DUBAI // The UAE's Automobile and Touring Club - the organisation responsible for Abu Dhabi's November Grand Prix and the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge - have been chosen to host the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) spring meeting in 2010. Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the FIA vice president for Sport and president of the Automobile and Touring Club UAE (ATCUAE), said the decision to stage the meeting outside Europe for the first time proves the commitment of the worldwide body to motorsport in the Middle East. "This decision by the FIA is fantastic; it is exactly what Dubai and the UAE need," said the 13-time Middle East rally champion.
"I am grateful to the FIA for having such confidence in not just the ATCUAE as the local national sporting authority, but Dubai and the UAE as a whole," he said, while adding that the logistics involved in hosting the event would be huge. During the April meeting, 219 motoring bodies from 130 countries will combine to discuss all aspects of motoring from motor racing to road safety. stregoning@thenational.ae
