Friday 31 / January / 2025
Muscat: Young driver Abdullah Al Rawahi accompanied with navigator Nasser Al Kawari from Qatar on Cam Am T4 finished Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge fourth in T4 group after five days of challenging competition in very high and long desert terrain and dunes.
Nizar Al Shanfari, the most experienced driver among the three Omani drivers who attended this challenge on Can Am T3, left the race after an accident with his co-driver Ali Merza from the UAE during the race after day three. He was forced to leave the race as per the instructions received from the organisers due to safety reasons although Al Shanfari was capable of continuing the race after he recorded improvement in the timing during the stages.
Abdullah Al Zubair, the third Omani champ with Navigator Faisal Al Raisi on Jeep Wrangler, faced a lot of technical issues in his car during the race, which affected his performance and by the end of day four technical problems forced him to retire from the rally.
Saudi driver Yazeed Al Rajhi won Abu Dhabi desert challenge after he pushed a lot during the last 2 days off the challenge after taking the advantage of retiring Qatari champion Nasser Al Attayh from the rally due to an accident during the race day 3.
AlRawahi said, “Glad to finish this long challenge and also happy that I have got the honour of the fourth place trophy in T4 group in this very challenging race. This is my first time on Cam Am in desert races. It was a new experience for me and I hope that I can continue with more of these kinds of races in the future”.
Al Shanfari was doing well on his T3 group Can Am and improving timing during the initial stages until he faced an unexpected surprise on day three, where a broken axle forced him to leave the rally. Neither Nizar nor Ali suffered injury but the organising committee refused the rejoining of Al Shanfari as per the regulations and safety rules.
He said: "It was good to be back behind the wheel. In fact, I was aiming to continue the race up to the end, but as you know these matters always happen in between. I will be back soon in the races."
Al Zubair stated that he was trying to reach the final day of the race, but he faced a number of issues during the race, especially electrical and technical issues in the engine also, which forced him to retire. He said that this year was very challenging and the heat was affecting everyone, but it was overall a new experience for me.
