Abu Dhabi circuit emerges from desert

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates: Racing against the clock, 11,000 workers toil beneath the blazing sun to construct the Yas Marina circuit that will host the UAE's first grand prix on November 1.

Excavators, earth-movers and cranes currently occupy the site on the man-made Yas Island off Abu Dhabi, which has become a centre of ceaseless activity with labourers working in shifts to get the complex ready on time.

"We are working 24 hours a day and everything will be ready on time, I have no doubt about that," the project's deputy director, Canadian Douglas MacAskill, told AFP.