Mohammed Ben Sulayem says UAE motor sport marshals are ready to prove themselves to be the best in the world at this weekend’s F1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
After months of training and preparation by the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE, Sulayem says 650 volunteers are primed to play a key role in ensuring the climax to this season’s FIA F1 World championship Prix runs efficiently.
“Our training team has worked hard to get the marshals ready for the big event and we’re very happy with the way they’ve responded,” said the ATCUAE President.
“We have a great team of volunteers and I’m confident they’ll once again show that they’re the best in the world.”
“Our marshals come from 26 countries and we appreciate the way they all blend in and work together. The eyes of the motor sport world will be on Abu Dhabi this weekend, so this is a great opportunity for them to show how committed and disciplined we all are.”
For the last three years UAE marshals have been named by the FIA, the sport’s governing body, as the worldwide Volunteer of the Year.
In the countdown to the event, the Club stages five general training sessions for marshals, while training is more frequent for some of the speciality units, including the safety team, and the medical and rescue team who have been in action every Wednesday.
When F1 first came to Abu Dhabi in 2009, half of the 650 volunteers needed to help run the event had to be brought in from the UK. By then the ATCUAE had already launched an intensive marshals recruitment and training programme.
The objective over five years was to build a fully UAE-based group of Emirati and expatriate volunteers to serve the needs of the Grand Prix, and motor sport in general in the Emirates.
At present, the club has more than 1,000 members made up of 26 nationalities, with 15% of those who will be operating at Yas Marina Circuit this weekend Emiratis.
“We’re proud to have been given opportunity by the Government of Abu Dhabi to work with ADMM to create one of the world’s premier platforms for F1 racing and other world-class competitive motor sport,” said Sulayem, the FIA Vice President.
“In the process we have achieved our initial targets in motor sport sustainability by building an entirely local-based team of officials and volunteers capable of handling the full spectrum of sporting responsibilities for the Grand Prix, and motor sport in general.”
