If you are an auto-racing fan and don’t know Mohammed Ben Sulayem, you should. He was won more regional championships sanctioned by the sport’s international governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, than any racer in history. He has won all 14 FIA Middle-East Rally Championships he has taken part in, never having been defeated. And, with his appointment last year as Vice President of the FIA, Sulayem became the first Arab to ever gain a place on the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council.

 

The last of these, perhaps, is most significant, because it signifies even more than Sulayem’s more than 50 major championship victories, the growth in status of the Arab world in the sport of auto racing. And, as a native of Dubai, Sulayem’s reputation has generated momentum for the largest of the seven United Arab Emirates.

 

Dubai’s racing history

 

New followers to the sport recognize the Dubai Autodrome as a significant piece of international racing. However, with the Autodrome having opened recently – in 2004 – some may wrongly conclude that Dubai is a newcomer to the racing landscape. That is hardly the case.

 

Sulayem is certainly the most prominent refuting example, having won his first event back in 1984. But the UAE Desert Challenge – now a prominent piece of the international rally racing circuit – is the most significant example of racing’s growth not only in Dubai, but in the UAE as a whole.

 

In 1991, the Desert Challenge began with 30 drivers challenged by the landscape of the Dubai deserts. The following year, Sulayem pleaded on the event’s behalf to have it placed in the World Cup for Cross Country Rallies.

 

With such notable support, FIA added the event to the Cup in 1993, and the formerly local and single-day event has now become a weeklong marathon race starting in Abu Dhabi and concluding in Dubai, representing the final round of the 2008 FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup.

 

Nasser al-Attiyah, who finished fifth in that first Cup event in 1993 is still going strong, having won the latest Desert Challenge at the end of October, becoming the first Arab to do so.

 

The race features all the top automakers in the world, with Mitsubishi Pajeros (a renamed version of the Montero) competing with Volkswagens, BMWs, and Nissans, and a mix of diesel and gas-powered engines. Also included were vastly modified vehicles, trucks with van-type bodies for aerodynamics and storage, giving virtually all participants an SUV feel.

The Autodrome

 

Of course, the most significant development in the evolution of racing in Dubai has been the MotorCity complex, home to the Dubai Autodrome. Sprawling across the MotorCity destination development, a pedestrian-focused multi-use environment offering business, entertainment and often residential features – Dubai Autodrome seats thousands around its FIA-sanctioned 5.39 km circuit, laid out in six possible configurations.

 

MotorCity itself is developed with the love of racing enthusiasts in mind, featuring a Race & Driving school as well as a Karting track. Having first hosted the final round of the 2004 Formula Renault V6 Eurocup season, as well as the December 2005 A1 Grand Prix and the FIA GT Championship from 2004 to 2006, the development serves not only as a renowned racing site but a haven for the business side of racing, offers manufacturers and racing teams a perfect location for testing, prototype development, vehicle demonstrations, product launches, driver training, and hot weather car research for international manufacturers.

 

Such a focused complex would not be possible were it not for the growth of racing’s popularity in Dubai and throughout the region. The Autodrome was actually built to compete with a world-class track on the nearby island microstate of Bahrain. Set in the middle of a desert, The Bahrain International Circuit has welcomed Formula One racing, V8 supercar racing and drag racing, and became the first Grand Prix track awarded the FIA’s Institute Centre of Excellence award, for safety and medical facilities and accompanying technology.

 

Street racing

 

Interestingly, the greatest example of the depth with which auto racing has gripped Dubai and the surrounding region is the rapid expansion of unsanctioned street racing in the area. As oil revenue floods the region, its large population of young adults is enjoying the spoils, and spending much of its on fancy cars accentuated with custom engines and other gear.

 

Young Saudis are known to drive souped-up – as if it were necessary – Lamborghinis and Porsches across the Saudi bridge to Bahrain, racing in Kuwait goes on in upscale neighborhoods (a far cry from the street racing scene in either Japan or the United States), and wealthy Arabs often ship their vehicles of choice to the Gulf during the summer months to take part in the spectacle as well.

