Dubai: The Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE (ATCUAE) has called for a grading of various sporting disciplines by the government so that the UAE can move forward in producing young and new champions.

Speaking at the official launch of the new season’s motorsport calendar, Mohammad Bin Sulayem, President of the ATCUAE and former FIA Vice-President, stressed there is no alternative to government support in discovering new sporting champions.

The new motorsport season that was announced in the presence of Khalid Eisa Al Midfa, Assistant General Secretary, General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare (GAYSW), has promised a substantial expansion in activities for the new campaign, starting with the SWS Sprint Races on September 7.

Bin Sulayem, the 15-time Middle East Rally Champion, recognised the growing support for various sports in the country.

“More than 20 years back, I achieved everything mostly on my own. But at the moment, the government has been investing a lot in various sports and that can only be good for all of us,” Bin Sulayem said.

“Perhaps, the government needs to see the returns on investment in various sports. Football is untouchable and next comes horse racing. But we could do well with grading the rest of the sports that get government backing to see what sort of returns are there. For example, cricket has a huge following in the sub-continent, but the Emiratis are yet to embrace this sport,” he added.

Big investments

“What we need is to have champions, and then the rest will automatically follow. All sport is government-driven and the government is investing a lot in having these champions. We need to have local talent coming through, and after that it is left to the fans to support the sport.”

The UAE Motorsport season will get under way with the SWS Sprint Races on September 7 and the season finale on April 29-30 at the Dubai Kartdrome. The highlight of the year will be the ever-popular Hankook 24-Hour race on January 14-16 along with featured events such as the Porsche Cup Middle East, UAE Superbikes, Radical Cup Middle East, NGK Racing Series, Formula Gulf 1000 and the India-based MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship making its debut.

Headlined by the UAE Rotax Max Challenge — the National Karting Championship organised by Al Ain Raceway — the new motorsport season has been characterised by the growing popularity of karting, an expansion of the national Baja Rally Series and a strong line-up of international circuit racing events.

“The continued success of the UAE Rotax Max Challenge is seen as key to the future of motorsport in the UAE. We need fresh young talent that will start through at entry level and rise through the higher levels towards Grand Prix racing one day,” Guy Sheffield from the Al Ain Raceway, added.