FIA Presidential Candidate Ben Sulayem On His Plans To Double Motorsport

The fifty nine-yr-outdated is just one of the most popular figures in motorsport from the Middle East. A former multiple regional rally champion as a driver, he is President of the UAE motorsport federation and since 2008 he has sat on the Environment Motor Sport Council as an FIA Vice President for Sport. So why has he determined to stand for FIA President?

“Motorsport has given me a lot, most of my lifestyle, “says Ben Sulayem. “As a driver for twenty many years I’ve received 14 periods (Middle East rally Championship), then became an organizer in charge of motorsport at residence. I consider it is time to give back again to the sport and the federation. I’m passionate to make a modify and to boost, to comply with some of the techniques but also to evolve.”

Ben Sulayem has been weighing up a operate for FIA president for some time and the retirement of Todt just after three phrases offers the opportunity. He lately printed his manifesto and is standing on a ticket that guarantees to increase participation in the sport around the world as very well as extra economical transparency.

Ben Sulayem’s vision for running the FIA differs from Todt’s and that of his deputy president Graham Stoker, who is Ben Sulayem’s opponent in the election, in just one key respect: he would utilize a CEO to operate the Federation. Below Todt and his predecessor Max Mosley, the President runs the FIA, even though the two pillars of sport and mobility (road transport) are every single managed by a Secretary-Typical. This new vision would develop a incredibly impressive new role and see the FIA operate extra like a business.

“The working day-to-working day management, it can be not for the President,” he says. “I you should not want to micromanage. I want to be a President, to direct, but to hand the working day-to-working day to a CEO, who can carry the sport and mobility together.” If elected he and his appointed CEO would set the emphasis on increasing participation, with a assure to double the number of contributors around the world in 4 many years.

Ben Sulayem argues that if Finland with a populace of 5.5 million folks has eleven,000 level of competition license holders, then there is big progress probable in China and India which have only close to four,000 license holders every single.  So how will he do that? He offers the illustration of Cross Car, which is the FIA’s idea for reduced-price tag entry-level rallying, in essence an off-road buggy run by a bike motor, like go-karts is a gateway to circuit racing.

“(You want to) have inexpensive autos in the introductory level,” he says. “We started off a thing termed Cross Car. And that was incredible, I consider it is the potential. But the expenditures are supposed to be like €8,000, no extra. And then it jumped to €25,000. If you glance at India and China, they have engines, why do we impose on them? We take the blueprint, we make absolutely sure we supervise and carry out the basic safety polices in it and allow them go into their have neighborhood championship and regional championships? If we set a goal in 4 many years to double it, it is achievable.

“Formula A person and WRC are in fantastic form, they are incredibly wholesome. But the world needs extra than that. I suggest, we’re conversing about neighborhood or regional level, you want neighborhood participation, you want neighborhood gatherings, and you want regional gatherings. That can only happen if we do it in an inexpensive way.”

As very well as searching for to double the contributors in motorsport, Ben Sulayem needs to strengthen the electrical power of the regional motorsport hubs and to have increased transparency on the economical aspect of the Federation.

“The economical (aspect) of the FIA is not wholesome, we want to go and have a glance at the financials and the proof to make also the FIA back again into the business in a constructive way, “ he says. ”Transparency and accountability are incredibly essential if you want to be taken severely in the world. So for illustration, the FIA accounts, when we needed to take a glance at them, ended up incredibly challenging to reach or to receive. So I consider we must comply with the foremost Federations in the world, like the IOC, which we are section of, you will see all the accounts being stated on their web site.”

Ben Sulayem’s running mate as Deputy President for Sport is former world rally champion co-driver, Robert Reid, even though just one eye-catching identify on the ticket is Bernie Ecclestone’s wife Fabiana, who is running as a vice president for sport for the South American location.

The election will take area on December 17^th in Paris. It will be a substantial moment for the sport due to the fact, with all the difficulties struggling with motorsport from environmental fears to the want for increased diversity, the next 4 many years will be essential for location the training course for the potential.