Omani drivers gear up for Sharjah Rally

Muscat: Five Omani drivers, including three-time national champion Khalid Soomar, are gearing up to take part in the Sharjah Rally.
Besides Khalid Soomar, the other Omani drivers who will be testing rallying skills in the UAE are Humaid Al Wa’eili, Hamed Al Qasmi, Faisal Al Rashidi and Qasim Haroon.
The Sharjah event, the fourth round of the 2016 UAE Rally Championship, is scheduled to take place on October 29.
Khalid Soomar, who won his three national titles in 2004, 2008, 2011, has recently announced his plans to take part in the Sharjah Rally after Target LLC has come forward to sponsor his activities for another season following their successful partnership during the last year.
The former Oman champion is hoping for a strong show in Sharjah, which marks his first outing in the UAE.
“This will be my first participation in the UAE. It will be a new experience for me. Thanks to Target LLC and their support I will be travelling to Sharjah and compete with the best rally drivers. It’s an opportunity for me to participate and learn as well as interact and strengthen ties with the UAE drivers,” Khaled Soomar said.
Meanwhile, Humaid Al Wa’eili will be returning to the UAE championship after a short break.
Humaid and his co-driver Mohammad Al Omeiri have missed the early rounds of the UAE champinship. But Humaid declared the duo’s eagerness to participate in the event after readying their modified Subaru Impreza.
Hamed Al Qasmi, on the other hand, will be hoping to improve his standings with a good performance in Sharjah as he is currenly in second place behind Sheikh Abdullah Al Qasimi in Group N rankings.
Hamed Al Qasmi and his co-driver Mohammed Al Mazroui, who will be driving a Mitsubishi Evo 8, have confirmed their participation even though they are fighting against odds to make it, owing to lack of sponsors and financial support.
Faisal Al Rashidi and his co-pilot Waleed Al Rashidi, who will be driving a Subaru Impreza, are also eagerly looking forward for the Sharjah trip.
Faisal, who is in third place in Group N category behind Hamed Al Qasmi, said ‘we ready to fight for the top places in Sharjah’.
“I was hoping the Oman Rally Championship resumes this year as it would have given us an opportunity to prepare better for outside completions,” Faisal said.
Qasim Haroon, lamenting the lack of competition at home, said: “When there are no competition, the drivers skills as well as fitness will be badly affected. In order to keep ourselves fit and to hone our skills, we are going to take part in the UAE championship rounds.”