Motorsport is the driving force behind Abu Dhabi's dream

A crack, a spit, the sound of the ground being torn up beneath it.

It is alien to the noises that usually eminate from these pristine, snow-laden surroundings.

As it gets closer, small groups of people become visible, emerging from behind the towering spruces. Some have cow bells that they ring with vigour, others blow horns, while yet more call out words of encouragement. All of a sudden the object of their attention emerges from out of the shadows.

Sliding around a bend, tyres grabbing at the icy road surface for grip, comes 300-brake horsepower of snarling machinery.

The World Rally Championship has returned to Scandinavia.

Over the next 11 months, the circus will criss-cross the globe taking in places as diverse as Jordan, Japan, Turkey and Great Britain.

For now, though, we are in Sweden, home of the championships only snow rally and I am here as a guest of the Arab state of Abu Dhabi.

It is not the most obvious of locations to meet with its tourism chief, admittedly, but there is method to this apparent madness.

Dubai's oil rich neighbour is in the midst of a major promotional push, targeting affluent westerners, in particular the British, and motorsport has been earmarked as one way, along with culture and the arts, of attracting the masses.

Anyone who witnessed the climax to last season's Formula One Championship will have realised that Emiratis do not do things by half, the word spectacular really doesn't do the Yas Marina circuit justice.

In addition, the state has sponsored the BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally team since 2007 and last year came within a single point of taking the drivers' title when Mikko Hirvonen was pipped to glory by the all-conquering Frenchman Sebastien Loeb.

Later this year Rally Abu Dhabi will showcase what the state has to offer in organisational terms, with the aim of being included on the WRC calendar in 2011.

For now though, all eyes are on the twisting, frozen roads of the Varmland province of Sweden, about three hours drive from Stockholm.

Abu Dhabi's involvement here is not solely limited to sponsorship. Behind the wheel of one of its three Ford Focus is Sheikh Khaled Al Qassimi.

More at home on the dusty roads of his homeland, he has nonetheless proven his ability here before, registering the longest jump in 2007 at the famous Colins Crest - named after the late Colin McRae.

Like many of his fellow Emiratis, Sheikh Khaled is fascinated with everything car related.

"It's like when you go to a lady and say why are you obsessed with bags or shoes? She cannot give you an answer. She will say 'imagine me without a bag or a nice pair of shoes'. It's part of me and I love it," says the Sheikh, who counts a Bugatti Veyron, among other supercars, as his everyday transport when back home.

Like many in the treacherous conditions, Sheikh Khaled had an eventful time in the forests, having to be extricated from a ditch by spectators after straying slightly off line on one occasion.

"They just told me to sit where I was and lifted the car back onto the road," he said.

For the Sheikh, who eventually finished 13th, with his team-mates Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala first and third respectively, being part of the World Rally Championship is not just about the driving.

It is also about the exposure - he is in essence a travelling salesman, extolling the virtues of his homeland at every opportunity.

He says he wants Abu Dhabi to become a hub for international motorsport.

"People now know more about Abu Dhabi," he said. "A lot of people ask about it and I have had a lot of people visit from the World Championship, drivers, people from the media or organisers, all because they know we are participating in the World Championship, before that they would not think of it."

In Sweden, the Sheikh is also accompanied by Ahmed Hussein, deputy director of the Abu Dhabi Tourist Authority.

Sweeping over the trees as we follow the rallys progress by helicopter, he says spreading the word is just as important as one of his drivers winning the world championship.

"Actually, the two are to some extent inter-linked. Of course we would like to have a world champion under Abu Dhabi's sponsorship because it would certainly help spread word of the emirate around the world," he said. "However, there are many other reasons we are involved in the BP Ford Abu Dhabi initiative. We have extensive motorsport ambitions in Abu Dhabi where the local population are avid fans of the sport.

"We have the right credentials - as you've seen from our highly successful hosting of the 2009 F1 season closer at Yas Marina Circuit - and there's more to come with our 2010 WRC candidature event Rally Abu Dhabi.

"We are also looking to aspire our own youth to take up the sport and succeed - and certainly if, one day in the future, we have a young Emirati on the championship podium - we really will have succeeded."

Thigh-deep in snow and standing just yards from the drivers as they hare through a countryside populated by wolves and elk, Mr Hussein is clearly in his element.

"I am a true Emirati I suppose - I like fast cars and the thrill of driving," he says. "It is not just for the fun - I love the technology that goes into producing a precision-built vehicle of excellence and follow all advancements in the sport.

"Motorsport, as with other sports, brings people of all nations together and I love that aspect of it - meeting people from other cultures - learning from them and passing on information about our own culture."

Sweden's terrain is spectacular - huge swathes of woodland, frozen lakes, jaw-dropping topography - all enveloped by temperatures which reached as low as minus 22 degrees while we were there.

Abu Dhabi, where temperatures can be just as inhospitable, though at the other end of the scale, is equally fortunate in environmental terms.

"I suppose we are blessed in Abu Dhabi that we have fantastic terrain on which to test cars and push them to their limits - there's a real buzz of driving through desert and tackling enormous dunes that look like they can't be surmounted - I suppose that's where our involvement and love for rallying springs from," Mr Hussein said.

As we talk spectators of all nationalities huddle around fires constructed from the nearby trees, drinking homebrews containing dizzying amounts of alcohol. As the engine noise reaches a crescendo they turn to face the action before returning to their conversations, often conducted in English.

Culturally, things might be a little different in Abu Dhabi, but Mr Hussein is confident an event there will be just as well organised and just as popular as it is in Sweden.

"Expect the very best - because that's what we intend to deliver," he said. "World-class delivery is a hallmark of Abu Dhabi now and influences every area in which we operate - Rally Abu Dhabi will be no exception.

"Whether it's the terrain, the competitors, the route, the hospitality - all will be executed in a manner to leave a highly favourable lasting impression."

As quickly as they came, the world's best drivers depart the forests, leaving them tranquil and peaceful, an eerie silence once again encasing the vast wilderness.

Next stop, Mexico and one day, no doubt, Abu Dhabi.

MATT Westcott travelled to connect with his flight by East Coast train to Newcastle, connecting with the Tyne and Wear Metro to reach Newcastle airport. Through tickets, to and from the airport, are available. Book via www.eastcoast.co.uk, call 08457 225225 or visit any staffed rail station.