Taming the tarmac
A Super Special Stage was held within the stadium to bring in the crowds to rally Oman

Oman’s racing enthusiasts had a lot to cheer about as Rally Oman, the third leg of the Middle East Rally Championship and the sultanate’s premier motorsport event got underway on April 5-7. Though the rally as a sport has been around here since the late 70s, Oman became a part of the FIA-sanctioned event only in 1983-84.

The evening before Rally Oman 2006 saw the Qatari ace Nasser Saleh al Attiyah and his co-driver Chris Patterson in their Subaru Impreza WRXi as favourites to win again. “It’s been a good start to the season this far and Oman is one of my favourite rally circuits,” said Attiyah, eyeing the specially laid out track within the stadium, the main attraction at this year’s event. For the first time in MERC history, a Super Special Stage was being held within a stadium to bring in the crowds. The stage pitted two race cars on the parallel tracks on the circuit for two timed laps.

The first of the two Super Special Stages on April 5 had to be called off after the first four cars finished their laps. The cars had kicked up so much dust that visibility became a security concern. However, that problem was sor-ted out in time for the final day when water was used on the tracks to prevent the dust from kicking up.

In the end, there were no real surprises. Attiyah expectedly swept the first place followed closely by the UAE’s Sheikh Suhail bin Khalifa al Maktoum. Nizar al Shanfari, the local hero gave the home crowds plenty to cheer about with his third place finish. “It’s good to be among the top three finishers again,” said Shanfari. “I’ve had two bad races in the series so far in UAE and Qatar. But winning in front of your home fans is always special.” Oman now looks towards him to bring in the motorsport laurels.

French connection
SNAV of Greater Paris’ introduces travel professionals from France to Oman

When Oman played host to the eighth convention of SNAV (National Syndicate of Travel Agencies) of Greater Paris from April 5-9, it was the culmination of sustained effort and planning. Salim al-Mamari, director general of tourism promotion, Ministry of Tourism, informs, “We had been lobbying to have the convention here for about two years now. It is a huge tourism promotion opportunity to get organisations such as SNAV to have their meeting here.”

The convention, which inclu-ded working sessions as well as cultural and entertainment prog-rammes, saw the gathering of 250 participants and administrators. Michelle Herbaut, president of SNAV of Greater Paris, adds, “Egypt, Israel, Morocco and Tunisia were among the countries in contention to host the convention this year. Oman won because it is a new destination, one that many travel professionals don’t know about. Moreover, the hotel capacities have increased here in the last few months. The direct flight between Paris and Muscat (Gulf Air’s services connecting the two cities is set to start on July 1) also contributed to us choosing Oman.” According to Mamari, the French, Germans and Japanese, make for the highest-spending tourists in Oman.

Doc talk
Deepak Chopra, popular author on health and spirituality, was in Muscat

In his session at the World Summit on Innovation and Entrepreneurship author Deepak Chopra declares, “The raw material of the universe is energy and information.” And to harness the stuff of life, he recommends concentrating on the power of the self. “There is no problem that human creativity cannot solve,” believes Chopra, a trained neuroendocrinologist, whose interpretations of teachings from Ayurveda to quantum mechanics have found a wor-ldwide audience.

At the summit itself, he talked about the strength that innovation wields. “We can use innovation to resolve issues like global warming and terrorism, to conserve the environment and empower feminine leadership.” Author of The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success and Ageless Body and Timeless Mind, among several other books, Chopra feels that there is a need to embrace a hybrid culture to succeed. “When you meet people from different cultures, you see the similarities and also the solutions.”