Motor sport in the UAE will be given a fresh boost later this year with the launch of a new national rally championship designed to capitalise on the country’s spectacular natural assets for the staging of cross country events. The UAE Desert Championship is being introduced to safeguard the future of rallying on a national basis, and in doing so will take the country’s original motor sport discipline to a new level. It meets a growing demand from the country’s motor sport fraternity for a new series of highly competitive events run in a natural environment, with an emphasis on safety.

The inaugural 2013-14 series will consist of four Baja-style events taking place in October, November, January and February, with categories for cross country cars, cross country buggies,
motor cycles and quads. The new championship is being organised by the Emirates Motor Sport Federation with the full support of the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE, the national motor sport authority. It signifies the beginning of a new sporting partnership between the two organisations, just three months after the appointment of ATCUAE President Dr. Mohammed Ben Sulayem as the EMSF President in a move initiated by H.E. Sheikh Nahayan Mubarak Al Nahayan, the UAE Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development.

The UAE Desert Championship will incorporate three kind of event formats, starting with short track rallies with a marked route, run over around six laps of approx 20kms each, ideally suited to the deserts of Dubai and the Northern Emirates.

The deserts of Abu Dhabi, and in particular the dramatic terrain of the Western Region – home of the Desert Challenge – will be used to stage medium track events run over five laps of approximately 40kms, and long track events of around 200kms.