Dubai Rally on UAE National Day
33rd installment to mark the 40th anniversary!
By Shahzad Sheikh
The 33rd Dubai International Rally, which will be the final round of the 2011 FIA Middle East Rally Championship, will run from 1-3 December and will form part of the massive 40th anniversary celebrations of the UAE National Day.
The oldest motorsport event in the UAE, the rally will run on the outskirts of Dubai and into Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah.
ATCUAE President, Muhammed Ben Sulayem, has won the rally 15 times: “The Dubai International Rally has a special place in my heart. It was my home event when I was a competitor, and now it is myself and my team at the ATCUAE who organize the event. Every year we try to make the rally bigger and better, and it’s great to see what a fantastic event it has become”.
More recently it’s Qatari ace Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah who has dominated the event and will be aiming for a fifth win in a row this year. UAE drivers will include Rashid Al Ketbi and his co-driver Khalid Al Kendi.
Even if you aren’t able to head out of town to watch the rally, don’t miss the ceremonial start and finish near the Burj Khalifa in downtown Dubai, where the 4th Emirates Classic Car Show will be taking place at the same time on the Emaar Boulevard.
It’s great to see that cars and motoring continue to play such a major part in the national day celebrations and once again this year we expect to see some amazingly decorated cars roaming around blaring their horns!
Send in your pictures of cars from last years UAE National day – or any country’s national day to: shahzad@motoringme.com
which of the classes runed in dubai national rallies. i mean? CC base.