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The second young Emirati driver set to make his World Rally Championship debut this season with Abu Dhabi Racing says he is grateful to be living a motor sport dream.
Just nine months into his first season in competitive motor sport, Mohammed Al Sahlawi will compete in next month’s Spanish round of the 2013 WRC series alongside co-driver Allan Harryman in an Abu Dhabi Citroën DS3 R3 2WD.
Along with fellow UAE driver Mohammed Al Mutawaa, Al Sahlawi qualified from a three-day Citroën selection programme in the UAE capital last November for a place in the five-car Abu Dhabi Racing team in this year’s FIA Middle East Rally Championship.
Now looking forward to contesting Rally De Espana, the penultimate round of the WRC series on
25-27 October, he says: “This is a great opportunity for me. It has always been a dream for me to drive a rally car and, thanks to Abu Dhabi Racing, I’m doing it.
“I’m thrilled to get the chance to compete in my first WRC event. I’m really looking forward to meeting all the other drivers and to gaining new experience. My aim is to learn as much as I can, and have as much seat time as possible.”
The early WRC chance came when Abu Dhabi Racing readjusted its 2013 rally programme because of initial doubts over the Middle East Championship events in Lebanon and Cyprus.
The switch saw Al Mutawaa get his WRC debut in last month’s Rallye Deutschland, and both he and Al Sahlawi now team up in Spain, where Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi, the Abu Dhabi Racing chairman, will also be in action.
Al Qassimi was pleased to see Al Mutawaa go the distance in Germany, where he finished third in the WRC3 two-wheel drive class and 40th overall alongside co-driver Stephen McAuley in his Abu Dhabi Citroën DS3 R3 2WD
“He did well and gained a lot of good experience,” said Al Qassimi. “Now the two young guys have another fantastic opportunity in Spain, and it’s important that they get the most out of it.
“Our mission to is to provide many more opportunities for young Emirati drivers in international motor sport, and it’s vital that they appreciate the chance they’re being given, and absorb as much as they can.”
After matching his best WRC finish of the season with ninth place in last week’s Rally Australia, Al Qassimi will be hoping to build on that performance in Spain in partnership with British co-driver Scott Martin in his Abu Dhabi Citroën Total DS3 WRC.
Meanwhile, Rallye Deutschland winner Dani Sordo will be looking for his second WRC victory of the season on home territory, with Finland’s Mikko Hirvonen again driving the other Citroën Total Abu Dhabi DS3.
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