Inaugural Gulf Challenge final round in Qatar

QATAR will host the final round of inaugural Gulf Challenge on December 7 and 8.

The five-round off-road series, that promises a golden future for rallying in the Gulf region, is the brain child of the UAE legend Mohammed ben Sulayem.

Cars, bikes and buggies will feature in the new series primarily aimed at tapping the enormous potential of Arab drivers in cross-country rallying.

It may be recalled that all six federations in the Gulf region had joined hands in October to form the new series and a brief outline of it was released then. The official launch was announced last week in Dubai by Ben Sulayem, who has won the Middle East Rally Championship a record 14 times.

“The GCC countries have a proven track record in motor sports and they possess infrastructure to organise and create world class events. We’ve the Formula One, the FIA and FIM World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies. Now, the Gulf Challenge will be an important regional addition,” said Ben Sulayem, who heads the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE.

The series will start in Oman and will be followed by rounds in the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia before culminating in Qatar. 

Bahrain is expected to join the series next year.

Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah Bakhashab will promote the new series in conjunction with the federations of various GCC countries involved in the project.

A committee will be headed by Abdullah along with one representative from each of the GCC countries, although each round will be managed by its own federation. dsp