Commercial Bank of Qatar Chief Marketing Officer Hussain Al Abdulla (right) exchanges documents with former Qatari Rally Champion Nasser Al Atya after they signed a sponsorship agreement during a press conference held at the Commercial Bank Plaza in West
DOHA: Qatar’s retired rally driver Nasser bin Khalifa Al Atya will return to active racing this week at the first round of the FIA Middle East Rallying Championship (MERC).
Retired from the sport for more than 22 years, Al Atya will join co-driver Nicola Arena at this week’s Manateq Qatar International Rally to be held from Mar 14 to 16.
Al Atya, a former FIA and FIM Vice-President, has enjoyed a proven driving career besides being a top motorsport administrator for more nearly 14 years while he was the QMMF President.
The veteran Qatari rider, who will be sponsored by Commercial Bank of Qatar for this year’s MERC, is eager to give younger drivers a hard time.
“My co-driver is Nicola Arena from Italy and we will be driving a Ford Fiesta R5. He has very good experience competing at top rallying events. We featured together at the Kuwait Rally (at the end of last year) and we are getting along just fine. We are at the business end of things. We are adjusting well with our speed,” Al Atya said yesterday.
“This is the first time I will be driving the RF car, so I need to do further study, especially on the Qatari terrain. I was away from Qatar terrain for 22 years. For sure, I have good experience of my time earlier but I am aware that the route has changed,” he added.
“I will try to be competitive in the rally. I am not thinking about the results because the drivers here are young and very fast. I am talking about Qatar drivers like Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah, Abdulaziz Al Kuwari and Sheikh Hamad bin Eid Al Thani.
“They have been active whereas I stopped long back. I want to adapt to new challenges - tackling the harder terrain, the younger lot and fast cars. I want to start progressing to reach the maximum result in this race,” Al Atya added.
The former QMMF president said he is up for a fight though more races under his belt would set him up nicely physically.
“I am mentally still strong (laughs). It’s the physical upgrade that I have to make to be competitive (smiles). Don’t worry, I will be back to my best soon. I need to keep my focus. I have to train in that area,” Al Atya said.
“I have goals to reach. For sure it won’t be easy because other drivers have been active throughout the period that I was away for. I stopped for 22 years. I will be competitive for sure. I will surprise the young drivers in certain stages,” he warned.
“I will do the recce soon. I have to test the car more. I did good in my initial rides. I need to see many things from a technical aspect since the technology has changed a lot. I am preparing my position in the car. I want to be ready for the challenge which won’t be easy but I am ready,” Al Atya added.
Al Atya said he intends to enjoy his return to active racing but has plans to create safety awareness campaigns to guide the younger generation that is ‘sometimes guilty of rash driving’.
“The sports side is what I missed all these years. I need to enjoy myself. I don’t want t grow old just like that,” Al Atya said.
“I want to be part of charity programs. I want to spread safety awareness programs with my sponsor Commercial Bank of Qatar.
“I want to tell youngsters to how avoid accidents from reckless driving and riding.
“I had a very broad experience from my positions as FIM Vice President and FIA Vice President. I want to utilise all that experience. I want to give my country back the kind of prestigious motorsport values I learned during my career. I want to give my expertise to CBQ who want to lead this programs.
“I am glad to be their ambassador on safety awareness and charity programs. This is the main goal for me to come back like this. I want to help the young kids avoid doing silly things on the streets.
“I was active as an administrator for motor sport industry in Qatar for 14 years. Our collaboration with CBQ has been for there many years. They have sponsored MotoGP Grand Prix in Qatar for many years. Our races were considered the best in the world.
“Now I want to explore ways of giving back something to the society and communities using my experience in motorsport. I will be heading to schools and colleges and other educational institutes to spread my safety awareness programs. I thank CBQ and Hussain Al Abdulla for sponsoring me for this race and for this year’s MERC,” Al Atya said.
