JEDDAH, 25 January 2006 — As Middle East’s top drivers gear up for the UAE International Rally, the Saudi Rally Team represented by Ahmed Al-Sabban and promising young driver Saad Faisal are hoping for better luck in 2006.
The event is the opening round of this year’s eight-event FIA Middle East Rally Championship and the five-kilometer gravel spectator stage will officially get the three-day event under way at 4:25 p.m. today in Al-Ain.
Saudi team leader Al-Sabban said: “ It is been a while since I have participated in a rally due to a surgery but I am currently all set for a new challenge and I am looking for another exciting season.”
He noted that this year the FIA Middle East Rally will witness for the first time a Saudi team in two separate cars in Group N. He said: “ I will be driving in a car with my co-driver Killian Dafi and in another car the new driver Saad Faisal and his co-driver Amr Al-Rifai. We really hope to make a great result as we represent our country.”
Faisal, who is making his debut in the demanding sport of rallying, will be looking for a good start in the UAE Rally.
“As a newly rally driver, I realized it’s going to be a tough challenge for me against such top Middle East drivers but my goal is to get a good start which will push me for next rounds.” Faisal said.
The 2006 FIA Middle East Rally Championship also includes events in Oman in March, Qatar in April, Jordan in May, Lebanon in July and rallies in Syria, Cyprus and Dubai in September, October and December.
