Umm Al Quwain: Rallying legend Nasser Al Attiyah hailed the Emirates Motorplex’s growing importance as a motorsport venue after it hosted the first Shaikh Marwan Bin Rashid Al Mualla Autocross championship last week.
Some top competitors from the European Autocross Championship took part in the FIA-backed event, which saw drivers compete on the Umm Al Quwain venue’s 1,100-metre sandy track.
Shaikh Marwan, Chairman of Emirates Motor Sports Federation (EMSF), also invited Qatari eight-time Middle East Rally champion Al Attiyah to witness the action.
Afterwards, FIA Vice President Al Attiyah thanked General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, for his role in supporting the youth and sport in the UAE.
“His Highness offered all facilities to support the UAE’s motor and auto bike sports in order to set the UAE at the front row of world countries interested in this sport,” he said.
“We are here today specifically in Umm Al Quwain upon an invitation from Shaikh Marwan to attend the events of this trial autocross championship, as it’s considered the first of its kind in the region. Such races are organised in Europe and are widely popular, but it is new here in the Gulf.
“So I take this opportunity to mention the positive role played by Shaikh Marwan through hosting this championship, which is considered a positive indicator. We arrange to cooperate together and to set a fixed mechanism with Emirates Motorplex’s management, headed by Shaikh Marwan, in order to find a base for inserting this championship into MENA’s international championships.”
Shaikh Marwan thanked Al Attiyah for attending the championship.
