By Sports Reporter/Doha
Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) has a range of plans for the coming season, including building a karting track and looking at means and ways to bring Formula 1 to Qatar, president Nasser Khalifa al-Attiyah has said.
Al-Attiyah, who is also the FIA vice president for MENA Sport, was talking after Australian Alex Cudlin won his fourth straight Qatar SuperBike Championship title at the Losail International Circuit on Saturday night.
Al-Attiyah was excited about hosting the FIA General Assembly and the Award Gala in Doha in December 2014. “It will be the first time that it takes place in the Mena region. We are preparing for it. With more than 150 countries between sport and mobility, and the top drivers for F1, WRC, etc. attending the event, it will be a massive challenge for Qatar. We won the bid against five other countries. This is a big success for QMMF,” he said.
With QMMF hoping to making inroads into the F1 bandwagon, the general assembly meeting will offer a good opportunity for the federation to get in touch with the who’s who of the event, with all the teams and drivers expected to attend.
Al-Attiyah also mentioned building a new karting track as part of the motocross facility that has been created at the Losail circuit. The opening round of the FIM World Motocross Championship has been hosted at the facility for two straight years.
“We are in the process to build a new karting track and for sure we are also thinking about F1 for the future. There is a lot of potential in various areas to make Qatar the heart of motorsport in the Middle East,” he said.
The FIM vice president is also keen on getting QMMF team riders — Cudlin, Nina Prinz, Mishal al-Naimi and Saeed al-Sulaiti — wild cards to race in Moto2 races.
Al-Attiyah, who is due to finish his term as the FIM vice president at the end of year, said he will decide in the coming weeks whether to run for the post again.
Talking about the Middle East Rally Championship (MERC), he said, “In October, Iran and Oman will bid for a spot on the 2015 calendar. Also, Abu Dhabi is contemplating to join the calendar too. Increasing the calendar from six to nine rounds will be a big achievement in my position in the FIA.”
Nasser Khalifa al-Attiyah
