JEDDAH, 3 February 2006 — The Jeddah Raceway project is now in its last phase and, hopefully, will open for automobile racing in the coming months.
“We hope to make the track operational for events by March-end,” Mishael Abdul Mohsen Al-Sulaiman, vice chairman and managing director of United Racing Company (URC), told a press conference on the sidelines of a signing ceremony at the Jeddah Hilton on Tuesday night.
URC, which is constructing the first raceway in Saudi Arabia, signed an accord with Saudi Automobile Services Company (SASCO) represented by Saudi Automobile & Tourism Association (SATA). SATA owns 25 percent of URC as per the agreement. “The agreement enhances the present cooperation between URC and SATA, the official representative of FIA in Saudi Arabia, and further strengthens the efforts for elevating and developing motorsport in the Kingdom,” Al-Sulaiman said.
“URC’s Jeddah Raceway project, which is under construction, will be launched with various motor sport activities by the end of the first quarter of the year,” Al-Sulaiman said, adding that SATA’s expertise will contribute to the success of the events, which include quarter mile, karting and autocross races.”
Al-Sulaiman said the Hail Rally, scheduled to take place next week, will witness close cooperation between URC and SATA, with both parties providing the sponsorship for 15 contestants from the Hail province. Their sponsorship includes a SR10,000 cash advance to facilitate the preparations needed for the contestant’s car. “Such gestures will further encourage them to do their best and ensure the Kingdom’s first rally success,” he said.
In addition to their cooperation for the Hail Rally, URC signed an agreement to sponsor the Speed Trip 7 event, which will take place in Bahrain’s F1 circuit in March after the F1 race. This event is the 7th installment to be organized by Speed Trip since its establishment by some Saudi car enthusiasts. Previous Speed Trip events have been successful and enjoyed great support from the companies of Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Gulf.
Mishaal Fahd Al-Sudairy, SATA’s club board member and sport commission president, said the agreement would greatly influence mutual cooperation and elevate motor sports in Saudi Arabia to the level of the progress made in neighboring countries. “They (URC) provide the race way and we stage the events, and the agreement will serve mutual interests,” Al-Sudairy said when asked how SATA would benefit from the agreement.
“We’ve to support the efforts of URC in placing the Kingdom’s motorsport in its right global position through Jeddah Raceway, which is considered a great leap toward creating a solid infrastructure and economy for staging motorsport events,” he added.
The raceway is being built in North Jeddah, east of Madinah Road, on 250 sq m land with a 4,000-seating capacity. It will consist of five broadly designed sections — an international standard quarter mile drag racing strip, a 1.2 km go-kart and autocross circuit, a skid pan area to test individual skills, a driving school for training race-drivers, and a landmark control tower.
The ambitious project is being touted as the first and largest project of its kind in the Kingdom to host some of the spectacular motorsports action when completed.
