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   Wednesday, 07 January 2009
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Officials say recognition is felt
by Arab motor sport community
MOHAMMED Ben Sulayem has been receiving
tributes and messages of congratulations from across the Middle East
after becoming the first Arab to be elected to the FIA World Motor
Sport Council.
Sulayem, President of the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE and
the Arab world’s most successful rally driver, was named as Vice
President of the FIA for Sport by the HYPERLINK
"http://search.com.com/reference/Fédération_Internationale_de_l'Automobile"
\o "Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile" Fédération
Internationale de l'Automobile at the recent FIA General Assembly in
Paris recently.
Soon after his appointment, Sulayem was invited to the Al Bateen Palace
in Abu Dhabi to receive the personal congratulations of UAE President
HH Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Sulayem’s appointment produced sports headlines across the Middle East,
and he has been inundated with requests for media interviews, while
tributes and congratulatory messages have poured in from regional motor
sport officials.
HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein, Chairman of Jordan Motorsport, said:
"Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been a close friend of Jordan ever since his
first rally victory here all those years ago (1984).
“We were also delighted for Mohammed to become an ambassador for our
WRC bid and he played a key role in us becoming the region's first
round earlier this year. On behalf of the Jordan motor sport community,
I would like to thank Mohammed for all his efforts and hard work and
congratulate him on this deserved appointment."
In a joint message, Jacques Salha, Vice President of the Automobile and
Touring Club of Lebanon and Director of ASN, Gaby Kreiker, said
Sulayem’s success as a rally driver had made him the pride of the
Middle East, and congratulated him on his FIA appointment “for what you
have earned and for what you deserve.”
In a letter to Sulayem, Brigadier Salim Ali Khalifa Al-Maskiry,
Director of the Oman Automobile Association, said: “We can be proud
while considering that you are the first person from the Arab region to
hold this prestigious post in more than 100 years of history of the
FIA. The admiration for your achievement is felt by all of us within
the Association, and within the motorsport community of the Arab World.”
In another congratulatory letter, Eng. Misha’al Bin Fahed Al Sudeiri,
President of the Saudi Arabian Automobile and Touring Association, told
Sulayem his FIA appointment “comes as a reward to your continuous
excellence in motor sport.”
Regional press reports said the FIA appointment underlined Sulayem’s
status as the leading motor sport figure in the Middle East, and
recognised the influential role he has played in taking world
championship motor sport to the region.
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THE BMW Driving Skills Challenge organized by the Emirates Motor Sports Federation got underway on the sidelines of the 9th International Motor Show 2008 at Expo Centre Sharjah on November 18.
The debut of the five-day event saw 28 competitors of various nationalities negotiate a BMW through a specially set up track in the car park located next to Gate No. 3 of Expo Centre Sharjah.
Khalil Mohammed Khalil, Alaa Said Rahrough and Yasser Ahmed Mohammed walked off with the first, second and third prize with times of 26.01 seconds, 26.91 seconds and 27.06 seconds respectively.
The winners received a trophy and Certina watch each while all participants received a certificate.
The challenge, sponsored by BMW, tests the driving skills of participants and highlights the importance of abiding by traffic rules and regulations.
The driving skills challenge is being held daily from 5pm to 10pm until November 22, the last day of the automobile show.
Pirelli, Certina and Mobil 1 are the other co-sponsors of the challenge.
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