ABU BHABI, 26 December 2004 — The Red bull Reach the Top will be launched on Jan. 12 in Abu Dhabi’s Liwa West region. The event has been set under the sponsorship of Sheikh Mansoor ibn Zayed Al Nahyan in the “land of challenge and competition.”
Here “Tell Merheb,” one of the highest natural dunes in the world will host a car, quad and motorbike race. More than 15,000 eminent and prominent personalities and race enthusiasts are expected to attend the opening ceremony and the two-day championship. The Red Bull Reach the Top higher committee is headed by Abdallah ibn Mohammed ibn Batti, procurator of the Bureau of the Governor Representative in the Western region, as president, Abdallah Batti Al Kobeissi as vice president and Sport Stars General Manager Ahmad ibn Lakida as general coordinator.
Red Bull Reach the Top has been organized, following Sheikh Khalifa ibn Zayed Al Nahyan’s instructions to help develop the country’s youth, support their sports activities and introduce all nationals to every inch of their country and, in particular, to the region of Liwa, which he is highly fond of.
Abdallah ibn Mohammed ibn Batti welcomed the contestants and the public that will attend the launching of the race and the 48-hour championship in the oasis of Liwa.
He said everything was ready for this international event, which was registered with the FIA (Federation International of Automobile) and the FIM (Federation International of Motorbikes) and Touring Club of the UAE in Abu Dhabi, representing the Cars FIA, and the Emirates Motorbike Club in Dubai, representing the FIM.
He indicated that this event was registered for the second consecutive year in order to bring it to the international scene, especially that Red Bull Reach the Top is the first climbing championship to be registered with these two international federations. This entails the compliance with the standards and regulations of the said federations whether as regards the organization or the safety, security, arbitration and documentation standards.
This international registration is the outcome of the importance and notoriety gained by “Tell Merheb” in the world of motor sports in the region and of the extent of the foreign participation, in addition to the intensive local participation of UAE nationals and residents.
Abdallah ibn Batti asserted that the UAE was perfectly capable of organizing such successful high-quality international events, showing the world the Emirates’ wealth, abundance and development and the country’s concern about building human capacities and supporting the young generations.
“We proved our great organization capacity to the world during the Youth World Cup and other championships,” he added. According to him, this kind of sports deeply serves the country on the tourist and cultural levels by attracting local and foreign tourists and introducing them to the unique sites of the UAE. The organizers of these motor events aim to encourage young nationals to better know the geography of their country and show them the great efforts made, based on the instructions of the Sheikh, to extend the government services to the citizens of all regions, whether land or maritime, as well as the country’s new and modern cities that ensure a good and happy life to its great people.
Red Bull Reach the Top will start with the motorbike race.
The motorbikes are equipped with all of the required safety means approved by the organizing committee supervising the event. On the second day, “Tell Merheb” will host the 4x4 car race, where competition will be fierce between the local and foreign contestants.
Fifty 4x4, 8-6 cylinder cars will be participating in the car race, while the motorbike race will include 100 teams. The distance of the racetrack is of 250 m.
The previous races were full of challenge, competition and endurance, and national champions often reached the top positions such as Amer Al Zarouni, Mohammed Al Hay Al Kobeissi, Ali Al Mahirbi, Hamad Al Ahbabi, Ahmad Abdallah and Ibrahim Abbas for car races, and Salem Al Mansouri, Ali Al Mahirbi, Ahmad Khalifa Al Mansouri and Ahmad Al Hameli for motorbike races.
Competition is expected to be at its peak between the various contestants of this championship.
Higher Committee Vice President Abdallah Batti Al Kobeissi urged the contestants to show sportsmanship and good spirits in order to shed the lights on the contestants’ skills and present the best show ever.
Having a relatively significant number of participants (150) entails additional responsibilities for the technical committee and more efforts to ensure the safety of the contestants and give them the opportunity to show their technical and driving skills. Therefore, the members and presidents of the various organizing committees were carefully selected according to their competence and know-how. He thanked all persons who made this event possible and in particular its sponsor Sheikh Mansoor ibn Zayed Al Nahyan.
He also thanked Sheikh Abdallah Bin Mohammed Bin Batti, the Procurator of the Bureau of the Governor Representative in the Western region and President of the higher committee for his cooperation and coordination between all committees as well as for the efforts he made to guarantee the success of the event.
“Tell Merheb,” the dune located in the region of Liwa, is the world-famous place where the international challenge will be finally taken up. This event registered with the Cars International Federation and the Motorbikes International Federation is organized for the first time in the world and the United Arab Emirates are the first to host it.
Lakida referred to Sheikh Mansoor ibn Zayed Al Nahyan’s initiatives in this respect and said they teach the young the true meaning of challenge, competition, adventure and strength. Thanks to his efforts, concern, support and follow-up, the competitions of “Tell Merheb” became famous and started attracting an increasing number of spectators and participants.
