The harsh terrain of the Empty Quarter will be providing the backdrop for one of the toughest motorsports events in the world next month. The week long Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, starts on April 1 and will feature 99 competitors from 32 countries. Among these will be Leonid Novitskiy, Marc Coma and Stéphane Peterhansel, who are each among the sport’s most successful champions.
The event kicks off with open trials for competitors who have vehicles that comply with FIA rally specifications near Marina Mall, before moving out to the Liwa Desert for some dry and dusty racing action through the dunes.
The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge consists of four categories – cars, bikes, quads and trucks – and is actually two separate competitions – the FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship season-opener and the second round of the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup.
UAE racing legend Mohammad bin Sulayem, who is FIA vice-president and chairman of the Desert Challenge organising committee says: ‘Tough competition is part and parcel of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, and that is why we continue to attract the world’s best racers every year. Doing well here gives drivers tremendous bragging rights, and the very best of them see the race as a chance to really prove themselves in front of their peers.
‘Competitors come here in a bid to conquer Abu Dhabi’s Western Region, with its huge sand dunes and punishing terrain. Motorsport fans assemble from across the UAE and the wider Middle East to witness the terrific show of power by man and machine as they seek to tame the fearsome wilds of the Empty Quarter, which we know as Rub Al Khali.’
For more information about the Desert Challenge, log on to www.abudhabidesertchallenge.com
