Emirati motocross champion and Red Bull Athlete Mohammed Balooshi will participate in the final round of the World Cup for Short Desert Rally in Dubai between the 1st and 3rd of December, after winning the motorcycle category title in the semi-finals of the Saudi Baja.
Balooshi is participating in the motorcycle category on a KTM bike, and has accumulated 50 points so far. The titles of the participating categories will be decided in the final round hosted by Dubai, where the Emirati champion hopes to dominate his category in his homeland. Balooshi leads the rankings by a single point over two of his competitors in this tournament, Portugal’s Fabio Magalhaes and Poland’s Konrad Dabrowski.
Balooshi has said that motorcycle sport has “undergone significant adjustments since the COVID-19 pandemic. Before, the International Motorcycle Federation required a number of different Baja tours in Europe and the Middle East, but now conditions have changed and the winner of the final two rounds was selected. But the sport is still as interesting as it has always been.”
Speaking of his preferred sport, Balooshi added: “Motorcycling has become one of the sports that receives remarkable attention from the wise leadership of the UAE, as well as the interest of a number of countries in the Arab world, especially since the nature of the landscape of these countries is rich in desert and mountainous areas that are suitable for hosting international rallies.”
Balooshi is one of the pioneers of motocross racing in the UAE and has won numerous races all over the world. His most remarkable victory was earning first place in the 2018 FIM Bajas World Cup in the Spanish town of Baja. He was named “Athlete of the Year” that same year by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Balooshi owns the MX Academy, the biggest motorcross and enduro school in the area, and has won the MX Middle East title multiple times.
