Qatar in talks to host GP2 Asia race

GP2 Asia series

Qatar soon expects to be a regular host of a GP2 Asia series race, Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation president Nasser Khalifa al-Attiyah told journalists yesterday.

Qatar hosted a leg of the event in February this year as part of the 2008-09 series, but couldn’t secure a deal for the next season because of the financial crisis.

But yesterday, al-Attiyah said Qatar still had hopes of hosting the event in the future.

“This year we couldn’t reach a deal, but we are hopeful of hosting the event in the near future,” al-Attiyah said. “We are in negotiations.”

The QMMF chief was speaking at the road show organised by the Malaysia Qi-MeritusMahara team at the Holiday Villa Hotel.

GP2 Asia series at Dubai Autodrome

The road show forms part of an initiative by QuestNet – a Hong-Kong-based multilevel marketing company with global operations covering, among others, the Middle East, Africa and Asia – to remain in touch with clients and to promote its brand across the regions.

The flashy red QuestNet-sponsored GP2 racing car was the star attraction yesterday among many team supporters and independent representatives (IRs) of QuestNet. Tareq al-Yousefi, QuestNet Director for Gulf States and Qi-MeritusMahara team manager Sean Thompson also attended the press conference.

This is the third year since inception of the GP2 Asia Racing Series that the QuestNet sponsored team will be racing.  Considering the team is already sitting high on the table in fourth place after the first round of races held in Abu Dhabi this year, things bode well for the team for the rest of the season.

Team driver Luca Filippi is ranked fourth with eight points and team mate Diego Nunes is at fifteenth among the 24 drivers.

As part of the team’s efforts to build awareness of QuestNet’s sponsorship and motorsport at large, the Malaysia Qi-MeritusMahara team is travelling the region, with visits planned for the Kingdoms of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates over the next three months.

“We have contributed $5mn to the Malaysia Qi-MeritusMahara team for the current season,” said al-Yousefi.

He added that the road show will finally extend to Malaysia, Tajikistan, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania from April to July 2010.

“As an Internet-based company, such a road show presents us with a unique opportunity to meet and engage with our clients and other stakeholders alike, while also giving motorsport fans the chance to experience the buzz of motorsport in their home cities,” al-Yousefi said.

Al-Yousefi explained that QuestNet’s decision to sponsor team Malaysia Qi-MeritusMahara was based on the relation between motorsport and the direct marketing industry.  “There is a direct relation between this sport and multilevel marketing.  In both instances it requires performance, focus, passion, a winning attitude, and, last but not least, teamwork, to get ahead,” he said.

Thompson said the GP2 was the brain child of F1 tycoon Bernie Ecclestone and former Renault F1 Team Manager Flavio Briatore.

He explained that it was a feeder event for Formula One, which meant it was a training ground for the drivers before they move to the premier class.

“The GP2 operates on less then a hundredth of the cost of F1 and is designed to make it the perfect training ground for drivers going on to the Formula One.

As such, all teams use the same chassis, engine and tyre supplier – meaning the race really rests on the abilities of the driver, unlike F1 where a team’s technological capabilities also come into play,” he added.

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Posted by JP Soutar on 19 Dec 2009. Filed under Main Stories, Motorsport News, Qatar. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry