds. The Raptors have lost the open-ing game in eight consecutive playoff series.

Toronto's Kyle Lowry made

only two of 11 field-goal attempts, missing all six 3-point efforts, and finished with four points. Jonas Valanciunas had nine points and nine rebounds.

Elsewhere, Joe Johnson drove the lane and lifted in a shot at the buzzer, and Utah overcame the loss of Rudy Gobert 17 seconds into the game to beat Los Ange-les in their playoff opener.

Johnson had 21 points, includ-ing when he was left isolated against Jamal Crawford on the final play.

He powered his way inside and lofted a shot over Crawford and DeAndre Jordan that bounced around the rim before falling in. A video review confirmed it was good.

Gobert sprained his left knee on the game's first play when he banged knees with Clippers for-ward Luc Mbah a Moute, leaving the Jazz without their center who averaged 14.0 points and 12.8 rebounds during the regular season.

Madrid; Spanish La Liga result yesterday:

Leganes 0 Espanyol 1 (Baptistao 90+2)

Playing todayAlaves vs Villarreal (1845)

Played on SaturdayDeportivo la Coruna 2 (Joselu 47, Mosquera 67)

Malaga 0

Sporting Gijon 2 (Cop 14, Vesga 50) Real Madrid

3 (Isco 17, 90, Morata 59)

Atletico Madrid 3 (Carrasco 30, 47, Filipe Luis 61)

Osasuna 0

Barcelona 3 (Messi 17, 37, Alcacer 44) Real Socie-

dad 2 (Umtiti 42-og, Xabi Prieto 45+1)

FridayAthletic Bilbao 5 (San Jose 7, Muniain 9, 58,

Aduriz 18, 59) Las Palmas 1 (Bigas Rigo 12)

LA LIGA RESULTS

LeBron James (23) of the Cleveland Cavaliers tries to drive through Paul George of the Indiana Pacers during the second half in Game One of the Eastern Conference quarter-finals during the 2017 NBA play-offs at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, on Saturday.

Young athletes from the International School of London and Birla Public School, Doha wore special Save the Dream

jerseys and shared a symbolic moment with players from Lekhwiya and Al Shahania as they entered the stadium

together to underline the powerful and uniting role of sports.

30 MONDAY 17 APRIL 2017SPORT

Qatar Cross-Country Rally: Gruelling route to test drivers and riders Rizwan Rehmat The Peninsula

The 'tricky' desert terrain at the six-day Qatar Cross-Country Rally will pose difficult ques-tions for the world's

best drivers and riders, a top offi-cial motor sport official said yesterday.

The Qatar Motor and Motor-cycle Federation (QMMF) has confirmed a strong field for the fourth round of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country and round 2 of the FIM Cross-Country Ral-lies World Championship that will take place from April 17-22.

The quality field in Qatar includes 33 cars, 14 motorcycles and six quads, with competitors from 26 nations featuring at the high profile event.

The defending FIA World Cup champion and two-time Dakar winner Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah of Qatar will lead the show later this week. Russian Vladimir Vasilyev, Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Al Rajhi, Poland’s Jakub Przygonski and Qatar’s Mohammed Abu Issa will be Al Attiyah's main challengers.

Eight of the world’s leading off-road riders will also be present in Qatar. The Red Bull KTM Factory Team will field Dakar winner and FIM series leader Sam Sunderland, Austria’s Matthias Walkner and French-man Antoine Meo, according to the list released by QMMF.

QMMF President Abdulrah-man Al Mannai said the drivers and riders competing in Qatar will be thoroughly tested on the route measuring 1,994.17km.

"It is one of the toughest races on the (Cross-Country) calendar because of the tricky terrain. The terrain changes to rocky to sandy to dunes. This leg is not for eve-rybody. This race is for the best of the best drivers and riders

around the world," Al Mannai said.

Excerpts from a chat with the QMMF President:

Q: Please tell us something about the Qatar Cross-Country Rally.

A: It's a major event - Qatar Cross-Country Rally. It's the sec-ond biggest event on our calendar. The first was MotoGP (held last month) in terms of cov-erage and preparation from our side. It is a very important race because it is part of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies.

