The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge is an international rally raid race held in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi of the United Arab Emirates since 1991. The race is points scoring for the World Rally-Raid Championship and is organized by the Automobile & Touring Club of the United Arab Emirates (ATCUAE), [1] headed by the event founder Mohammed bin Sulayem. [2]
Originally for cars only, motorcycles and quads are allowed since 1995 and trucks since 2002. [3] [4]
The event was originally known as the UAE Desert Challenge, since it spanned several emirates of the country. Since 2009, the route includes five stages (plus a Super Special stage) entirely within the Abu Dhabi emirate, and the title changed to the current one. [5] [6]
Year | Rider | Motorcycle |
---|---|---|
1995 | Heinz Kinigadner | KTM LC4 |
1996 | Stéphane Peterhansel | Yamaha M3 |
1997 | Jordi Arcarons | KTM 660 |
1998 | Heinz Kinigadner | KTM LC4 660 |
1999 | Fabrizio Meoni | KTM 660 |
2000 | Jimmy Lewis | BMW 900 RR |
2001 | Cyril Despres | KTM 660 |
2002 | Cyril Despres | KTM 660 |
2003 | Cyril Despres | KTM 660 |
2004 | Isidre Esteve | KTM 660 |
2005 | Cyril Despres | KTM 660 |
2006 | Marc Coma | KTM 660 |
2007 | Marc Coma | KTM 660 |
2008 | Cyril Despres | KTM 690 |
2009 | Marc Coma | KTM 690 |
2010 | Marc Coma | KTM 690 Rally |
2011 | Marc Coma | KTM 450 Rally |
2012 | Marc Coma | KTM 450 Rally |
2013 | Marc Coma | KTM 450 Rally |
2014 | Paulo Gonçalves | Honda |
2015 | Marc Coma | KTM 450 Rally |
2016 | Toby Price | KTM 450 Rally |
2017 | Sam Sunderland | KTM 450 Rally |
2018 | Pablo Quintanilla | Husqvarna 450 Rally |
2019 | Sam Sunderland | KTM 450 Rally |
2020 | Not held | |
2021 | Matthias Walkner | KTM 450 Rally |
2022 | Sam Sunderland | Gas Gas 450 Rally Factory Replica |
2023 | Adrien Van Beveren | Honda CRF 450 Rally |
2024 | Aaron Marè | Hero 450 Rally |
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East. Located at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula, it shares land borders with Oman to the east and Saudi Arabia to the southwest; as well as maritime borders in the Persian Gulf with Qatar and Iran. The United Arab Emirates is an elective monarchy formed from a federation of seven emirates. As of 2024, the UAE has an estimated population of about 10 million. Islam is the official religion and Arabic is the official language. Abu Dhabi is the country's capital, while Dubai, the most populous city, is an international hub.
Zayed Port also called Mina Zayed, is a commercial deep-water port owned by the Abu Dhabi Ports that serves Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Established in 1968, Zayed Port is in the northeast section of Abu Dhabi city. It was officially inaugurated and became fully operational in 1972, and is named after Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the former President of the United Arab Emirates. The transfer of Zayed Port's container traffic to the newly developed US$7.2 billion Khalifa Port container terminal was completed in 2012.
Jabal Hafeet is a mountain in the region of Tawam, on the border of the United Arab Emirates and Oman, which may be considered an outlier of the Hajar Mountains in Eastern Arabia. Due to its proximity to the main Hajar range, the mountain may be considered as being part of the Hajar range. To the north is the UAE city of Al Ain, in the Eastern Region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the adjacent Omani town of Al-Buraimi.
Seán O'Connor is an Irish motorsport promoter and academic who previously served as a member of Seanad Éireann.
Khalid bin Faisal bin Sultan Al Qassimi is a rally driver from the United Arab Emirates, and a member of the royal house of Al Qasimi who rule the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, and has competed in the World Rally Championship and Dakar Rally.
According to the 2005 census, Christians accounted for 9 percent of the total population of the United Arab Emirates; estimates in 2010 suggested a figure of 12.6%.
Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's second-most populous city after Dubai.
Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) was a statutory body in the United Arab Emirates established in 2004 under the Government of Abu Dhabi’s economic diversification strategy. The authority had wide-ranging responsibilities for the promotion and development of the emirate’s tourism industry and international positioning as a destination of distinction.
The Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship (ADWPJJC), often simply called the Abu Dhabi World Pro, and from 2009 to 2014 known as the World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Cup (WPJJC), is an international Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition that takes place every year in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The tournament is organised by the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation (UAEJJF) since 2012, attracting competitors from 60 countries across all belt levels.
New York University Abu Dhabi is a degree granting portal campus of New York University, serving as a private liberal arts college located in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The Abu Dhabi Tour was a men's cycling stage race that took place in the United Arab Emirates, held annually between 2015 and 2018. In 2019, the Abu Dhabi Tour merged with the Dubai Tour to become the UAE Tour.
The 2015 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship season was the 13th season of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship.
The wildlife of the United Arab Emirates is the flora and fauna of the country on the eastern side of the Arabian Peninsula and the southern end of the Persian Gulf. The country offers a variety of habitats for wildlife including the coast, offshore islands, mangrove areas, mudflats, salt pans, sand and gravel plains, sand dunes, mountain slopes, wadis and rocky summits. Because the terrain is so varied, it supports a greater number of species of plants and animals than might be expected in a small country.
The Automobile & Touring Club of the United Arab Emirates (ATCUAE), is the sole Touring and Sporting representative of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in the UAE.
The 2016–17 Formula 4 UAE Championship was the inaugural season of the Formula 4 UAE Championship, a motor racing series for the United Arab Emirates regulated according to FIA Formula 4 regulations, and organised and promoted by the Automobile & Touring Club of the UAE (ATCUAE) and AUH Motorsports.
The UAE Tour are road cycling stage races in the United Arab Emirates. A men's event was first held in 2019 as part of the UCI World Tour. It was created as a result of the merging of the Abu Dhabi Tour and the Dubai Tour. A women's event was first held in 2023 as part of the UCI Women's World Tour.
The 2019 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies was the 27th season of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies; an annual competition for rally raid events for cars, buggies, side-by-sides, and trucks held in multiple countries.
The 2019 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship was the 17th season of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship, an international rally raid competition for motorbikes and quads.
Ricky Brabec is an American professional off-road and rally raid motorcycle racer. He is prominent for being the first American competitor to win the motorcycle division of the Dakar Rally in 2020. He won the Dakar again in 2024.
Al Marmoom Ultramarathon also known as AMUM is an annual series of desert endurance races hosted by Al Marmoom Desert Conservation Reserve in Dubai, United Arab Emirates since 2018. Al Marmoom Ultramarathon is regarded as the world's longest desert ultramarathon.