It’s been a memorable four months for UAE’s amateur motorsport star Ahmed Al Fahim. After claiming top honours with the cars and buggies titles in the UAE Desert Championship in February, the 34-year-old followed it up with victory in the Racing ‘N’ category in the 24th Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.
The Emirati, who has also ridden jet skis and quad bikes tells Denzil Pinto about his career, goals and the challenges he faces while holding down a full-time job with the Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC).
At what age did you get into sports?
The first race I competed in, I finished third in 1994, so it was a good start. Then I did jet-skiing in 1995 and concentrated on this until 1998.
What made you take part in jet-skiing?
When I was young, I lived in a house that was close to the beach. And I had a lot of my friends do jet-skiing for leisure purposes.
My brother bought his first jet ski and he decided to enter a race and I used to take it out for a ride and he saw how confident I was and he told me ‘why don’t you enter the race instead’.
I came second in that race in Dubai which was a regional race. Then there was an opportunity to enter the world championship qualifiers but I was unable to take part as they said I didn’t meet the entry requirements.
So how did you eventually make the move into motorsport?
I was always interested in car rallying and I enjoyed how people drove. I started in 2005 but because I didn’t have much financial support I stopped. Now I’m financially better off and that’s why I decided to come back.
Are there a lot of differences between jet-skiing and rally driving?
Of course there is some difference. If you know how to handle speed and have the ability to overcome any obstacle in front of you then I think you have some qualities. And I think I have them. I love racing and competing.
There’s a lot of different skills you have to learn as each sport is different.
Do you prefer jet-skiing or motorsport?
I enjoy jet-skiing a lot but now my lifestyle doesn’t allow me to do it a lot because I’m working full-time and have to support my family.
I also live far away from the beach and my working hours are until 6pm so I don’t have time to jet ski because it will be dark when I get there.
In motorsport, it requires a lot of physical work. I would say it’s a lot riskier than other sports. But now I have a family and kids, I have to be careful in what I do as I don’t have any backing from sponsors the only income I get is through my job.
You have no sponsorship or backing. How tough is this?
I’m working now with a couple of companies to build my profile to find the support from them to continue. I am looking for them to take me to the next level and racing as a professional. I want to do all the regional and international championships.
Do you find it difficult to combine your full-time job and being a part-time athelte?
It is difficult and stressful especially when I have a family to support as well as a job with big responsibilities. At the end of the day I want to do what I enjoy doing and I want to race. I always try my best to make time for it.
You won the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and two titles in the UAE Desert Championship. How did it feel to win the two competitions? Finishing the (Desert) Challenge in itself was an achievement. Winning it was even better. For me it was a bigger achievement especially as the car was new and I didn’t have enough time to test it.
The UAE Desert was really special as well (winning the overall cars and buggies titles).
Is there one championship that you will always remember?
I will always remember the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in 2014 because it was a very challenging race in the Racing category ‘N’ (national). The special stages were around 300km in the desert and crossing very steep dunes which were very tricky.
What’s your training regime?
The most important part of training is keeping your concentration levels high. Obviously we keep training every day and every now and then.
I used to have my own regime on the jet ski on the sea and have my own different one for motorsport. We have to do a lot of physical exercise and I do a lot of time in the gym, cycling, weight lifting, running.
The most important thing is to win the sport itself. It’s all about keep practising in order to become better.
