ATCUAE President Dr Mohammed Ben Sulayem was the guest of honour during the official meet and greet pit lane walk at Dubai Autodrome ahead of the 11th edition of the Hankook 24H Dubai.
Dr Ben Sulayem met drivers and senior team members while being accompanied by an entourage of VIPs including senior management of the facility and race organisers Creventic,
“The Dubai 24 hours is not merely a race; it is a phenomenon of Middle East motorsport,” he told assembled media on the grid.
“We have been part of this event for the past 11 years and each year it gets better. Bigger grids, professional drivers, great teams make this a unique event and is now firmly established among the top endurance races of the world.”
Dr Ben Sulayem will flag off the 100-car field on Friday at 14:00pm and he added: “I’m really impressed with the international level of participation in the 11th edition of the Hankook 24H Dubai this year. I would like to wish all the drivers all the best in this year’s battle.”
During the meet and greet Dr Ben Sulayem took part in the unveiling of the all new Mercedes AMG GT3 which will make its racing debut this weekend, on the international stage, at the Autodrome in the colours of Abu Dhabi Racing by Black Falcon with Khalid Al Qubaisi looking to score an unprecedented hat-trick of victories in a race he won in 2012 and 2013.
Al Qubaisi is one of 32 drivers with roots in UAE racing, among them Emirati drivers Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum, Saeed Al Mehairi, Abdullah Al Hammadi, Mohammed Al Owais and Ahmad Al Malahi.
Several other UAE Champions include Karim Al Azhari, Bassam Kronfli, Jordan Grogor, Spencer Vanderpal, Umair Khan, Ramzi Moutran, Nadir Zuhour, Jonathan Mullan and Rupesh Channake.