 

On the streets of Dubai, such races began informally, young men cruising the city casting a knowing glance next to each other and speeding down the strip. Technology has changed the game now, rounds of drivers notified of setups days in advance via Internet of cell phone. Spectators are regulars, in on the preparations as well, receiving messages and spreading the word until in some cases hundreds gather.

 

And with the amount of money flowing to bolster their vehicles, there is certainly plenty flowing between participants and fans alike in the form of wagers, known to approach $25,000. But for the excitement and draw, there’s also a great deal of danger.

 

Unsanctioned but unchecked as well, the races are perilous. The Dubai Traffic Police have reported that more than 70 people between 18 and 25 were killed in accidents in 2005, more than double the number a decade prior. That number surpassed 100 a year later.

 

Around Dubai, police finally have begun to crack down on street racing after much public outcry. So, where drivers used to wheel up bumpers side by side on Jumeirah Beach Road – an highway expanse that cuts through the Emirate, they are now heading to more formal settings such as the Emirates Motorplex, set in the desert of Umm al Qaywayn, about an hour outside of Dubai.

The facility was funded by Sheik Marwan al-Mualla, who chairs the Emirates Motor Sports Federation. Look no further than the Motorplex for proof street racing is a fundamental – and widely approved – part of culture in the Emirates, as despite his professional standing, al-Mualla originally built the complex to engage in races with his friends. 

Now, as al-Mualla recently told The New York Times, he sees the facility as a safe haven for street racers. “We have safety here, paramedics, an ambulance, and we give out trophies to the winners, something they can’t get on the street.”

Looking ahead

At the heart, though, Dubai is hoping for a genuine prominence in the international world of auto racing. This, of course, is a process, and one not without obstacles.

For example, Dubai has approached the V8 Supercars touring category, based out of Australia, about expanding into the region. But the Australians’ reservation about the segment’s international presence, combined with Bahrain’s existing contract with the group through 2010, make Dubai a nonissue…for now.

“We haven’t made any strategic decisions about that, but that’s simply because we have got the current contract,” V8 Supercars Australia Chief Executive Officer Wayne Cattach said on the organization’s Web site recently.

“As we get closer (to the end of the contract) and we find out what the Bahrainis want we will then make a decision.”

For now, Dubai will focus on improving what it does have. Sulayem’s presence will help considerably, as he is now a central figure in the sport’s governance. For example, Sulayem’s input was considered vital in the recent mandate that F1 teams trim their budgets by 30 percent, slicing engine costs, in-season testing and staffing.

Publicizing its events is key, and showcases such as November’s The Dubai Motorsport Festival provide fans with a taste of top UAE National motorsports, boasting competitors across several racing classes in a family-oriented atmosphere blending education of the sport’s local history, opportunities to get involved current – such as at the training facility – and an outlook toward where the racing industry in Dubai is heading.

Speaking at the festival, Sulayem observed “The Dubai Autodrome is the seed that was planted several years ago and motorsport is growing rapidly in the region and particularly in the UAE. With this growth I believe we have to select proper championships for the competitors. I compare the number of competitors today to a couple of years and the growth has been immense…we have increased from under 100 licensed competitors to over 1300.”

Committedly, Sulayem concluded, “It is our duty to ensure that motorsport in the UAE receives the credibility it deserves.” 

 

LINKS USED

 

 

http://www.v8supercars.com.au/content/hero_news/june08/no_v8_racing_in_dubai_us_or_europe/

 

http://www.emsfuae.com/website/

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/13/automobiles/13DUBAI.html

 

http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:E0ipCt-V_NwJ:www.autoracingdaily.com/news/gp2-series/gp2-asia-series-kamui-kobayashi-takes-pole-in dubai/+auto+racing+dubai&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us

 

http://www.dubaiautodrome.com/general/content.aspx?id=3436

 

http://www.trucktrend.com/features/travel/163_0506_dubai/index.html

 

http://autos.canada.com/news/story.html?id=8959e2dd-8f95-4329-8c21-3ae6c786c580

By Gregg Henglein

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