JEDDAH, 5 February 2005 — The second and final day of the AutoSolo competition in Jeddah saw fierce competition between the second-round survivors. Two cars crashed out of the competition. The strictly imposed safety regulations and layout of the course saw to it that there were no injuries to competitors or members of the public.

Khalid Bin Sultan Al-Faisal who was participating in the Auto motive with a blue Subaru STI had already won first place in the Eastern Championship 2003 and participated in the Auto Cross race last week. “This race is very good in terms of organizing and safety, but there should be more budget for it,” he said.

He drove a World Rally Championship specification Subaru STI especially designed to participate these events. ?I hope that many people come and attend the race tonight.”

“This is the third time for me to participate in car races,”Mansour Al-Qahtany said. He had participated in the Auto Cross before and earned the first place in Eastern province and third place in the Kingdom.

He and other competitors very much encouraged young people to participate in the car racing sports. They felt it helped develop responsible behavior while they are on the road and helped preventing them from having accidents while they a driving on the street.

“They can come and release their energy in this sport,” Al-Qahtany added. “The media play an important role on informing people that car racing is a serious sport. There should have been more publicity for it. There is a huge number of car racing fans who, if they had heard about this, have participated.”

Abdul Wahab Al-Qahtany from Alkhobar came to participate in the Autocross and the AutoSolo. “The idea of car racing as a sport is not yet fully accepted. Many families think of it as some kind of teenage activity. Racing requires large amounts of mental and physical effort. If I lost my concentration for a fraction of a second, I could crash my car.”

This event was the first motor sport race event in Saudi Arabia held according to FIA regulations of Sprint and Auto Tests, which has very strict regulations and standards . Twenty three competitors took part over the two days.

“We had two crash outs,” said Ian Bennett, the Event Organizer and motor sport organizer of long standing. One was the Volvo S60R, provided by Zahid Tractor and driven by the Arab News reporter, Essam Al-Ghalib.

“There were no injuries and the public were not even close to the incidents,” said Bennett. “It is a sport with risks, but with the strict imposition of raceway discipline, I think the success of event proves that if properly managed and with FIA standard safety procedures in place, risks are at an absolute minimum.”

Al-Ghalib received slight bruising only as a result of his slide into the concrete curb surrounding the track while making a spirited charge up the points table. “I am a little embarrased,” he said afterward, “But I sure am glad it happened in a Volvo. The helmet and airbags prevented serious injury.”

Maheer Jan, assistant coordinator with Auto Motive Projects said the winners would receive prizes and certificates of participation in this historic event. “Auto Solo started in the USA few years ago and combines Sprint and Auto Tests regulations. The cars are in classes, so AutoSolo is a fair race for both big and small cars.”

He said that 74 percent of the population of Saudi Arabia of the inhabitants of Saudi Arabia was under the age of 30. “Young men are very interested in car sports; it is very fulfilling for them to come and participate in these races, also watch it and follow it up.”

Auto Motive Projects hope to stage an international event some time in 2005 with international competitors will be here to participate. We are just waiting to finalize the licenses.”