During the Automobile and Touring Club Lebanon’s annual end-of-year dinner, we sat down with Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah to discuss several topics, including his new position as FIA Vice President of Sport and his future plans for motorsport in the region.
Nasser, congratulations for being appointed FIA Vice President for Sport, it’s a proud moment for the Middle East region. We had Mohammed Bin Sulayem in that position in previous years, and now it’s your turn. After experiencing the same position in the FIM, how is it in the FIA?
Thank God for the new position, which I now occupy in both FIM and FIA. Big thanks to Mohammed Bin Sulayem for his past contributions. Of course, our ambitions and challenges are bigger now. We hope the Middle East and North Africa region will have a bigger impact internationally. We used to see a lot of international drivers and big names; we lost the European and female presence and we want to improve in that area. Lebanon will have a big role to play since the country has the largest fanbase in the Middle East.
I would like to thank Imad Lahoud for the invitation and honoring; Lebanon is the first country to honor me and it’s the first country I visit after taking on the position. There is no doubt that this country has great drivers from whom we’ve learned, and it is our goal to develop further projects with the ATCL. Also, by virtue of the two positions I currently hold, I wanted an agreement between the ATCL and the LMC (Lebanese Motorcycles Club), which is lead by Ali Dagher who I congratulate for being elected the FIM Asia Vice President, this shows that Lebanese officials have the ambition and practicality. A lot of Lebanese personalities are part of several FIM and FIA commissions, they have the experience, and we hope that political and security tensions smooth down in the country. Sport is the only way to solve these issues and any other problems in the world; it is a cure for the brain and a cure for anything.
You have developed a strong relationship with most Arab clubs, we’ve already seen you with Prince Sultan, the Jordanian club and Lebanese club; do you think this support from Arab clubs helps you feel more comfortable in your new position and does it give you a bigger responsibility?
Of course, one cannot do things on his own; we need everyone’s help to make things successful and we need better ways of thinking to improve education and organizational skills. There have been changes in the ATCL with Imad Lahoud; I sat down with him in France, and to be honest, I felt he had a lot of ambitions because he wants to prove that he can manage the sport. Motorsport is hard to handle because it is connected to international organizations; we need to enhance logistics, such as taxes, borders and airports in order to develop this sport.
Lebanon has the adequate knowledge and I think, with Imad Lahoud, motorsport will prosper. I remember when we started rallying, we had the ambition to become champions and the ambition to manage the sport; however, these things don’t come without a lot of work. I hope we can see Lebanon an international stop and I will strongly represent the country in the FIA and I’ll work closely with local personnel to develop a strategy in favor of the sport especially since the Lebanese market is strong.
The Arab audience has a big interest in the Middle East Rally Championship; what is the future of this championship and do you have a plan worked out for it?
Of course, the Middle East Rally Championship is the premiere championship in the Middle East region and we will hopefully work on returning some countries to the championship calendar such as Oman and Bahrain, hopefully Syria in the future. There is no doubt that there are a lot of racetracks being built in the region…
Even in Kuwait.
In Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait; the tracks are acting like a vacuum to a lot of drivers. This has had a negative impact, other than the political situation in the region. Hopefully, things will calm down and we can advance. We will not give up. Let’s also not forget about other neglected activities like Karting, Hillclimb, classic cars, safety, and road safety. These activities should be given better recognition. I can promise that we’ll be seeing a Middle East Karting Championship…
So you’re including all motorsport activities.
Of course, these championships deserve more credit; they have been neglected for the past years. We almost lost Qatar and Kuwait in the MERC, which truly annoyed us; we seek more not less. We will work on all motorsport activities equally; Lebanon has Karting and Hillclimb and they should be included in a Middle East championship. We will establish new championships in the region, if not in 2014, hopefully by 2015.
What is your biggest challenge in this new position and how are you going to combine the FIM and FIA championships to get the best out of them in the region?
The biggest challenge is my own passion, I’m a person who loves this sport and who does it not for commercial purposes. I did not earn these positions for personal benefit or for showing off; I earned them for development, just as I developed in Qatar. I would like to leave a strong fingerprint, and that’s my biggest challenge. I’m sure that, with the help of everyone, we can present a lot of surprises.
We would like to thank you here at Biser3a.com on behalf of all Lebanese motorsport enthusiasts and we wish you the best of luck.
I would just like to thank Imad Lahoud and ATCL for being the first club to honor me after taking on the new position. I would also like to thank Ali Dagher President of the LMC and I hope the collaboration between both clubs will continue and I’m sure that I will be Lebanon’s biggest supporter in the upcoming phases; Lebanon is always in the heart.