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The fast and the furious

PETROLHEADS ARE REVVING up for this year’s UAE Desert Challenge, which kicks off on Monday, October 27.The cross country rally begins at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi ...

– with trucks, bikes, quads and 4x4s all lining up to compete in the gruelling five-day spectacle. The official finish takes place at Dubai International Marine Club on Friday, October 31.

The 2,210-kilometre rally is unconventional in that it runs through the Emirati desert without any tracks. Instead, each vehicle competing is fitted with a sophisticated GPS tracking system and markers are placed along the way to ensure everyone follows the same route.

Now in its 18^th year and firmly established in the World Cup calendar, the rally was the Middle East’s first motorsport world championship.

It was founded by legendary rally driver Mohammed bin Sulayem, who has won more FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) regional championships and international rallies than anyone else. The FIA is motorsport’s world governing body.

“I wanted to create an event which would take cross country rallying to a new level, and use it to show off the natural terrain of the UAE,” said Sulayem, now president of the Automobile Touring Club of the UAE.

He was supported in this goal by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who continues to back the event.

The first ever UAE Desert Challenge in 1991 saw 30 competitors racing through the desert over the course of one day. This year, more than four times that number will take part.

“I said from the start that I wanted to take the event to the top,” added Sulayem – who won the Middle East Rally a staggering 14 times without defeat.

“That meant taking it into the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup, which we managed to achieve in 1993. Two years later we included a bike section for the first time and three years after that we were also included in the FIM (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme) Cross Country Rallies World Championship.”

Past competitors have included some of the biggest names in motorsport – such as the late Colin McRae, Ari Vatanen, and Carlos Sainz, who won last year’s driving title. Among this year’s racers will be Rustam Minnikhanov, the Prime Minister of the Russian Republic of Tatarstan, who has won the trucks title four times in the last five years.

For further details on the rally, visit www.uaedesertchallenge.com.

EVENT SCHEDULE

While fervent rally followers will relish a journey to Moreeb Hill, the rally’s desert base near Liwa, the general public can smell the diesel a little closer to home with the following events:

Scrutineering, Saturday, October 25, Dubai International Marine Club, 9am-5pm

All the vehicles competing in the Desert Challenge must be officially checked prior to the start. A great chance to see the mighty line-up of cars, trucks and bikes before they head out into the desert.

Super Special Stage, Sunday October 26, near the Burj Al Arab, at the Junction. Al Wasl Rd / Umm Sequeim, opposite Dubai Police College, 4pm

Take a grandstand seat to see the world’s top drivers and riders battle against the clock on a specially built 2km track. Free admission.

Official Rally Start, Monday, October 27, Emirates Palace Hotel, Abu Dhabi Corniche 9.30am

All systems go, as the line-up of international competitors are flagged away at the start of this energy-sapping event.

Official Rally Finish, Friday, October 31, Dubai International Marine Club, 4.30pm

Spectators can welcome the survivors as they cross the official finish line and celebrate with the winners.

adam@khaleejtimes.com