• The goal: to secure a podium
In the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, the second FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup of the 2016 season, Sheikh Khalid bin Faisal Al Qassimi will race a MINI ALL4 Racing. Last year he made his debut appearance in the desert rally and for a long time, he was involved in the battle for the top positions. At the end of the day, however, he was stopped by a technical failure. Sheikh Khalid used the 2015 season for gathering cross-country rallying experience.
In 2004 and 2014 he won the Middle East Rally Championship, in 2005, 2012 and 2013 he finished the season as vice-champion. Furthermore, he secured several top-10 positions in WRC rallies, in recent years.
“My goal in 2015 was to gain experience as I had never raced in such a rally before,” said Sheikh Khalid bin Faisal Al Qassimi. “The event is contested over six days, covering as distance nearly 3,000 kilometres! I actually was involved in the battle for the top-three positions when technical issues unfortunately forced me into early retirement. With these experiences under my belt, my goal is to win the rally this year or secure a podium at least. But it would be great to win on home soil and dedicate the victory to the nation. We did rather well, last year but at the same time I realised that the MINI has got quite an advantage when it comes to climbing sand dunes. Driving the MINI ALL4 Racing will be a new experience and I am looking forward to securing a podium finish with the new car, this year."
