Dubai: Emirati multiple motocross champion Mohammad Balooshi is ready for the 40th anniversary edition of Dakar Rally challenge, which got under way on Saturday.
Balooshi faces the biggest challenge of his career as he returns to South America, seeking to bring the UAE flag to the finish line in Cordoba, Argentina, after roughly two weeks of gruelling racing and battling whatever challenges Dakar may have in store for him. Extreme and always changing terrain and weather conditions, altitude, salt lakes, desert, river beds, high mountains and deep-wadi crossings, all along with severe navigation through three different countries.
The Dakar Rally is well-known all around the globe as the toughest, and most dangerous sporting event on the planet, and it attracts hundreds of participants each year and keeps both amazed fans along the track and supporters in front of their TVs on the edge of their seats.
Since the event moved to South America in 2009 introducing new levels of difficulty and even tougher terrain, the likes of which included high-altitude deserts, mountain climbs, fesh-fesh sections, traversing salt-lakes and many more obstacles awaiting the competitors on the rally route, the degree of public acclaim among the hosting countries and worldwide audiences rose sky high, and by 2017 The Dakar stood alongside the Fifa World Cup and The Olympics as the most watched and talked about sporting occurrence. The 2018 edition will forever remain in the history books as the one which saw Balooshi as the only Emirati as well as the only Arab to enter the race in the Motorcycle’s category “I feel very proud of having the chance to bring the UAE’s colours to Dakar. This is the most difficult and dangerous race in the world for the bikes, and for me, as a rally rider, it’s a challenge I must take on. Most of the riders who have won Dakar in the past, have had to make many attempts before being able to even complete the race, and that alone speaks about the pressure, the top level of competition and the huge danger we go through every day here.
“I feel grateful for having this privilege and will do my best to represent the values of our people and The Year of Zayed along the way,” said an introspective and excited Balooshi.
