Dubai: Team Saluki's Mark Powell has predicted favourable results for local drivers in this month's Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.

UAE-based Powell suggests that the local terrain will again beat down international vehicle entries, leaving the podium for local teams.

In last year's Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, four out of the top five placements in the cars category were filled by local-based teams, with BMW's Guerlain Chicherit and Tina Thorner taking the lead in the cars category.

"Without question, the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge is the ultimate test of skill and endurance. In my mind, the towering dunes of the Al Gharbia region in the west of Abu Dhabi are more suited to the talent of local and regional drivers," Powell noted.

Powell has a seasoned insight into the conditions that face entries, having been based in the UAE since 1982 and a competitor of the Desert Challenge since 1994. He has competed in Land Rover and Honda vehicles.

This year he is eyeing a podium finish in his Castrol EDGE-sponsored 3.5 litre V6 Honda-engine Buggy, highly motivated from a second-place win at the 2009 Ha'il Saudi Baja.

"I have been involved in the Desert Challenge since 1994, first starting off with marshalling duties until we took the step to participate in 1997 in a Land Rover 110."

Paul Richards, Powell's co-driver and fellow Briton, is also based in the UAE and knows the Liwa region very well. In 2009, Richards was co-driver to another locally based driver, fellow Briton Glenn Reid.

Best position

Reid and Powell did well in the Buggy, but not well enough to notch a place in the top five. Their best position was in Leg Three when they came in third behind Emirati team, Ahmad Bin Soughat and Wael Marjan in a Nissan Patrol, but ahead of Yayha Al Helai, who with his co-driver Khalid Al Kendi finished the Challenge in second place, also in a Nissan Patrol.

"Desert landscape can be quite deceptive, especially the tracks that wind through the towering sand dunes. Navigating skills for the desert rally refines with age and experience. Even a minuscule lack of concentration can lead to a serious error of judgement, and perhaps the end of the race."

The six-day competitive section of the cross-country motor sport spectacular, organised by the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE (ATCUAE), will run from March 27 to April 1.