No sponsor for 2012 Qatar Rally champion al-Kuwari

There are no sponsors for 2012 Qatar Rally champion Abdulaziz al-Kuwari (top), who is racing in a Ford Fiesta in the rally's 2014 edition.

By Mikhil Bhat/Doha

Car number 3, participating in the Qatar International Rally that began yesterday, is plain white in colour. And that, in motorsport, is a huge problem.

The Ford Fiesta, which only sports a few badges here and there, is what the 2012 champion Abdulaziz al-Kuwari is racing in the opening leg of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship.

In 2012, al-Kuwari became the first driver since Sebastien Ogier in Mexico in March 2008 to score points on their debut outing in the WRC when he finished 10th on the Acropolis Rally in Greece last week.

This was when al-Kuwari was driving for Seashore Qatar Rally Team in a Mini John Cooper Works WRC car.

Ogier is the 2013 WRC champion.

Al-Kuwari had a big World Rally Championship (WRC) season in 2013. With little experience at the world level, he won three WRC-2 rallies—Mexico, Argentina and Australia—finishing second behind former Formula One driver Robert Kubica in the final season standings.

He has won the Qatar National Rally Championship thrice—2010, 2011 and 2012. Now, though, the 34-year-old is coming off a four-month forced hiatus away from rallying thanks to lack of sponsorship.

“Honestly, it is a big shame after all that I did in 2013. Honestly, if I go back to 2013, I will never expect it again. I won three rallies in the world championship. I had very limited experience,” al-Kuwari told Gulf Times yesterday on the sidelines of a pre-Qatar International Rally press conference at the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) headquarters.

“I have made a lot of efforts. I have a lot of promises that I will get sponsorship. But I don’t know because the time is running out. If I miss Qatar rally, I will miss Kuwait also.

“Mexico is starting in 15 days time. I am in the entry list but I don’t know if I will do it because the time is really short. We have to ship the car from UK to Mexico; it is a long distance. And I might also miss Portugal, where I raced last year. The entry is closing in two weeks. I am losing time, something will have to work out quickly,” he added.

Abdulaziz is the son of Saadon al-Kuwari, also a former rally driver, and said that his father supported him financially not because he is his son but because he wants to see him raise the Qatar flag wherever he wins.

“I am really lucky to be the son of an ex-rally driver. If he didn’t have the knowledge about the sport, if he didn’t love this sport, he will not pay from his pocket,” al-Kuwari said. “But honestly, his first aim is Qatar. For him, I am a son of Qatar, not only Saadon’s. This is the first reason he sponsors me.

“And then there is me. If somebody tells me to stay at home, that is the easy way out. I have to give back Qatar something. I have to drive.

“I have showed many times in the past and I will show many times in the future. I would like to thank my father very much. And also some brothers and friends, who don’t want to be named but it is because of their help that I am racing. They say if you raise Qatar’s flag, it is for us.”

Despite all the palpable frustration and desperation, al-Kuwari, often breaking into a smile, kept repeating: “I am confident”, “something will come to me”, “I will get something soon”.

“I never gave up,” he added, when asked if he ever thought of giving up the sport due to lack of sponsorship. “I have been racing for 11 years now. I have faced more difficult situations than I am in now. But I never gave up.

“I know that one day the truth will come out and hope it happens soon. I know I am a good driver and can represent Qatar in a good way and with good results. I raised my country’s flag in three different countries last year. I hope this will be my last rally without a sponsor. I will get something soon.”

Al-Kuwari also spoke about how the Minister of Sport and Youth was also hopeful that he will get a sponsorship soon.

“He promised me and said, ‘you will surely get something. We know what you did for Qatar, and what you did in the world championship last year and in the Middle East.’ He promised me but it will take some time. I just hope it is not too long. But I would like to thank the Minister of Sport and Youth. I am sure, he will do something,” al-Kuwari added.

The Ford Fiesta, on which the 34-year-old will be racing, has been sourced from Motortune Racing, run by multiple-time Lebanese rally champion Roger Feghali.

“I am fit. I would like to thank Aspire Zone to prepare me for the second year now with a fitness coach, using all their facilities. The car is white right now, which is a shame, but I hope it is my lucky car. We did some testing yesterday. I won the championship in 2012. I am really proud of that. I hope I can do it again and ensure the trophy remains in Qatar,” he signed off.