Emirati motocross legend Mohammed Al Balooshi believes this summer’s Arenacross finals in Abu Dhabi will “create that spark” to inspire the next generation of UAE motorcycling talent.
Al Balooshi, 45, is a five-time Arab MX champion and three-time FIM Bajas world champion. He was also the first Emirati to compete in the Dakar Rally.
While still an active competitor, he devotes much of his time to mentoring aspiring riders at his MX Academy in Dubai, where young racers hone their skills and dream of making their mark at major international events.
Some of them will get the chance to do precisely that on July 5, when the Arenacross World Tour Finals come to Abu Dhabi for the first time.
The UAE debut of Arenacross – like motocross on steroids and indoors – further cements Yas Island’s status as a global motorsports hub. It also offers UAE talent the chance to shine, with a competition for local riders set to open the show at Etihad Arena.
“[For local riders] to get a platform on such a big stage like this, I think this is the icing on the cake,” said Al Balooshi.
“And I think from here the future is bright for the upcoming riders and for the representatives of the UAE in future competitions.”
Al Balooshi’s academy was founded in 2011 for riders of all levels but with the ultimate aim to “bring up world champions”. He feels the opportunity for his pupils to compete in front of a packed Etihad Arena amid the adrenalin-soaked glamour of Arenacross will provide the perfect incentive for those serious about a full-time career in the sport.
“We started the academy in 2011 to give back to the community, to introduce the sport and to reach as many people as possible,” he said. “New clients and new members of the sport, to teach the basic foundations of riding. How to ride safe and how to be safe on the bike because this is such a beautiful sport... It's really a lot of hard work on the body and mind. So, yeah, we started this as our future plan to introduce [the sport] and hopefully to bring up world champions from this academy.
“This is the first time Arenacross is coming [to the UAE], our members are participating in the side event. So, this is their first introduction to this. I'm sure this will create that spark, that fire they need to pursue their career. Because we all need that moment. I believe this will be that moment, where they can take off.”
Al Balooshi describes the UAE as a nation of “petrolheads”, and his career has spanned vast progress across many disciplines of motorsport.
Racing in dirt cars and motorcycles through the open desert is deeply embedded in Emirati culture since the early 1970s which in turn helped establish the UAE as a hot spot for desert rallies such as the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and the Dubai International Baja. Etihad Arena was also the venue for the FIM World Supercross Championships in 2023 and 2024.
“The culture here, before motocross, is off-road. You see around, we have the most beautiful desert in the whole world,” Al Balooshi explained. “So, to do any activity with the automotive industry is the best, because you bring the best of the best to come and race and put a good show where you can introduce a new event for people get to know what this sport is all about.
“The sport has been here since the early 1970s but now finally we see the big growth is coming in and a lot more. In the past 25 years of my career I've seen it growing every year, every five, ten, growing more and more.
“All of us here are petrolheads and we all love our bikes and cars … so it was a cultural thing and then soon we found, oh, you can race them. There is like a controlled environment where you can race and be safe and enjoy.
“The Arenacross is the next step, reaching the next level. I'm a very happy and proud Emirati to see the sport has grown to this point, and this is the best thing that happened to motorsports.”
As a young man, Al Balooshi grew up trying to emulate Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the incumbent FIA president and one of the most successful rally drivers in the Middle East with 14 championship titles.
“For me and for many of us in the sport, he was our hero at the time,” Al Balooshi said of Ben Sulayem. “Everyone at that time, including me, wanted to be like him. However, I didn't go towards the cars but took a liking to bikes.
“When I started the sport, we had only local races. Now we have two major international races – the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and the Dubai International Baja.”
Matt Bates, CEO and founder of Arenacross, is excited to bring the event outside of the United Kingdom for the first time since it was launched in 2013.
A former rider himself, Bates said to stage the season-ending championship race in Abu Dhabi was a breakthrough for the sport.
“Motocross is a sport that's been around a long time and we, many years ago, kind of perfected the art of putting motocross indoors and choreographing a performance and a show,” he said.
“What people can expect are some of the world's best motocross racers competing in an end of season championship, no different to any sport, any motorsport.
“But then what we wrap around that are the performances of freestyle motocross which is bikes backflipping and doing all sorts of tricks.
“We also then put the young kids that are the up and coming future of the sport, not just the sport of motocross but motorsports enthusiasts, and we train them to take part through an academy working with people like Mohammed Al Balooshi in putting the right riders forward and then they also compete in the event.”
Lining up for the championship event are the UK’s Dean Wilson, the current Arenacross championship leader, and compatriots Tommy Searle and Jack Brunell, the 2023 and 2024 Arenacross champions, respectively. Challenging them are French riders Cedric Soubeyras, Thomas Ramette and Adrien Escoffier, to name just a few.
Tickets are available from www.etihadarena.ae.
