The Emirates Motor Sports Federation (EMSF) is gearing up for its biggest-ever season this year.The calendar for 2003 was announced by Khalid Al Malik, president of the EMSF late yesterday.
"Considering the number of events we will be dealing with and organising this year, we think this is the biggest-ever calendar for the federation," Al Malik told the Gulf News after the formal announcement.
"This year's events are not only more, but also well spread at an average an event every two weeks," he added.
This year, the EMSF is offering three competitive championships, namely the UAE Rally Championship, the Emirates Autocross Championship and the UAE Karting Championship.
In addition to these competitions will the parade of classic cars, various contests, roadstar safety campaigns and the publication of a safety driving handbook in conjunction with Dubai Police.
"Our events have grown this year," Al Malik said.
The EMSF chief noted that the sport has also grown in popularity among the UAE youth. "Visit any rally or motor cross event in the UAE and you will see how the sport has grown," Al Malik noted.
This year, too, the UAE Rally Championship will consist of six rounds. Obaid Al Hathboor was the overall champion at the UAE Rally Championship last year.
"The number of participants has grown gradually every year and this year we hope to entertain an even bigger number," said Al Malik.
The UAE Rally Championship will offer two sub-categories, namely the UAE Open Rally Championship comprising of three of the six rounds and the UAE Desert Rally Championship, also comprising of three rounds in the desert and open to 4x4 owners only.
The Autocross Championship will be made up of eight rounds starting with the first one at the Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC) on January 24. Each participant gets four runs on the course to attempt his or her best timing, which go on to determine the class rankings.
The year-end positions will be calculated on the best seven results of the participants. This year, this championship has received the support of Yokohama Rubber Company through their UAE distributors, Juma Al Majid.
Prominent among the tasks of the EMSF this year is the complete renovation of the Dubai Karting Club track in Jebel Ali. "We will throw open the track shortly and this will go a long way in further promoting karting in the UAE," Al Malik stated.
Meanwhile, there will be an open house for prospective competitors for this season tomorrow. Participants have been requested to be present at the EMSF office from 4pm tomorrow for a briefing and handing over of the guidelines for the season.
Also attending the announcement of the EMSF calendar were Roshanara Sait, the EMSF public relations and marketing manager and Tausif Agha, the EMSF operations and circuit manager.
Gulf News 2003
