ABU DHABI: Khalid Al-Qassimi, whose victory in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge four years ago propelled his rallying career in a new direction, says the event can help attract more young Emirati talent into motor sport in the years ahead. The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge provided the perfect platform for Al-Qassimi’s switch from the World Rally Championship to cross country, and winning his home event in 2017 proved to the UAE star that he could mix it with the best on a new world stage. “I wanted to try something different, so having the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge to turn to was perfect,” said the Abu Dhabi Racing founder and former FIA Middle East rally champion, who lines up in the 30th anniversary event starting on Saturday alongside Dutch co-driver Wouter Rosegaar in a PH-sport Zephir T3. “Winning it showed me I had what it takes to go to the top level in off road rallying.” Al-Qassimi’s 2017 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge victory was the first by a UAE driver since Mohammed Mattar in 1992, and led him to the FIA World Cup 2WD title. He wants to see new UAE talent on the podium in the future, and backs plans by the Emirates Motorsports Organization (EMSO) to use the rally as an important part of motor sport development. “There is talent out there, and the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge can help bring more young people into the sport,” he says. “It shows them there’s a chance to compete at world level, just like the Dakar Rally is doing in Saudi Arabia. If we’re smart, we’ll find more drivers.” No driver starting the penultimate round of this year’s FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies knows the event as well as veteran UAE competitor Yahya Al-Helei, who marks his own Desert Challenge 30th anniversary. He maintains his 100 percent appearance record with Khalid Al-Kendi in a Nissan Pick-Up, and no one takes more pride in Al-Helei’s incredible run in the event than his son Mansour, who started rallying as his father’s co-driver. Mansour was given his break as a driver when Khalid Al-Qassimi launched the Abu Dhabi Racing junior team in 2014, sending a group of young Emiratis into the Middle East Rally Championship and the Junior World Rally Championship. The mentor and his protégé were team-mates again at this year’s Dakar Rally, Al-Helei finishing inside the top 30 on his first attempt while Al-Qassimi took seventh place. With Mansour starting the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge alongside Abdulla Dakhan in a T4 CAN-AM Maverick, the EMSO hopes to see more young Emiratis following him. That’s a sentiment shared by top Emirati rider Mohammed Al-Balooshi, the multiple Arab motocross champion who runs his own academy in Dubai and in 2018 became the first winner of the FIM Bajas World Cup title from the GCC region. The KTM rider enters another Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge a week after his bid for a second World Cup crown suffered when mechanical problems in Portugal reduced him to fourth place in the standings. “This is my home event, and I love what it has done for my development as a rider, and the chance it gives to young Arabs to test themselves against the best in the world,” said Al-Balooshi. Among the young Emiratis relishing such an opportunity this time is Yamaha quad rider Abdulaziz Ahli, who takes on six-times FIM World Cup quads champion Rafal Sonik as the Pole seeks his third Desert Challenge crown.