The president of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), Mohammed Ben Sulayem, has expressed the full support of the motorsport governing body for the development of the local Grand Prix (GP) as well as other motorsport activities.
Ben Sulayem was speaking on the sidelines of the press conference that unveiled the program for the 72nd edition of the Macau Grand Prix, which will take place in November this year.
Speaking with the media, the FIA president noted that under his term at the helm of the FIA, one of the aspects he has enforced changes in was the relationship between the FIA and its members, specifically the national and regional-level motorsport federations and associations.
He remarked that the FIA is now working for its members and, in this capacity, it is fully supporting the development of the local GP that will include, this year and for the first time, an FIA F4 World Cup.
Ben Sulayem noted that the proposal started from the local FIA member (Automobile General Association Macao-China), and was received with enthusiasm by the FIA, which quickly worked to make it possible.
“Our mission at the FIA and our responsibility is to make sure that we support you here. And adjust also to your needs. It’s not us saying, ‘okay, here is the [new] championship. Take it and deal with it.’ That is wrong. It is about what you believe, what is good and suitable for your region, what’s good for your country. Does anyone know better than you, the local organizers? No. The FIA doesn’t know better than you. You are the ones telling us about your needs and experience, and we have to communicate more, Ben Sulayem said.
“I’m happy with the relationship that’s going on, and I would like to say that we are at the disposal of Macau to adjust things to make it suitable for the development of the local GP,” he added.
As he also mentioned, the purpose of the FIA is to promote motorsports in all its aspects, sides, and categories and to make it as accessible as possible to cater to a broader range of people who might have the talent to participate but might not have the financial resources necessary.
Another of the FIA’s bids is related to its commitment to grassroots initiatives, as he noted that growth is possible only by supporting grassroots efforts.
“New talents won’t parachute in from the sky; they won’t fall from the sky. They need to be brought up from the grassroots, from junior events like this,” he remarked when speaking about the introduction of the F4 World Cup.
Ben Sulayem defended the need to cater more to new young talents and competitions that can showcase their talent before they launch themselves into more demanding categories, a decision made by the local organizers of the GP, which he said he fully supports.
“If you ask me if I believe that the F4 World Cup will contribute to improving and enhancing the growth of motorsport? Yes, I do. It is the way to Formula 3, then to Formula 2, and eventually Formula 1.”
‘We cannot exclude anyone’
Allowing opportunities for everyone to participate in motorsports is the most significant commitment of the FIA to its members, Ben Sulayem noted, adding that there have been challenges in making motorsports more affordable and accessible to a broader range of young competitors, including ergonomic barriers that must be removed.
“We found issues even in some of our chassis; we found that being female was a barrier, you know, as we are built differently [males and females]. So, we said, okay, what do we do? It’s hard for females in some of the chassis. How can we fix it? Because we cannot exclude anyone. We should be able to make the sport available for both genders,” he said, noting that problems have arisen as the process goes on.
Still, he noted that there is a need to learn and keep changing and adjusting. “After we had a new chassis that fits both genders, then someone said that the steering is stiff for females, but then, to add power steering we would be adding to the cost and also adding more parts that can go wrong during racing,” remarking that the solution found was to bring a young lady to drive and provide feedback so that the geometry of the car and steering could be adjusted to make it less heavy.
Ben Sulayem noted that the only way to make the sport fair and increase participation is by being more inclusive. He stressed that F4 in the UAE has around 38 entries, and in Europe, it is also growing, being a natural step up from karting.
2025 program without more surprises
After being revealed early last month that the 72nd edition of the Macau GP would include, for the first time, an FIA World Cup for the F4 category, no more novelties were presented for this year’s edition.
As expected and previously reported, the program of the GP will continue to feature the FR and GT World Cups, as well as the Grand Finale of the FIA TCR World Tour, just as it did last year.
To these four main events, the 57th edition of the Macau Motorcycle GP, the Greater Bay Area GT Cup, and the Macau Roadsport Challenge race complete the seven-event program.
GP Museum adds new FR car and driver gear to temporary display
After the press conference that unveiled this year’s edition of the local Grand Prix, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem also took part in a ceremony that inaugurated the display in the museum of a new piece that includes a Formula Regional (FR) car as well as the driver gear of last year’s winner of the first FIA FR World Cup, Ugo Ugochukwu.
As noted by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), the exhibition pieces now part of the museum’s temporary display were donated by the FIA to provide more information about the FR event and its relevance.
The pieces on display include the winning car as well as the driver’s suit, helmet, gloves, and boots, and will be on display until August 4.
No Comments