by John
QATAR TO HOST FORMULA ONE RACE?
Following a visit by Jean Todt, President of the FIA (and former team boss of Ferrari during the Schumacher era), Qatar has a possibility of hosting a Formula One Grand Prix Race - but not for some time. As M. Todt explained at the time of his visit, there are already races in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi.
Other Motor Sport Competitions Possible.
The FIA also controls the World Rally Championship, the FIA Touring Car Championship and the FIA GT Championship and a round of one or more of these competitions could come to Qatar - and lets face it - these are actually more exciting to watch than F1 although they may lack some of its glamour and prestige.
Upgrading Losail Circuit.
Qatar Motor and Motorcycling Federation President, Nasser bin Khalifa al-Attiyah said that improvement work was being carried out at Losail Circuit to bring it up to F1 standards, with safety being the prime concern.
F1 Testing at Losail Circuit.
Following completion of the current work and subsequent evaluation by the safety commisioner, Losail could be licensed for official F1 Testing. Following the disruption of testing in Spain due to rain, this could prove to be a winner. According to al-Attiyah, "after that we will be ready to be part of the F1 circuit".
Bahrain"not a white elephant".
Sheikh Abdulla al-Khalifa, President of Bahrain Motor Federation, who was also present at the meeting, dismissed claims that the Bahrain track was only used for the F1 race. He said 512 events were held there annually, both private and official.
GCC seeks more power.
Al-Khalifa also said "Finally the region has a great representation in motor sports and it's high time we played a role in the decision making process".
Get the Qatar name out there.
If Qatar really wishes to play a part in the upper eschelons of motor sport, it must get its name known and the best way to do this is sponsership. Already, other Gulf names have appeared on F1 cars and Abu Dhabi is sponsoring a WRC team and their name is very prominant on the car.
Come on Qatar!
So come on Qatar, what are you waiting for? You've got plenty of money, you are not the best known Gulf State and this exposure would assist your bids for other sporting events. If you need a global marketing executive - I'm available!
Also see: Williams in Qatar
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