FIA Vice President shocked to see no Emirati drivers in Qatar Rally line-up and warns lack of support undermines effort to revive the sport
FIA Vice President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has warned that UAE drivers risk undermining efforts to revive rallying in the region if they do not support the FIA Middle East Championship.
Sulayem spoke today of his shock on discovering that the entry list for the Qatar International Rally, which launches the 2012 FIA Middle East series this weekend, does not contain a single Emirati driver.
“I was so surprised and disappointed,” said the 14-times former FIA Middle East champion, whose record-breaking career included nine victories in Qatar between 1988 and his last season in competitive rallying in 2002.
“It’s the first time I can ever remember this happening, and it shocked and upset me. The Qatar Rally was one of the events which gave birth to motor sport in this part of the world, and the organisers do so much to help visiting drivers by offering generous assistance packages.”
Sulayem flew to Doha this weekend to lend his support to the Qatar Motor and Motor Cycle Federation (QMMF) at the start of the 28th FIA Middle East Rally Championship, and he urged UAE drivers, and competitors from across the region to embrace the series and prevent it from becoming the forgotten arm of regional motor sport.
“Rallying was the start of motor sport in this part of the world back in the 1970s,” he said. “For 25 years or more there was nothing else. It has been the pillar of motor sport here for so long. It’s part of our culture, and we have to protect it.
“Motorsport has developed tremendously in recent years. We now have a vast range of events, from Formula One down, and rallying has fallen behind. But rallying is where it all began and the Middle East Championship has played such an important part in growing the sport’s popularity.
“It needs and deserves the support of rally drivers from the UAE, and across the region. It’s a fantastic championship with a great history. It’s something that today’s drivers should embrace, and do what they can to attract the next generation of rally drivers in the Middle East.”
Sulayem says Qatar’s current FIA Middle East champion Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah, top seed this weekend, should inspire young Arab drivers with his achievements. “Nasser learnt his trade in the Middle East Championship and went on to win the Dakar Rally last year to prove himself to be one of the world’s best,” he said. “Young Arab drivers must be encouraged to follow the same path.”
Sulayem pinpointed the FIA Middle East Rally Championship as a key element in the growth of motorsport in the region in a special report in 2010. Outlining proposals designed to take Middle East motorsport to the next level, the strategy document “Driving Motorsport Forward Together” was compiled by Sulayem based on months of intensive research.
A new strategy outlined in the report centred on closer collaboration between national motorsport authorities (ASNs) and clubs and a commitment to work together, under the overall guidance of the FIA, to pursue common goals. Since then, as FIA Vice President, Sulayem has taken a lead role in encouraging the organisers of the events that make up the Middle East Championship to work together for the good of the championship, and rallying in general.
