A strong start for the Dubai Desert Rally, with Quintero, Dabrowski and Ahly leading
Dubai, February 21, 2017 – His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, gave the starting signal for the competitions of the ninth edition of the Dubai International Desert Rally (BAHA), the final round of the World Cup for Short Desert Rallies for cars, motorcycles and quads (quads), during the ceremony held this evening at Dubai Festival City Mall in the presence of a large number of officials and the public.
Participating in the launch ceremony were His Excellency Mohammed Ahmed Bin Sulayem, President of the International Automobile Federation, His Excellency Khalfan Juma Belhoul, CEO of the Dubai Future Foundation, His Excellency Saeed Hareb, Secretary General of the Dubai Sports Council, His Excellency Omar Abdullah Al Futtaim, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, and His Excellency Major General Rashid Khalifa Al Falasi, Director of the General Department of Transport and Rescue.
The preliminary stage of the rally, which was held today for a distance of 5.64 kilometers in Hatta, resulted in American Seth Quintero, Polish Konrad Dabrowski, and Emirati Abdulaziz Ahli topping the car, motorcycle, and quads categories, respectively.
American Dakar star Seth Quintero made a strong return in his participation this year, topping the car category aboard a Toyota Hilux, accompanied by his navigator Andrew Short, with a time of 4:32.1 minutes, 2.2 seconds ahead of Czech Martin Prokop in a Ford Raptor, while Argentine Juan Cruz Yacobini came third.
In the motorcycle category, Polish Dabrowski began the campaign to defend his title with a clear lead on his KTM 450 Rally bike, 7 seconds behind Frenchman Jean-Loup Lepin, while Frenchman Mathieu Duvaz came third.
As for the Emirati Mohammed Al Balushi, the leader of the Baja World Cup motorcycle championship, he faced a difficult start after an emergency stop on the track cost him one minute and 42 seconds, nevertheless confirming his confidence in the competition during the next two days.
Emirati Abdulaziz Ahli maintained his strong performance in the Quads category, ending the preliminary stage in the lead before entering the endurance competitions tomorrow.
After the end of the preliminary stage, the teams returned to Dubai Festival City to participate in the celebration, which witnessed the presentation of the contestants in front of the audience.
The teams’ eyes are directed towards the biggest challenge in the Al Qudra Desert on Saturday and Sunday, with a total distance of 390 km, as the competitions begin tomorrow morning from the service area in Dubai Festival City, before heading to the starting point in Al Marmoom to compete in the special stage of 195 km within the “Toyota Al-Futtaim Stage”.
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