Q: We've heard that QMMF has added a super special stage this year.

A: This year we want to do things differently. We have planned a super special stage which will be held at Losail Cir-cuit. We have changed stages to accommodate that. It is one of the toughest races on the (Cross-Country) calendar because of the terrain. The terrain changes to rocky to sandy to dunes. This leg is not for everybody. This race is for the best of the best drivers and riders around the world. This event is for the top professionals.

Q: How do you feel about the field of drivers and riders this year?

A: This year the list (of par-ticipants) looks very good and I am very happy about it. We have several big entries and it is the same for the bike class. We have more bikes this year. We are excited about the challenge. Eve-rybody is invited to come for the super special stage on day one.

Q: Could we call the route for the Qatar Cross-Country Rally is what we see at Dakar Rally?

A: I don't want to exaggerate when I say that the feedback we get is pretty interesting - a lot of participants who have raced here tell us this is tougher. I know that sounds odd. At Dakar Rally, they

have straight lines and long dis-tances of the same environment. Over here you don't know what's coming. Even in shorter distances, it's like that. In many cases, the competitors tell me it's more difficult.

Q: Is that the feedback you get from competitors racing in Qatar?

A: Yes, that's the feedback I get. Dakar Rally is long and very tough, so don't get me wrong. This uniqueness about our event makes it more exciting. The ter-rain in Qatar is interesting because it can change very quickly for the drivers and the riders. They have to respect the desert. It's not an easy race.

Q: What about the home entries this year?

A: Nasser will be there. He was one of the first people who signed up for this event. Adel Hus-sain is also there. Hamad is there too. Qatar will also be represented by Mohammed Al Mannai, Mohammed Al Harqan, Rashid Al Muhannadi, Khalid Faraj Al

Mohannadi, Abdulla Al Rabban, Jamal Fakhroo and Mohammed Al Meer.

Q: Were you surprised with Nasser's crash last week in Abu Dhabi?

A: More than surprise, I was unhappy with the result. We got used to Nasser winning so regu-larly. I was there at the podium but he wasn't. It was a strange feeling that Nasser was not there (on the podium). Even after the event, I was thinking about it. But knowing Nasser, he is a very thor-ough pro. I am sure he can turn this around and lead the cham-pionship again.

Q: Please elaborate on how busy you have been this season and what's in store for the future?

A: If you ask me if I am happy about the season. I would say I am very happy. We launched a new series. We unveiled a new logo. We created a new identity. We are moving towards Formula 4 racing and we expanded the Baja series.

Defending champion Al Attiyah joined by Aron Domzala and Erik Van Loon The Peninsula

Overdrive Racing will be hoping to get back to winning ways at this

week’s Qatar Cross-Country Rally, after the team’s record of seven successive FIA World Cup rally victories ground to a halt with Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah’s last stage accident at the recent Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.

The Belgian team is running three Toyota Hiluxes and a fourth car in conjunction with

Toyota GAZOO Racing South Africa in Qatar’s fourth round of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies.

Defending champion Al Attiyah and his French naviga-tor Matthieu Baumel will be joined by the Dutch crew of Erik Van Loon and Wouter Rosegaar and the Polish duo of Aron Domzala and Szymon Gospodarczyk, while South Africa’s Leeroy Poulter makes his first appearance in Qatar with German navigator Dirk von Zitzewitz in a South Afri-can car.

Al Attiyah was the class of the field in Abu Dhabi until his uncharacteristic mistake over the final kilometres damaged the Toyota and severely dented his chances of retaining the FIA

World Cup crown. The Qatari has taken a break from the world of high-speed motor sport in the last few days

and finished second in a skeet shooting competition at the Losail Shooting Complex on Friday.

But Qatar’s round of the FIA World Cup is important

to the two-time Dakar winner.

Al Attiyah has only

lost once on home sand (Jean-Louis Schlesser won in 2013) since the Sealine/Qatar event joined the FIA World Cup in 2012. Overdrive Racing will also be hoping that Al Attiyah can retain the Qatar crown he won in a Toyota Hilux last year. He will use the car that won the Dubai International Baja in March.

