Ramadan MotoX this weekend in Fujairah

Riders from across the UAE will converge this weekend (August 27) in Fujairah for a slice of dirhams 45,000 at the Ramadan Motocross for bikes and quads being held under the auspices of the Maktoum Challenge.

The Maktoum Challenge, held under the Patronage of HH Sheikh Maktoum Bin Hamad Al Sharqi, made its debut in 2008 and is held during the Holy Month of Ramadan where various indoor and outdoor sporting activities ranging from football, cricket, martial arts, badminton and motor sports, provide a competitive platform for sportspersons and source of entertainment for thousands of fans after Iftar.

While the non-motor sport competitions are held inside the Fujairah Tennis Stadium, thousands are expected this Friday to witness over 50 bike and quad riders race within a designated enclosure on a specially prepared track some 200 meters behind the stadium located just off the Dubai-Fujairah highway.

The Ramadan MotoX competition follows the successful staging of Round 1 of the UAE National Sand Drag Championship last weekend (August 20) which saw Sultan Al Zaa’bi of the UAE fly past the finish line in a blink at the same venue.

The first round of the drag championship also signalled the return of the Emirates Motor Sports Federation after having maintained a low profile for nearly two years due to the global financial meltdown and the resultant drying up of funds from traditional sponsors.

EMSF General Manager Ahmed Al Sharif said: “The Maktoum Challenge is a very popular multi-disciplinary sporting extravaganza, and I am grateful to HH Sheikh Maktoum Bin Hamad Al Sharqi for providing us with the opportunity to stage round 1 of the drag championship and now this motocross competition.

“The thousands that attended the late-night drag event is testament to the fact that motor sport is gaining in popularity,” Al Sharif added, noting that organizers are bracing for a bigger crowd this weekend.

The coming weekend will also ring down the curtains on the Maktoum Challenge with a grand prize distribution ceremony scheduled after the last competition to honor winning sportspersons.

The Maktoum Challenge extravaganza began on August 13 and has seen hundreds of sportspersons from different disciplines compete over a 15-day period.