RIYADH, 28 April 2006 — SATA’s campaign to get the Saudi youths off the roads and into proper racing venues moves to Riyadh with the staging of a desert drag race here.
Set for May 4-5 the auto racing in a sandy drag race is being organized by the Saudi Automobile and Touring Association (SATA) under the auspicious of the General Presidency of Youth Welfare. The event will take place at Al-Reem’s Motordrome, 100 kilometers from the City Center.
Speaking to newsmen during a press conference on Tuesday, Prince Sultan ibn Bandar, the main sponsor and owner of Al-Reem’s Motordrome, said that one of the prime objectives of this auto racing is to pave the way for many Saudi youths to practice their favorite hobby in a systematic and right way. “Instead of racing on the main roads which unfortunately causes accidents they can perform it away from the main streets, “ the prince added.
The GPYW was represented by Abdullah Al-Zamil while SATA’s board member and director general Saleh Ali Al-Solai was present during the press conference.
Al-Reem’s Motordrome is located at the farming town of Al-Muzamiah. The event is co-sponsored by SASCO, Balsharaf and Castor oil.
Mish’al Al-Sudairi, board member and president of the club sports committee, has urged the Saudi press and media to play a role in familiarizing and introducing this type of sports among Saudi youths in order to harness their racing skills in a proper and safe environment.
“Through this sport practiced worldwide we are playing a big role in fostering our rich culture and our tourism spots” Al-Sudairi said.
Al-Sudairi admitted that most information about motor sports is available on websites only and Saudi youths take and exchange among themselves information on the website.
Al-Sudairi invites both Saudis and expatriates to watch and enjoy the big event and at the same time he welcomes Saudi youths who are interested in auto sports membership which application is available on SATA’s website.
Meanwhile, the Saudi rally driver Mohammad Al-Maliki, who was present during the press conference, has reaffirmed that auto sports is not that risky as others think. Because of safety measures being applied in this sport he claimed that football is riskier than the auto sports. SATA is a member of both the Alliance International Tourism (AIT) in Geneva and the Federation International Automobile in France (FIA). SATA successfully organized the first ever Saudi International Rally held in Hail Region early this year.
Al-Reem’s Motordrome sits on a sandy patch of 120 meters long and 18 meters wide. The race categories are for motorcycles and car including six cylinders (V6), and eight cylinders (V8).
