Speed kings Mohammed Al Dhaheri and Mohammad Al Mutawaa, selected as the first-ever UAE Motorsport Stars in July, have begun their intensive training course at the University of Ulster in Belfast.
The UAE Motorsport Stars programme is a joint initiative by the Automobile & Touring Club of the United Arab Emirates (ATCAE) and the University of Ulster, and is designed to identify talented young drivers and teach them the necessary off-track skills that are required to be a successful motorsport athlete.
Here, Al Mutawaa reflects on his third day of training…
Day 3
Today focused on mental training. We were trained by Michael Austin, who is one of Ireland’s leading experts in performance psychology and mental training.
Michael works closely with athletes, coaches and teams to help them realise and maximise their potential, improve on performance consistency and achieve their goals, which will hopefully benefit my career in many ways.
Michael asked Mohammed Al Dhaheri and myself to perform some written and computer-based tests that will build up a profile of how we react mentally to different situations that occur during racing.
One of the other Sports Psychologists at the University will analyse the results later and explain to us where we can improve our preparations for competition.
Michael then had a one-on-one with us where he learned more about us, our career aspirations, and what we want to achieve from our training.
I informed him that it was my aim to be the champion of the UAE Touring Car series in which I currently race, gain more experience in different types of races, and eventually compete in big races like Le Mans. Maybe I will even be a World Champion one day if I work hard enough.
We finished early today, which was a relief as my legs are still sore from the intensive physical training yesterday, and we still have more to do tomorrow!