Al Attiyah said: “We try to win here, of course, but I am a little worried from the crash in Abu Dhabi because I am still injured and under treatment. I damaged some nerves in my neck and it was not easy to move my left hand. Now it’s bet-ter, but it’s the reason we did not test the car on Sunday."

"Matthieu (Baumel) is okay, but has a little muscle strain. I used a painkiller and managed to get a good result, second, in the shooting yesterday. It was not easy and my coach was not happy, but I needed to refocus and prepare myself for this race," Al Attiyah said.

“I made a mistake in Abu Dhabi and that has made the championship very open. It was a straight-line accident. We flipped and we crashed. These things happen in motor sport.”

Van Loon and Rosegaar are tackling their second event of the FIA World Cup season with Overdrive Racing after finish-ing 20th at the Dubai International Baja following transmission delays. The expe-rienced Dutch crew finished

14th overall in the Dakar Rally after setting several impressive times and will be targeting a podium finish this week.

Domzala began his season well with a win in Baja Russia and was leading the champion-ship before the recent round in Abu Dhabi. But the Pole suffered motion sickness in the heat of the Rub Al Khali and was not able to finish. Temperatures are expected to be in the high thir-ties Centigrade in the Qatar deserts this week, but the dunes are less pronounced in Qatar and motion sickness should not be a problem for Domzala.

Poulter was a member of the Toyota team on the Dakar Rally on three occasions along-side former winner Giniel de Villiers. A regular in cross-coun-try rallies in his native South Africa, Leeroy started compet-ing in motocross at the age of six and switched to karting at 16. H3e took part in the World and European karting champi-onships before moving into the world of cross-country rallying. Poulter finished 16th at the Dakar in 2015 and a fine fifth with Robert Howie in 2016.

“The team had its little set-back in Abu Dhabi and now it’s time to refocus and get on with the job in hand in Qatar,” said Overdrive Racing’s CEO Jean-Marc Fortin. “This is never an easy rally, but we have a strong team and everyone is focused on achieving another win on a round of the FIA World Cup.”

von Zitzewitz in a South AAcan car.

Al Attiyaah was the classthe field in AAbu Dhabi untilluncharacterristic mistake oothe final kiloometres damaagthe Toyota and severely dennhis chances oof retaining thee

World Cup crown. The Qaahas taken a break fromm world off high-speed mosport inn the last few dd

and finishedd second in a skkshooting coompetition at Losail Shoooting Complexx Friday.

But Qataar’s round of thee Worrld Cup is imporrt

to the two-ttiDakar winnn

Al Attiiyhas oo

FIA WORLD CUP FOR CROSS-COUNTRY RALLIESStandings after round 3 (unofficial):

1. Khalid Al Qassimi (UAE) 81pts 2. Mohammed Abu Issa (QAT) 48pts

3. Martin Prokop (CZE) 42pts4. Aron Domzala (POL) 41pts

5. Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah (QAT) 30pts

Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah and his Overdrive Racing team-mate and navigator Matthieu Baumel driving their Toyota Hilux during the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.

It is one of the toughest races on the (Cross-Country) calendar because of the tricky terrain. The terrain changes to rocky to sandy to dunes. This leg is not for everybody. This race is for the best of the best drivers and riders around the world: Al Mannai

OVERDRIVE RACING AT FIA WORLD CUP FOR CROSS-COUNTRY RALLIES

Overdrive Racing is running three Toyota Hiluxes and a fourth car in conjunction with Toyota GAZOO Racing South Africa in Qatar’s fourth round of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies.

Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation QMMF President Abdulrahman Al Mannai flags off Sam Sunderland during last year's rally.

Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah

31MONDAY 17 APRIL 2017 SPORT

Saudi’s Al Rajhi to debut new ride at Qatar Cross-Country Rally

Vettel pips Hamilton for Bahrain win

The Peninsula

This week’s Qatar Cross-Country Rally, round four of the FIA World Cup for

Cross-Country Rallies, will see the first appearance in the FIA World Cup and the Middle East of X-raid’s new Mini John Cooper Works Rally in the hands of the Saudi Arabian driver Yazeed Al Rajhi.

