The Driving Force: Dreams of world crown are a reality

As many people know, the UAE Marlboro Desert Challenge is taking place this year between the October 28 and November 2.

I have been fortunate to be successful for a long time as a rally driver and have collected many fond memories from my time competing at the highest level all around the world.

Rallying has given me so much over the years and continues to do so, but I owe it to the sport to put something back in return and be actively involved in boosting and promoting the sport in the United Arab Emirates and on a global scale.

The UAE Marlboro Desert Challenge started life in 1991 as an ambitious Masafi four-wheel drive race for a growing number of interested participants from the Gulf region. The first two races were won by Dubai's Mohammed Mattar, but even in those early days I had a dream of pushing the UAE's major off-road rally to the dizzy heights of the FIA World Championship.

We have some excellent facilities in the UAE and the terrain is superb for rallying and suitable for the FIA World Cup. Many Arab drivers began their careers on the dunes and across the sands, in four-wheel drive vehicles, and my dream was to promote this race and push it to a global scale.

The UAE Marlboro Desert Challenge was modified and improved for the start of the 1993 season and attracted the cream of the world's off-road drivers that year, with the factory Citroen and Mitsubishi teams leading the way from an impressive number of local competitors.

The seeds had been sown for a regular slot as the final round of the FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies, and my dream had become reality.

It is important never to stand still in motor sports. Rules and regulations are continually changing. The sport is changing and the wind is continually shifting the pattern of the sand and the dunes in the desert. No Desert Challenge was, and would ever be, the same and our team continues to work to a high standard to ensure that the event gains in stature and credibility.

The great world races, like the Paris-Dakar, permit bikes and trucks to compete and we knew that this was the way forward for the UAE Desert Challenge. An invitational bike category was introduced for the first time in 1995.

The UAE Marlboro Desert Challenge continued to expand and its reputation spread across the world. Yamaha and KTM sent factory bike representatives the following year and the event became an important test and development arena for the likes of Mitsubishi Team Ralliart.

The Challenge continues to attract the cream of the crop and we continue to make minor tweaks and changes to the format within the confines of the FIA regulations. As the event has expanded, we have felt the need to improve and increase the size of the bivouac.

Logistically, catering to over a thousand people in the middle of the Empty Quarter is a challenging task for any organisational team, and our decision last year to shift the rest halt from Arjan to the Liwa oasis was a good one.

The UAE ace Mohammed bin Sulayem is a 14-time middle East Rally Champion. He also heads the organising committee of the Marlboro Desert Challenge. He writes this column exclusively for Gulf News.