for even stronger season next year
The capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, experienced a strong finish in two FIA rally championships this weekend, to conclude an excellent season of motorsport. Mikko Hirvonen and Marcus Grönholm finished the final round of the FIA World Rally Championship, Wales Rally GB, in first and second while Team Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi was narrowly denied the chance of winning the FIA Middle East Rally Championship when part of the final round was cancelled on safety grounds.
With the Manufacturers' WRC championship already concluded in Ireland two weeks previously with the title going to Abu Dhabi-partnered BP-Ford*, the team's two drivers, Marcus Grönholm and Mikko Hirvonen were given free rein to drive their own rally. Grönholm was still in contention for the 2007 Drivers' title, trailing Frenchman Sebastien Loeb by six points and both Abu Dhabi-branded Ford Focus RS World Rally Cars set the pace throughout the event. Hirvonen took the lead from the start, closely followed by Grönholm and the pair's domination of the event never looked in doubt.
However, with Loeb following the blue oval pairing in third, all he had to do to take another title was finish in fifth pace or higher. Despite a demonstrative drive by the Fords, Loeb held on to his third place and therefore, took the 2007 Drivers' title*, denying Grönholm the chance to retire from the WRC as champion.
While his Abu Dhabi-backed BP-Ford team-mates were dominating the wet and cold Welsh stages, Al Qassimi, who drove the third Focus on four WRC events this year, was competing on home soil on the last round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship, the Dubai International Rally. He arrived at the finale with a two-point lead over Nasser Al-Attiyah but because of new regulations regarding tie-breaks, if the pair finished on the same number of points, Al-Attiyah would take the title.
After the first of two days of competition, Al Qassimi lay second to Al-Attiyah with eight of the longest stages of the rally to go. However, part-way through the second day, while the Emirati driver was less than half a minute behind Al-Attiyah, the final three stages of the event, comprising almost half of the total rally distance, were cancelled by the organisers on safety grounds. Because the leading drivers had completed slightly more than 50% of the rally distance, the result was declared at that point, with Al-Attiyah awarded the victory and with it, the overall title thanks to the tie-break advantage of winning the longest rally of the series.
Al Qassimi was understandably disappointed, as he felt that the remaining stages offered him the best chance to close the time deficit to Al-Attiyah and challenge for the title. “I have thoroughly enjoyed this season of rallying,” said the Team Abu Dhabi driver at the end of the event, “but am disappointed that the Middle East Rally Championship campaign finished in this way. Once again, I would like to extend my gratitude to the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority for its continuous support of Team Abu Dhabi and look forward to my ten-event campaign in the FIA World Rally Championship next season.”
Ahmed Hussein, the Deputy Director General of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, the body responsible for bringing the emirate into the WRC as partner to BP-Ford as well as Official Destination Partner to the championship itself, said: “In what has been an amazing year for Abu Dhabi's WRC and MERC rally programmes, it is disappointing that the regional season has ended this way. Of course, safety is of paramount importance to all drivers and teams but it is still a shame that the team and Khalid have been denied the opportunity to fight to the end.
“Team Abu Dhabi has made great strides this year and, after a brief period of reflection, we will be ready for another season of regional and international competition in 2008, where we will continue to promote the Abu Dhabi name to millions of motorsport fans across the globe.”
Abu Dhabi's WRC programme for 2008 will see the emirate represented not only as partner to BP-Ford under the new name of BP-Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team but also as Official Destination Partner for the second year. This will see a range of innovative activities developing over the 15 events to help maximise the rally experience for fans at the event and following from afar.
Abu Dhabi will also again be represented directly by Al Qassimi, who will drive the third Abu Dhabi-partnered Ford Focus WRCar on ten events, beginning on the Rallye Monte Carlo in January. This extended programme, compared with his four rallies in 2007, will allow the Emirati to develop his experience and skills more consistently while ensuring that the UAE has direct representation on as many rounds as possible for the next season, helping to communicate Abu Dhabi's status as a world class destination for leisure, culture and commerce.
* Subject to the official publication of the results by the FIA
