Sand racers drag in the crowds to Fujairah

FUJAIRAH // The engine roared, smoke shot up and the truck zoomed forward along the 90m track. It took 3.54 seconds for it to reach the finish and steal the show. The UAE's first official sand drag-racing championship drew thousands of spectators. The event was part of the Maktoum Championships, an annual two-week extravaganza of sports and games held in Fujairah to promote wholesome fun for the community during Ramadan. The Championships are supported by Sheikh Maktoum bin Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, son of the ruler of Fujairah.

Football and basketball events have also attracted many fans, but by far the biggest crowds have turned up for the cars. Sand drag-racing - the highlight event of the Championships, which finish on Friday - drew as many people as the other 21 events combined, according to estimates by Sheikh Abdulla Al Sharqi, who oversees the Championships, and Ross Brown, head of the Fujairah Tennis and Country Club, which has hosted the other events.

Next in popularity have been motocross, held each weekend, and a bring-your-own-car show. Young men swarmed about 120 souped-up vehicles, checking out their modified engines and booming sound systems. Mohammed Ali al Kaabi, a 29-year-old Emirati, said he only went to last Friday's event for the car show and the sand drag-racing. He too likes to race and said he reached up to 240kph on weekly drives from Fujairah to Abu Dhabi with any car he could entice to chase him.

"Usually we are watching races on YouTube," he said from the standing-room only area below the crowded stands as he watched trucks race one by one. One rolled past on its monstrous wheels towards the start line, towed by a normal car to save energy. Its hood had been removed, baring a bulging modified engine. At the start line, it revved and revved, then burst along the track, shooting sand into the night air.

Its starting speed flashed on a digital screen - 158.71kph. The professionally built cars - divided into six- and eight-cylinder categories - needed to finish in less than four seconds to elicit applause. A third category, of standard cars with modified engines, could take nearly nine seconds. Each of the 13 participants had two chances to record their fastest time. The top three then competed in a second round.

After each run, a team of mechanics descended on the cars to prepare for the next one. One recharged the battery while others checked the tyre pressure and poured ice around the radiator. Even with such care, a professional car - which costs about Dh600,000 - can run only 15 to 30 times before its engine has to be replaced. That includes trial tests, which cost up to Dh7,000 for fuel, transport and other needs.

There were about 20 such vehicles in the UAE, but only a few informal events in which they could compete, said Ahmed al Sharif, the acting director of the Emirates Motor Sports Foundation, which organised the race. But with drag racing so popular, the foundation has decided to provide more formal competitions that spectators can enjoy. It hopes to hold one race per month of the national Sand Drag Chamionship in the other emirates and already has approval from Abu Dhabi, Ras al Khaimah and Umm al Qaiwain.

"People have these types of cars, so we wanted to bring them in," Mr Sharif said. "I think I'm doing something good for my brothers and other families, bringing people off the street." The drag-racing competition kept Saeed Abdullah Saeed al Matroshe, 18, out of his car for one night. Normally after the nightly prayers during Ramadan, he and his friend race around Fujairah for an hour. "I like speed," he said.

To attract as many people as possible, the Maktoum Championships has not only opened to public participation, but also offered a wide variety of events to compete in, from serious to silly. They include chess matches in a closed-off room where the players can concentrate. "We keep it isolated because they need quiet," said Lubna Abdullah, a co-ordinator, pointing through glass doors at the competitors, hunched over boards. Also available every night have been fun games like team relays. Last Friday, four employees of the Fujairah Free Zone took turns circling around cones on kid-sized tricycles before leaping into the next stage, a three-legged race. Then they jumped into a pool, paddling in twos on floating lounge chairs to throw rings around a line of cones. Spectators laughed, and screamed when they got splashed with water. Some events were more macho, like arm-wrestling. Nearly 40 men, many wearing US football jerseys - and sporting football player-sized biceps - faced off two-by-two at a table. "I bench 130kg," said Barakat Abdullah, 23 and 77kg, who was competing in the lightweight class. "I'm just doing this for fun." @Email:chuang@thenational.ae