DUBAI // A four-time winner of the Dubai International Rally, Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi is looking forward to putting up another good show here as the Abu Dhabi driver prepares for his Dakar Rally debut in January.
The Dubai International Rally was a part of the Middle East Rally Championship (Merc) schedule since its inception in 1984 and, in recent years, it was the crucial final stop of the regional championship.
However, after 33 years with Merc, the Dubai International Rally has decided to change course and will be staged as a cross-country candidate event this year, with a successful delivery of the event earning them a March slot – provisionally for March 9-11 – on the 2017 FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies schedule.
“I have won this rally the past two years, when the rally was the final round of the Middle East Rally Championship,” said Sheikh Khalid, who also won the Dubai rally back-to-back in 2005 and 2006. “It was held around the time our country was celebrating the National Day, so it was a special occasion for us and I am happy I could win the past two years.
“Now, the Dubai International Rally is a candidate event for the 2017 FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies, so it’s very important to participate and support the bid. Hopefully we will see Dubai International Rally in the 2017 Cross Country calendar. We in Abu Dhabi Racing are very keen to participate on home soil.”
The 220-kilometre Dubai International Rally, split over two loops, will also be a crucial test for Sheikh Khalid ahead of the Dakar Rally, which will be held from January 2-14 in South America.
The 2004 MERC champion and French co-driver Pascal Maimon are racing together in Dubai for the first time, in an Armada Trophy Truck in the T1 category, and Sheikh Khalid is keen to build an early rapport with his partner for the gruelling 13-day drive across South America in the New Year.
“Everyone knows I am going to the Dakar Rally for the first time,” said Sheikh Khalid, who will be driving a Peugeot 2008 DKR at the Dakar Rally. “That is going to be a new step, a new challenge for me. So what I do in this week and the week after is testing is going to be very important.
“I have never met my co-driver, Pascal Maimon. So building a chemistry with my new co-driver will also be a challenge for me. This rally will give us the opportunity to get to know each other better and see how our chemistry works as we will be pairing together for cross country rallies the next year.”
This year’s Dubai International Rally has attracted more than 80 participants, including UAE’s top cross country stars like Yahia Belheli, Mohammed Al Balooshi, Khalid Al Falasi, Mohammed Jaffar and Ahmed Al Maqoodi.
Sheikh Khalid’s brother and nephew, the father and son duo of Sheikh Abdulla Al Qassimi and Sheikh Mohammed Al Qassimi will also be taking part.
arizvi@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport
