Chinese manufacturer Jetour announced that it will participate in the Sertões Rally as a sponsor of the Bianchini Rally/Sportbay team. The automaker provided eight units of the Jetour T2—its flagship plug-in hybrid SUV with recently released 4x4 models—for the team's support fleet at the 34th edition of America's largest rally.
This is the first time the brand appears in the testing grid, although the vehicles will not compete; their role is to provide logistical support to the team, transporting equipment and supplies between special stages and support points along the 3984-kilometer route. This route is divided into eight stages and passes through the states of Goiás, Bahia, Tocantins, and Maranhão, starting and ending in Goiânia.
Fabrício Bianchini, the team founder, noted that 'Sertões is an excellent laboratory for launch testing.' According to him, the vehicles should strengthen the infrastructure provided to racers in a competition characterized by long distances.
Bianchini, who has participated in Sertões 27 times on motorcycles, UTVs, and cars, views this agreement as the first step toward electrifying the competition. The racer recalled that the team first brought motorcycle sprinters to the country for the rally in 2007 and expressed hope that the partnership would be 'the beginning of a new project for hybrid vehicles in the grid.' However, organizers have not announced the creation of a separate category.
The Jetour T2, launched in Brazil in July, combines a 1.5-liter turbocharged gasoline engine with three electric motors—two on the front axle and one on the rear. The total installed power of the four drives reaches 597 horsepower, and the torque is 91.7 kgm. Jetour reports that it does not disclose combined figures because there is no official measurement standard in Brazil. The company also points out that the 43.24 kWh battery is the largest among plug-in hybrids sold in the country. The price of this SUV is R$ 339,900 for the first 599 units and R$ 349,900 thereafter.
For off-road use, the model is equipped with eight driving modes and features such as Tank Turn, which reduces the turning radius on dirt to 20%, and Crawl Mode, which controls torque, braking, and descent control on low-traction sections. There is also a mode that pre-activates the cooling system before high-load sections to maintain the operating temperature of the engine and battery.
'Rally dos Sertões is one of the few places in the world where there is no room for promises,' stated Enrique Sampaio, Marketing and Product Director for Jetour Brasil. In his opinion, supporting the team's operation over thousands of kilometers is the most direct way to prove what the brand presented with the SUV launch.
Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif gave advice to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) regarding the upcoming visit to England: Babar Azam should be isolated from English-language media.
Latif believes that the tour in England will be extremely difficult for Pakistan, and excessive pressure from the press could negatively affect Babar's performance. During an interview on the program 'Score' on Geo News, Rashid noted: 'The visit to England always presents a difficult challenge, and English-language media often tries to unreasonably involve guest teams in their news.'
He continued that since Babar Azam is an experienced player, it would be best for the PCB management to keep him away from British media, and instead send former captain Shan Masood to interviews more often. Rashid Latif emphasized that Shan Masood has more experience interacting with the English-language press because he played in England.
Latif strongly recommended that Babar focus exclusively on cricket at this time and avoid any controversial or high-pressure media contacts.
Regarding recent matches, Babar Azam's return to the Pakistani Test squad was mixed. In the two-match series against the West Indies, the score was tied at 1-1. Although Pakistan lost the first match, the team managed to brilliantly recover and win the second, leveling the series.
Pakistan now faces an important three-match series against England. The first Test will take place from August 19 to 23 in Leeds, the second from August 27 to 31 at Lord's, and the third from September 9 to 13, 2026, in Birmingham. This series is considered a serious test for both captaincy and Babar Azam's game, and the team management wishes for Babar to be able to show his best performance on the field without external pressure.
The Orlando Pirates team intends to secure their second consecutive victory in the Betway Premiership by playing against AmaZulu at Kings Park Stadium on Wednesday. The defending champions began their season with a win over the recently promoted side, Milford FC.
However, head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou knows that another challenging match awaits them against AmaZulu, who will be playing in front of their home crowd. Pirates have already navigated a demanding start to the season, including needing extra time to overcome Durban City in the MTN8 quarter-finals before beginning their title defense.
Now they are set to clash with AmaZulu, who aim to respond after a dramatic exit from MTN8 at the hands of Sekhukhune United. This team suffered a defeat in a seven-game match on Sunday, ending their hopes of advancing in the tournament.
Despite this result exposing defensive weaknesses, AmaZulu demonstrated sufficient attacking potential that could pose problems for the champions. Pirates, in turn, will benefit from the contributions of their attacking players following the departure of Relebohile Mofokeng.
Oswin Appollis scored against Milford, taking responsibility in a team that lost one of last season's most influential creative players. The Bafana Bafana international player is again expected to be a source of spark in the final third, and Tshepang Moremi also scored in the opening day's victory.
Ouaddou is keen for his team to become more prolific, as he explained during pre-season training that improving the conversion rate was one of the reasons the club decided to strengthen the attacking positions.
A more serious test at Kings Park may be maintaining control away from home. AmaZulu intends to utilize their home advantage and might attempt to press Pirates early, especially after the champions showed signs of fatigue during their busy initial schedule.
For Ouaddou, the goal is clear: earn three more points to underscore Pirates' status in their attempt to defend their championship title. For AmaZulu, this match represents an immediate opportunity to forget the MTN8 disappointment and remind the league that they can compete with the country's biggest clubs. Since both teams need some kind of response, the Wednesday encounter could provide an early indication of how well each team handles the demands of a packed start to the season.
At the ongoing Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships held in Tashkent, Uzbek athletes won ten medals in just one day of competition.
The national team secured three gold, six silver, and one bronze medal.
In the U-57 kg youth category, Marjona Abdumutalova won gold in the snatch discipline. Among juniors in the same weight class, Zarina Abdullahakova took silver in the snatch. Additionally, Abdumutalova won two more silver medals in the clean and jerk and total weight disciplines.
In the U-61 kg youth category, Ziyoda Khudoykulova won gold in the snatch, as well as silver medals in the clean and jerk and total weight disciplines.
In the U-61 kg junior category, Munisa Boltayeva won gold in the clean and jerk, silver in the total weight, and bronze in the snatch.