The Trebur-based team has been at the forefront of this sporting discipline for 14 years, initially with BMW X5 and X3CC derivatives and then with the Mini All4 Racing. But Sven Quandt’s team was developing an upgrade to the Mini behind the scenes and it made its debut at the Dakar Rally this year. Al Rajhi’s car in Qatar features a lower centre of gravity and numerous performance and driverability improvements.

The Mini John Cooper Works Rally is named after the legen-dary John Cooper, who has behind the British Mini Cooper S, and has a completely new design based on the Mini Coun-tryman. A revised tubular steel frame enables a third spare wheel to be stored in the lower

section of the car and this allows for the repositioning of the cool-ing system.

The new design spent many hours in BMW Group’s wind tunnel facility to improve aer-odynamics and Al Rajhi hopes that these improvements will give him the edge over the Toy-otas and Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi’s Peugeot 3008 DKR in

Qatar this week. The car is pow-ered by a twin-turbo six-cylinder diesel engine and delivers around 340hp and a massive 800Nm of torque at low revs.

“One of the advantages achieved in the wind tunnel was a higher top speed and better acceleration beyond 140km/h,” said X-raid’s team director Sven

Quandt. “We also placed around 50kg in the centre of the car, around 50cm lower, to improve its handling.”

The Saudi and regular Ger-man co-driver Timo Gottschalk will be supported in Qatar by a pair of Mini All4 Racings for the local driver Mohammed Abu Issa and his French navigator Xavier Panseri and Pole Jakub

Przygonski and Belgian co-driver Tom Colsoul. Abu Issa finished an excellent third overall in Abu Dhabi two weeks ago and is in contention for the FIA World Cup heading into his home event.

Argentina’s Orlando Ter-ranova, Przygonski and Abu Issa finished sixth, seventh and 10th overall in their three new Minis at January’s Dakar Rally.

A back injury sustained at the recent Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge means that Russian driver Vladimir Vasilyev will miss out on the Qatar event in a fourth Mini.

Meanwhile, former WRC star Martin Prokop is gaining attention for his performances in cross-country rallying since switching to the off-road disci-pline with Toyota at the Dakar Rally two years ago.

A regular top 10 finisher on rounds of the WRC, Prokop has adapted his special stage skills superbly and delivered a stun-ning performance at the recent Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge to finish second overall in a Ford F-150 Evo.

That result lifted the Czech driver to an unofficial third in the points’ standings in the Drivers’ Championship.

The varied nature of the tracks used on the Qatar Cross-Country Rally may well suit Prokop’s driving style a lot more than the dunes of Abu Dhabi, but navigator Jan Tomanek will also need to be on top form with page after page of daunting naviga-tion in the road books set to challenge the entire field once the Qatar desert sections get underway on Wednesday morning.

Today, the rally offices offi-cially open at the Losail International Circuit and teams pass their compulsory adminis-tration and scrutineering checks.

The official pre-event press conference takes place at 11.00hrs on Tuesday morning and precedes the ceremonial start at 15.30hrs and the start of the super special stage at Losail from 3.40pm.

Manama Reuters

Ferrari's Sebastian Vet-tel won the Bahrain Grand Prix to go seven points clear at the top of the For-

mula One standings yesterday, with Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton staging a late charge to finish second after picking up a time penalty.

Hamilton's Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas started on pole position for the first time in his career and ended up third.

The victory was Vettel's second of the season after the four-times world champion won the opener in Australia. Hamilton, who won in China last weekend, crossed the floodlit finish line 6.6 seconds behind.

Vettel's 44th win lifted him to 68 points, with Hamilton second on 61.

"Yes guys, that's what I'm talking about," whooped the German, who was helped by the safety car being deployed after his first pitstop with the Mercedes duo still out, as he took the chequered flag.

"It was a really great day. It was on the last half of the out lap when all the fireworks were going off that I was like 'I love what I do'," he said.

Hamilton's race was fur-ther compromised by a five-second penalty for driv-ing unnecessarily slowly at the pit lane entry when he did come in, a deliberate move to create a gap with Bottas ahead in the queue.

The Briton served the pen-alty at his second stop, frustration evident from his shaking helmet, before charg-ing back and taking more than one second a lap out of Vettel's

advantage before running out of time.

