Registration for the recently announced Ford Focus Rabaa is now underway. For those of you not yet in the loop, the initiative is the first interactive inter-GCC rally tour of its kind and was launched at Dubai’s own Autodrome. Crankandpiston did eventually put in an appearance after a fairly circuitous route to the event…

…it was my first time doing the drive solo and I was as surprised as anybody when Sharjah appeared on the horizon.

In the new-for-2012 Ford Focus, participants will compete as teams and drive across the Gulf states to complete a number of challenges. For the Top Gear enthusiasts among you, these probably won’t include lapping the Nurburgring in a diesel Jaguar or presenting a drive time radio show.

Each of the six teams – representing Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE – will be headed by respective national captains. Bahrain National Football Team striker Ismaeel Abdulatif steps up as does Saudi Arabian Comedian Khaled Khalifa.

Challenges will commence at the Reem International Circuit in Saudi Arabia in late April and conclude at Dubai’s own Burj Khalifa, so don’t forget your Mission Impossible 4 soundtrack CDs. Oh, and for the curious souls among you, Rabaa roughly translates as ‘gang of friends’ in the Khaleeji dialect >>>