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Abu Dhabi: Two of the rising young stars in UAE rallying are to head to the UK for a week-long driving tutorial.
Majid Al Shamsi and Khalid Al Shaikh will spend a week with one of motor sports most up-and-coming stars - Ireland World Rally Team's Shaun Gallagher, who is currently second in the Junior World Rally Championship
The trip has been arranged through Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority's Junior Driver Development Programme (JDDP), which sees Al Shamsi and Al Shaikh as two of its most promising talents.
Competitive event
Following the tutorial, they will be put to the test in the Swansea Bay Rally on July 19, which will be their first competitive event outside of the Middle East Rally Championship (MERC).
The JDDP is a rally training initiative which has been designed to unearth the Emirate's next batch of four-wheeled, off-road superstars.
The chance to test their skills against some of Europe's best drivers is the latest step in the programme.
"This will be an exciting test for Majid and Khalid," said Ron Cremen, Team Manager for the JDDP.
Forest driving
"They both performed very well in the MERC round in Lebanon recently - their first round on asphalt - but competing in the Welsh forests around Swansea will be a completely new proposition for them. "However, Shaun's expertise should ease the transition.
"Shaun has years of experience in similar conditions after competing in the Irish Championship and JWRC so he'll give the guys a few pointers on how to handle the car in unfamiliar terrain," added Cremen.
The junior programme has two Ford Fiestas that it enters in the for MERC as well as UAE Championship events.
"The juniors were competing in Subarus last year, however, by switching to Fiestas, the programme can take advantage of Abu Dhabi's strong relationship with Ford Motor Company and the BP-Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team to ensure that JDDP recruits receive the best possible support and resources."
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