February 1, 2015 – Sheikh Khalid bin Faisal Al Qassimi is gearing up for the Qatar International Rally from 5 to 7, the opening round of the 2015 Middle East Rally Championship (MERC), where he will be at the wheel of the Abu Dhabi Racing Citroën DS 3 RRC – featuring an all new livery – alongside veteran Co-Driver Chris Patterson.
Al Qassimi and Patterson are targeting top honours in the Qatar International Rally, run over 13 challenging stages over 263.27 km. Last year the pair finished third in the same event, but the goal this year is to be competitive even more as they debut a special new livery under the Abu Dhabi banner.
However it was decided not to enter the highly rated Abu Dhabi Racing junior drivers in the Qatar International Rally, as Al Qassimi, explained, “We at Abu Dhabi Racing will choose the best rallies for our junior drivers to participate in and those that will be beneficial for them.”
Sheikh Khalid bin Faisal Al Qassimi, who chairs the Abu Dhabi Racing Company, also announced his participation in the World Rally Championship (WRC) with the Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team. His schedule for his 2015 WRC campaign is: Rally Argentina (April 23 to 26), Portugal (May 21 to 24), Sardinia (June 11 to 14), Finland (July 30-August 2), and Spain (October 22 to 25).
