Emirati trio face pressure as title race hots up in Desert Championship

The Emirati trio of Ahmad Al Fahim, Mohammed Al Balooshi and Humaid Al Mashghouni can expect to come under immediate pressure as they each attempt to build on a winning start to the new season in the Emirates Desert Championship this weekend.
Al Fahim and Al Balooshi lead the overall cars and bikes categories respectively heading into the second round of the series on Friday, while Al Mashghouni tops the quads standings following a record-breaking launch to the 2014-15 season.
The first of six rounds attracted 100 starters on four and two wheels, and that number could rise again when Round Two action unfolds during another short course event staged in the Dubai desert.
Defending overall cars champion Al Fahim leads the title race after another impressive display in his Polaris, but Mansour Al Helei, Ian Barker and Emil Kneisser in a succession of Nissan Patrols and Graham Rose and Chris Jackson in Polaris and Can Am buggies are among the chasing pack.
While Al Balooshi has made his name as a top class moto-cross rider, capturing a string of Arab championship titles, he has now set his sights on more success in the Desert Championship and leads the fiercely contested overall bikes standings from Kuwait's Mohammed Jaffar, also riding a KTM.
Competition is also tough in the quads class, where Al Mashghouni is the early championship leader after a powerful first round display when he edged out Dutch rider Sebastian Husseini, who finished third in this year's Dakar Rally.
Organised by the Emirates Motor Sport Federation, with TAG Heuer Middle East as the official timekeeper and founding partner, the Emirates Desert Championship is run with the support of the Automobile and Touring Club of the U.A.E..
"The series has captured the imagination of drivers and riders alike and created a genuine buzz of excitement," said ATCUE President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the FIA Vice President. "Attracting 100 competitors for the last round was a milestone, and we're sure the championship will continue to grow in popularity this season and in the years ahead." The second round gets under way at 9 a.m. on Friday, with the bikes and quads running on one loop and the cars and buggies competing on another at the same time, all aiming to complete as many laps as fast as possible over a window of approximately two hours.
Source: WAM