Mohammed Al-Balooshi has begun his Arab Motocross Championship campaign in scorching style by winning the first two races. (At Left) Al-Balooshi with the inaugural trophy.Emiratis dominate as UAE hosts inaugural event DUBAI — Mohammed Al-Balooshi won the UAE's inaugural Arab Motocross Championship on home soil Friday at the Jebel Ali DMX Motocross track, bringing a fitting finale to an action-packed weekend. Competing in the top tier MX1 category, the Emirati home favorite won both of his races with ease, finishing 11 laps on the 1,600m track in 21 minutes and 55 seconds in the first race, while easing through his second race in 22 minutes and .06 seconds. Al-Balooshi said: “It's a really great feeling to win the Arab Motocross Championship on home soil for the first time, and I would like to dedicate this to Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed. His support of this event is crucial to its success. “I have won this championship many times in other countries, but never in the UAE, so to finally win and be the first Emirati to win here really means a lot. I hope this encourages more Emiratis to take up this sport.” Held under the support and patronage of Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the Arab Motocross Championship is organized by the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE (ATCUAE). The championship attracted a top lineup of riders from eight Middle East countries competing across two bike categories (MX1 and MX2) and a pro quad bike category. While Al-Balooshi underlined his credentials as one of region's premier motocross riders, fellow Emirati Mansoor Salem dominated the pro quad bike category, winning both of his races in times of 14 minutes and 31 seconds and 16 minutes and 49 seconds. Meanwhile, Kuwaiti rider Mohammed Jafar reigned supreme in the MX2 category, with a commanding performance in both race heats, with winning times of 22:31 and 22:33 in Race 1 and 2 respectively. The Arab Motocross Championship 2012 is the first competitive racing series of the Arab Motorcycle Federation (AMF) following its overhaul in August this year at its Riyadh headquarters in Saudi Arabia – a move driven by the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees to take competitive bike racing in the Middle East to the next level. Since being restructured, the AMF has been working toward developing a full calendar of motorcycle racing events in the Middle East that run to the international standards laid down by the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM), the sport's world governing body. — SG
