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Located on the eastern side of the Arabian Peninsula, the UAE is, as its name suggests, a collection of emirates: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Fujairah, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain, and Ajman. The citizens of these seven emirates lead affluent lives thanks to the benefit of the abundant oil produced at Abu Dhabi. While the capital is Abu Dhabi, the current prime minister of the UAE is the ruler of Dubai. The northern side of the UAE adjoins the Persian Gulf, while the large swathes of desert from the central part of the country to the south make the UAE a cross-country desert paradise for four-wheel drive owners. The main religion is Islam, but other faiths are freely practiced.
The UAE Desert Challenge is a cross-country rally started by Mohammed Bin Sulayem, winner of 14 titles in the Middle East Rally Championship. This will be the 13th UAE Desert Challenge. This year will be the final year of the FIA World Cross-Country Rally Cup, and the FIM World Off-Road Rally Championship (for motorcycles) will be held at the same time. While this year's event will be the final battle in the fiercely fought series, it is also attracting attention as the prelude to the Dakar Rally starting about two months later. |
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Because this is a compact competition with the rally itself lasting only four days and the entire event schedule, including document checking and vehicle inspections, completing in about a week, it is also proving popular as a curtain-raiser to the Dakar cross-country rally. But at the same time, the content of the competition is quite severe. While the sands, which receive moisture from the sea winds off the Arabia Gulf, are quite firm and easy to drive on, when the course reaches the central part of the desert it encounters soft sands piled deep. These are extremely difficult to cross and drivers must remain highly vigilant to get through. In addition, the sand dunes are very uneven with some the height of five- or six-storey buildings. The length of the stages is another tough element in the event. The long stages demand even greater durability from machines, and even veteran Dakar Rally drivers have acknowledged that these are the longest dune stages they have encountered.
The course passes through different types of dunes in each leg, returning to the same bivouac for three nights. The bivouac is located in the Liwa Oasis in central part of the country, which is the historical homeland of the Bani Yas tribe — the roots of the UAE population. The Islamic world enters Ramadan on October 25 and the event's schedule takes this into account. On October 19, with enthusiastic spectators looking on, a short stage will be run at Dubai to determine the competition starting order. The real racing will begin from October 21. The Prolog will be run at Abu Dhabi, and legs 1 through 4 will be held following that with a new leg starting each day. The total distance will be 2,100 kilometers, with the crews completing five selective sections and reaching the finish line on the 24th. While the October climate is relatively comfortable, with the punishing heat of the summer just over, the night day temperature difference is considerable, with daytime maximums of 35° C and nighttime temperatures of just 13° C. Humidity is around 80%. While the humidity in the central part of the country is less, this is offset by fierce heat during the day. (The time difference from Japan is -5 hours.) |
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