"The pitlane was really my fault... I tried really hard to catch up but there was a long way to go," said the Briton, who thanked Bottas for his gentle-manly conduct in letting him through twice.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said Bottas's hopes had been hit even before the lights went out on the grid when a problem with a generator left the Finn starting with the wrong tyre pressures.

"From then on we were on the back foot," he said.

Bottas kept the lead for the

opening laps, with Vettel get-ting ahead of Hamilton into the first corner for second and then taking over after the pitstops.

"It was a great team effort today and I felt like we are quick. I tried to put Valtteri under pressure. But the early pit stop worked," said Vettel.

"Lewis obviously was a very big threat again towards the end... but the car was a dream today."

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen finished fourth with Australian Daniel Ricciardo fifth for Red Bull and Brazilian Felipe Massa sixth for Williams on the 75th

birthday of team founder Frank Williams.

Mexican Sergio Perez fin-ished seventh for Force India, his 13th successive points fin-ish, with Frenchman Romain Grosjean eighth for Haas.

Germany's Nico Hulken-berg was ninth for Renault, that team's first points of the year, and French rookie Esteban Ocon bagged the final point for Force India.

McLaren's nightmare con-tinued with Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne failing to start and Fernando Alonso retiring on the final laps but classified 14th.

X-Raid brace for desert ride in Qatar

X-raid also set to field Mini All4 Racings for Qatar’s Abu Issa and Poland’s Przygonski

Former WRC star Martin Prokop aims to build upon second place in Abu Dhabi

Qatari driver Mohamed Abu Issa in action on his X-Raid Mini during the 2017 Dakar Rally in this file photo.

Yazeed Al Rajhi

Mohamed Abu Issa

1. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Ferrari 1:33:53.373

2. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes +00:06.600

3. Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Mercedes 00:20.397

4. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 00:22.475

5. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) Red Bull - TAG Heuer 00:39.346

6. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Williams-Mercedes 00:54.326

7. Sergio Perez (Mexico) Force India - Mercedes 01:02.606

8. Romain Grosjean (France) Haas - Ferrari 01:14.865

9. Nico Huelkenberg (Germany) Renault 01:20.188

10. Esteban Ocon (France) Force India - Mercedes 01:35.711

11. Pascal Wehrlein (Germany) Sauber - Ferrari 1 lap

12. Daniil Kvyat (Russia) Toro Rosso - Renault 1 lap

13. Jolyon Palmer (Britain) Renault 1 lap

F1 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX RESULTS

1. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Ferrari 68

2. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes 61

3. Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Mercedes 38

4. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 34

5. Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Red Bull 25

6. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) Red Bull 22

7. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Williams 16

8. Sergio Perez (Mexico) Force India 14

9. Carlos Sainz Jr (Spain) Toro Rosso 10

10. Romain Grosjean (France) Haas 4

11. Kevin Magnussen (Denmark) Haas 4

12. Esteban Ocon (France) Force India 3

13. Nico Huelkenberg (Germany) Renault 2

14. Daniil Kvyat (Russia) Toro Rosso 2

15. Pascal Wehrlein (Germany) Sauber 0

16. Antonio Giovinazzi (Italy) Sauber 0

17. Jolyon Palmer (Britain) Renault 0

18. Stoffel Vandoorne (Belgium) McLaren 0

19. Fernando Alonso (Spain) McLaren 0

20. Marcus Ericsson (Sweden) Sauber 0

CONSTRUCTORS 1. Ferrari 102

2. Mercedes 99

3. Red Bull - TAG Heuer 47

4. Force India - Mercedes 17

5. Williams-Mercedes 16

6. Toro Rosso - Renault 12

7. Haas - Ferrari 8

8. Renault 2

9. Sauber - Ferrari 0

10. McLaren 0

F1 DRIVER AND CONSTRUCTOR STANDINGS

Ferrari's German driver Sebastian Vettel drives his car past the chequered flag to win the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix at the Sakhir Circuit in Manama yesterday. INSET: Vettel celebrates on the podium after winning the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix yesterday.

It was a really great day. It was on the last half of the out lap when all the fireworks were going off that I was like 'I love what I do', says Vettel.