Special stage to add charm

DUBAI // The UAE Desert Challenge will sport a new look with a super special spectator stage promising some dramatic action near the Jebel Ali golf resort. Rally enthusiasts will today have a grandstand view as the powerful line-up of 122 cars, bikes, quads and trucks roar away on the newly created 2km super stage stage. The super stage will serve the appetiser for the six-day, 2,197-km event, covering some of the toughest desert terrain. No Arab driver has won the title and Qatar's Middle East Rally champion, Nasser al Attiyah, wants to change that.

Attiyah starts favourite in his new BMW X3 as he tries to make the most of the absence of the three drivers ahead of him and climb from his fourth place. The World Cup production class title will be decided in a battle between two Nissan Patrols with Kazakhstan's Artur Ardavichus holding a four-point lead over the Russian Andrey Ivanov. [e-mail]