2008 Malton Forest Rally
For immediate release
Sunday, October 26th, 2008
ABU DHABI JUNIOR RALLY TEAM HEADS TO
ENGLAND FOR YORKSHIRE FOREST TEST
Abu Dhabi’s Bader Al-Jabri joined by Sultan Al-Ameri in England
ABU DHABI (UAE): The next step in the development programme for drivers in the new Abu Dhabi Junior Rally Team will be a trip to England to take part in the Malton Forest Rally (MFR), based at the town of Pickering in North Yorkshire. The one-day special stage rally takes place on Sunday, November 2nd, over forest tracks selected by Malton and Selby & District Motor Clubs.
The Abu Dhabi Junior Rally Team was put together by BP-Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team driver Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi with support from the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), which is run under the chairmanship of His Excellency Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al-Nahyan.
A selection of talented young Abu Dhabi rally drivers have already taken part in a couple of UAE national rallies, rounds of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan and two small club events in the UK during the summer. The trip to England for the Malton event is another step in the learning process for the rookie members of Team Abu Dhabi and Bader Al-Jabri and Sultan Al-Ameri have been selected to represent the team in the Yorkshire forests.
Al-Jabri tackled the recent Jordan Rally at the Dead Sea and set several competitive stage times, while Al-Ameri is one of the most young talented drivers in the region and is relishing the prospect of visiting the north of England for motor sport for the first time as one half of young Team Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi Junior Rally Team members have been using three M-Sport-prepared Ford Fiestas on rounds of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship this season, but these three cars are currently in transit between Jordan and the UAE to be prepared in time for the Dubai International Rally at the end of November.
Therefore, the two Abu Dhabi rookies will run a pair of Ford Fiesta STs supplied and serviced in Yorkshire by David Greer (DGR) Motorsport under the management of their regular Australian team chief Ron Cremen, himself a former FIA Middle East Formula 2 rally champion.
Al-Jabri will be co-driven by the popular Irish co-driver Killian Duffy and Ulster’s Allan Harryman – the son of former Peugeot factory co-driver Terry – will partner Al-Ameri. Allan was also in Jordan Rally action recently sitting alongside young Abu Dhabi driver Khalil Al-Sheikh.
Both Abu Dhabi rookies will take part in a test session on Friday (October 31st) at M-Sport’s Greystoke testing ground, near Penrith in Cumbria, before heading across the north of the country to Pickering for scrutineering and documentation for Sunday’s Malton Forest Rally.
The event will be based at the Northern Events Arena on the showground in Pickering and uses around 45 miles of classic former Lombard RAC Rally special stages, such as Langdale, Gale Rigg and Cropton, the scenes of many historic battles between the likes of Lancia, Peugeot, Ford and Austin Rover on legendary WRC events. There will also be a one-mile ‘showground’ stage.
The fact that this is a counting round of Britain’s Fiesta Sporting Trophy and several regional rally championships will give both Al-Jabry and Al-Ameri the opportunity to compare their stage times with those of their British rivals running in similar machinery.
"This exciting training and development programme would not have been possible without the support of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA)," admitted Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi. "We are grateful to them for backing this venture to nurture young Abu Dhabi rally drivers on the international circuit and to give them this fantastic opportunity."
The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) Junior Development programme has been established to create opportunities for young Abu Dhabi citizens. The Abu Dhabi Junior Team will provide a stepping-stone for talented Abu Dhabi drivers and to develop strong support and interest in the sport of rallying in the UAE’s commercial capital, in addition to promoting the destination of Abu Dhabi on an international scale.
Ends
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