Mohammed Ben Sulayem
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  UAE |
| Born | 1961 |
| World Rally Championship record | |
| Active years | 1988, 1990, 1991 – 1995 |
| Teams | Ford, Toyota |
| Championships | 14 |
| Rally wins | 61 |
| First rally | 1984 Acropolis Rally |
| First win | – |
| Last rally | 2003 |
Mohammed Ahmed bin Sulayem or Mohammed ben Sulayem (born 1961) is the Arab world’s leading motor sport figure and an influential official within the sport’s world governing body, the FIA. A successful organiser and record-breaking former international rally driver, he is a role model to young people across the Middle East.
In a rallying career spanning three decades, he became the most successful Arab driver in motor sport history with 14 FIA Middle East Championship titles, and established himself as a sporting ambassador for the region.
In 2008, he became the first Arab named as Vice President of the FIA, and the first to be elected to the FIA World Motor Sport Council. In his FIA role he has pioneered teaching, research and knowledge transfer initiatives in motor sport.
As President of the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE since 2006, he has built the organisation into one of the world’s leading national motor sport and motoring authorities, with acknowledged expertise in associated training, research and education.
Born in Dubai, he is one of the most celebrated sporting figures to emerge from the United Arab Emirates. He is recognised for presenting a modern and progressive image of the Arab world to a global audience, and by promoting good causes, public service and education.
Education
Sulayem studied at the American University in Washington D.C., and at the University of Ulster in the UK where he majored in business.
Rallying career
After entering rallying in Dubai in the early 1980s, Sulayem quickly progressed from local events into the [[FIA] Middle East Championship]] which was established in 1984, and two years later he won the first of his 14 regional titles.
From that point on he dominated the Middle East Championship up to his retirement from competitive rallying in 2002, clinching the title in each of the 13 other seasons in which he contested the regional series.
With 61 international victories in the Middle East overall, he has won more FIA rallies, and more FIA championships, than any other driver.
Sulayem’s international reputation was widened by regular overseas excursions, including several with the official Toyota works team in the FIA World Rally Championship. His 1991 victory in Turkey’s Bosphorus Rally was the first by an Arab driver in an international Rally outside the Middle East.
Over the next two years he contested the Group N World Rally Championship, recording production class victories in Spain and Argentina.
Automobile & Touring Club of the UAE
Since taking over as President of the ATCUAE in 2006, Sulayem has transformed the organisation into one of the world’s leading national motor sport authorities.
The Club is the official representative in the Emirates of the FIA, motor sport’s world governing body, and its motor cycling, karting and classic car counterparts, the FIM, CIK and [[FIVA]].
Overseeing more than 140 events annually from Formula One to local moto cross, the Club is now recognised internationally as a knowledge led organisation which delivers training programmes to assist the development of motor sport in many other countries.
Equally active in the field of mobility, it provides wide-ranging services to motorists and travellers in support of the FIA’s commitment to help people move easily about their world, and is a strong supporter of road safety initiatives.
Motor sport duties
Under Sulayem’s guidance, the Club has assumed growing responsibilities for the supervision of all forms of circuit racing, rallying, drag racing and moto cross that make up the UAE’s ever expanding motor sport calendar.
Its major duty is to ensure all events are run in accordance with the regulations of the FIA and FIM, with top priority given to the safety of competitors, spectators, media and the general public.
The Club has major responsibilities as sporting organisers of the F1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and other year-round competitive events at Yas Marina Circuit.
Since 2009, it has worked hand in hand with Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management to create one of the world’s premier platforms for F1 racing and other world-class competitive motor sport.
In addition to its role in overseeing UAE motor sport, the Club also organises the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, a round of both the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup and the FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship, as well as the Dubai International Rally, the annual closing round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship.
Interests
As the owner of Ben Sulayem Performance, he and his team have been noted for creating super-high performance modifications to a variety of sports and luxury cars. In 2005, he received press in motorsports' circles for having a Mercedes SLK 55 AMG modified to accept a Modified SLR engine, providing the car with over 740 hp and 1200 Nm (885 ft·lb) of torque. The modified SLK has a higher top speed (350 km/h estimated) than the production SLR due to differences in weight and was noted for a video depicting it out-performing an unmodified Enzo Ferrari.
On April 9, 2009 while demonstrating a Renault R28 F1 car – in a drag race against 2008 GP2 Asia Series champion Romain Grosjean, who was driving a Ford GT – at an exhibition at the Dubai Autodrome, Sulayem lost control of the vehicle under acceleration and crashed into the pit wall, causing extensive damage to the car. He was uninjured in the incident.[1] He is featured in Colin McRae: Dirt 2 and a cameo appearance in Dirt 3.
Major rally wins and championships
- Middle East Rally Championship (14): 1986–91, 1994, 1996–2002
- UAE International Rally (5): 1996–99, 2001
- Bahrain International Rally (3): 2000–02
- Qatar International Rally (9): 1988, 1990–91, 1996–98, 2000–02
- Jordan International Rally (12): 1984, 1987–88, 1990, 1994, 1996–2002
- Rally du Liban (4): 1987, 1997–99
- Syrian International Rally (3): 2000–02
- Dubai International Rally (15): 1985–88, 1991–95, 1997–2002
- Oman International Rally (6): 1986–87, 1990–91, 1994, 1998
- Kuwait International Rally (4): 1985, 1988–89, 1996
- Saudi International Rally (1): 2000
- India International Gundo Rally (34):2003
References
- ^ "Ben Sulayem survives high-speed crash". The National. 2009-04-09.
External links
