Ben Sulayem: Abu Dhabi to Become Asia Motorsport Capital with Abu Dhabi F1 GP and Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge

02.03.2009 / Abu Dhabi - Cairo /


A few days ago I was delivering a speech at Europe's largest Sports & Business Summit in Munich, in which I talked about the motor-sport future in the Middle East and said that a new motor-sport era will begin with the Abu Dhabi F1 GP 2009. Now, the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge seems to be confirming this new motor-sport era as well, by being launched for the first time from Abu Dhabi instead of Dubai.

Abu Dhabi, the largest of the seven emirates which make up the United Arab Emirates, can become the Motorsport hub of Asia, according to the region’s captain of motor racing, 14-times Middle East rally champion, Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

He said that this month’s Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge will begin a new era in Middle East sport, with November’s Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix inaugural event in the UAE also scheduled in Abu Dhabi at a purpose-built F1 track on Yas Island.
“The emirate of Abu Dhabi has all the ingredients to catapult the UAE further into the world spotlight, specifically where sports and motor sports are concerned.

“Indeed, I believe that Abu Dhabi is well placed to become the motor sport capital of Asia, not just of the Middle East. As an Emirati motor sport professional, I can think of nothing that would make me more proud than to see my capital recognized as a world capital in motor sport.� We couldn’t agree less with him here.

Ben Sulayem noted that this year’s Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, taking place from March 20-27, will see the traditional final round of the FIA World Cup and FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship switching to the start of the motor sporting season with the full backing of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) as the title sponsor for the first time.

In another first-time move, the event’s rally headquarters will be based at the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club (ADIMSC), where pre-event media formalities will be carried out, in addition to the compulsory official scrutineering and documentation on Friday, March 20 and Saturday, March 21.

The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, a natural evolution of the 18-year-old UAE Desert Challenge, is open to competitors driving cars and trucks complying with FIA T1, T2 and T4 technical regulations and motorcyclists and quads running under FIM auspices. Event officials have already received numerous enquiries and entries from leading European teams and some of the GCC’s top drivers.

The actual competitive action will get underway with a timed super special stage in the UAE capital on Sunday, March 22. The outcome of the short off-road section, which will be close enough to the city centre to attract thousands of motor sport enthusiasts, will determine the starting order for the event’s all-important first desert leg on Monday, March 23.

The opening leg from Al Dhafrah in Abu Dhabi to a finish deep in the emirate’s remote desert will be preceded by the ceremonial start at the landmark Emirates Palace hotel on Monday morning (March 23).

A non-competitive liaison section will then guide teams to the first overnight halt at Moreeb Hill, near Liwa, where the rally will be based for the subsequent four days. Competitors will be able to take advantage of a superb desert bivouac or camping venue.

Officials are expecting several of the world’s leading teams to descend upon the UAE capital for the event, which the ADTA says will further enable Abu Dhabi to showcase its credentials as a leading tourism destination and venue of distinction for major sporting events.

“This emirate has some of the world’s most stunning desert terrain and event officials have worked tirelessly to utilise this in finalising an ambitious, challenging route for the 2009, five-day motor sport bonanza,� said Ahmed Hussein, Deputy Director General Tourism Operations, ADTA.

Legs two, three and four on Tuesday, March 24, Wednesday, March 25 and Thursday. March 26, will feature demanding loop stages around Moreeb Hill, across somewhat challenging gatch tracks, winding Bedouin trails and the region’s notorious towering sand dunes.

Ben Sulayem said that each of the stages will be divided by passage controls and route waypoints, as competitors thread their way through the legendary Rub Al-Khali or Empty Quarter, which is one of the world’s most desolate and beautiful regions made famous by British explorer, Wilfred Thesiger, who crossed the desert expanse in the 1940s and 50s.

The fifth and final leg will take place on Friday, March 27, with teams tackling a desert section between Liwa, with the finish of the event in Abu Dhabi. The ceremonial finish will take place at ADIMSC on Friday afternoon.

Under the guidance and chairmanship of Ben Sulayem, who holds the FIA vice presidency for sport, and is President of the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE (ATCUAE), as well as chairman of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge organising committee, the event has become popular with regional and international riders and drivers alike.

He said that the switch to basing the entire event in the Abu Dhabi emirate for the first time is sure to bolster its popularity around the world, affording a spotlight on the emirate’s potential as a sporting hub.

The UAE’s premier off-road event was the brainchild of Ben Sulayem in 1991 and has been a round of the FIA World Cup since 1993. The rally has been managed by the ATCUAE since Ben Sulayem took over at the helm several years ago.

“We are delighted to have teamed up with ADTA to run the new-look Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge,� said Ben Sulayem.

“The event has used the deserts of Abu Dhabi emirate for many years, but the start and finish will now also take place in the UAE capital. We are already benefiting from ADTA’s backing and are positioned to offer competitors a more compact and challenging route.

“This exciting move to Abu Dhabi is a natural progression as the event rises in stature and continues to grow,� he concluded.


Fourteen-times Middle East rally champion and Vice President of the FIA (F?©d?©ration Internationale de l'Automobile), Mohammed Ben Sulayem, is the founding President of the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE (ATC UAE) and Chairman of the organising committee of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. Ben Sulayem was also behind the launch of ATC UAE in 1991. The Club now has offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Al Ain.

ATC UAE oversees two rounds of car rallies in UAE for the FIA Middle East Rally Championship, as well as the UAE International Rally and the Dubai International Rally.

The Club also authorizes and supports the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (formally the UAE Desert Challenge) which is one of three rounds of the FIA Cross Country World Cup and which is scheduled for March 20-27 2009.

The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), which is supporting the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and is its tile sponsor for the first time, was established in September 2004.It has wide ranging responsibilities for building and developing the emirate's tourism industry. These include; destination marketing; infrastructure and product development and regulation and classification. A key role is to create synergy in the international promotion of Abu Dhabi through close co-ordination with the emirate's hotels, destination management companies, airlines and other public and private sector travel-related organizations.

The Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club (ADIMSC), which will be a main pillar during the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, was initially setup in 1993 to form a solid organizational base for the powerboat racing in Abu Dhabi. Since that time the ADIMSC has been the driving force behind the growth of Powerboat racing along with DIMC in the UAE and Gulf region as a whole. Now, the ADIMSC supports a wide range of marine sports, including powerboats, jet skis, sailing, kayaking and wakeboarding. The ADIMSC supports these sports by acting as a founding member of the UAE Marine Sports Federation and as National Authority to the Union International Motonautique. The ADIMSC also hosts a variety of local, national, GCC and International championships for all marine sports.

We disagree with Mohamed Ben Sulayem just in one minor point: It seems Abu Dhabi will not only be the Motorsport capital of Asia, but also the Motorsport capital of the whole Middle East and North Africa region.

Let us just hope that the regional and local automotive and non-automotive media will be able to keep up with this impressive Motorsport development in the Middle East, in order to create the media and public awareness needed of this existing sport in our region.

Mohamed Sheta