Abu Dhabi: Little-known Polish cross-country driver Aron Domzala finds himself firmly in the spotlight at the forthcoming Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, which starts with a timed super special stage at the Al Forsan International Resort on Saturday.
The Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux driver began his first ever full campaign for honours in the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies in superb style and leads the Drivers’ Championship by 11 points. After claiming victory in February’s Baja Russia across the frozen wastelands of the Republic of Karelia, Domzala and navigator Szymon Gospodarczyk finished a solid sixth overall in the Dubai International Baja, the first of two events being organised by the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE (ATCUAE) in the space of a month.
Now the Pole faces the formidable task of holding on to that lead over five gruelling days of competition in the desert wilderness of Abu Dhabi against some of the most potent rivals in the sport. Double points are on offer for the longer rounds of this year’s championship as well and that places a greater emphasis on good results here in Abu Dhabi, and in Qatar, Kazakhstan and Morocco later in the season.
The winner of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge will receive 60 points and both Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah and Abu Dhabi’s Shaikh Khalid Al Qassimi will be targeting the top step of the podium. After five days of competition through the dunes of the Rub Al-Khali, the event finishes at the Yas Marina Circuit on April 6.
Al Attiyah missed the first round in Russia and began the defence of his FIA World Cup crown with victory in the Dubai Baja. He holds second in the championship from a tying Al Qassimi (Peugeot) and Russian driver Viktor Khoroshavtsev, who is not taking part in Abu Dhabi.
Drivers such as Qatar’s Mohammad Abu Issa (Mini), the experienced Czech Miroslav Zapletal (Hummer) and former FIA World Cup champion, Vladimir Vasilyev (Mini), will also be eyeing podium finishes to keep their title challenges on track.
The FIA T2 Championship is open to drivers of series production cross-country vehicles like the Nissan Patrol, Toyota Land Cruiser and the Isuzu D-Max in near-standard form. Qatar’s Adel Abdullah claimed the 2016 title from Saudi Arabian Yasir Saiedan after an FIA protest was awarded in his favour following last year’s Rally of Morocco.
The pair are locking horns again this season and Saiedan has the early advantage. In the unofficial T2 standings, the Toyota driver holds a 10-point advantage over the Qatari after the two short events. Abu Dhabi-based Lebanese Emil Khneisser (Nissan) finished second in Dubai last month, but is not registered for the FIA series and that has lifted both Saudi Arabia’s Ahmad Al Malki (Isuzu) and Emirati Mansour Al Helai (Toyota) into striking distance.
All four title contenders feature on the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge’s entry list, alongside Khneisser, Kazakh driver Marat Abykayev (Toyota), Oman’s Abdullah Al Zubair (Nissan) and Saudi Arabia’s Ahmad Al Shegawi (Toyota).
Entrants from the UAE and other GCC countries benefited from free entry to this year’s Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. Mohammad Bin Sulayem, rally founder and President of the ATCUAE, confirmed that the move was made after the request of Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development and Chairman of the General Authority for Youth and Sports Welfare.
“This is excellent news for the event and the sport in general,” said Bin Sulayem. “Shaikh Nahyan is an avid supporter of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and is keen to continue to attract fresh talent into the sport. We have several regular drivers, like Yayha Al Helai, who has competed here many times in the past and continues to enjoy his opportunity to take on the world’s best. But his son Mansour now competes as well and is well positioned to succeed in the T2 category this year.”
The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge takes place under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s representative in the Western Region, and has invaluable support from Al Dafrah Region Municipality, Abu Dhabi Municipality, the UAE Army, Abu Dhabi Police, National Ambulance Service, Yas Marina Circuit, ADNOC, Abu Dhabi Aviation, Al Ain Water, Abu Dhabi Waste Management, Rotana and Centro Hotel – Yas Island, the Qasr Al-Sarab Resort and Al-Forsan Circuit.
FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies – standings after round 2 (unofficial):
1. Aron Domzala (POL) 41pts
2. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT) 30pts
3. Viktor Khoroshavtsev (RUS) 21pts
3. Khalid Al-Qassimi (ARE) 21pts
5. Vladimir Frolov (RUS) 16pts
5. Mohammed Abu Issa (QAT) 16pts
7. Ronan Chabot (FRA) 15pts
7. Yasir Saeidan (SAU) 15pts
9. Miroslav Zapletal (CZE) 12pts
9. Vladimir Vasilyev (RUS) 12pts, etc
FIA T2* World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies – standings after round 2 (unofficial):
1. Yasir Saeidan (SAU) 40pts
2. Adel Abdullah (QAT) 30pts
3. Ahmad Al-Malki (SAU) 27pts
4. Mansour Al-Helai (ARE) 25pts
5. Marat Abykayev (KAZ) 18pts
*Emil Khneisser is not registered for T2 Championship
