HRH Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al Abdullah Al Faisal, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation and President of Saudi Motorsports, welcomed the elite riders and teams participating in the World Championship finals. The Touring Car Cup Series at Jeddah Corniche, highlighting that His Highness will host the Kingdom of the World Touring Cars World Cup series is an important addition to his growing portfolio of major motorsport events such as Formula 1, Dakar Rally, Formula E and Extreme E. His Highness expressed confidence that the Saudi Motorsports Company team of young men and women from the Kingdom would present an event that would be a catalyst to continue our outstanding journey, His Highness wished success to all participants. , especially the Saudi driver Ahmed bin Khanin, as he is the first Saudi driver to compete in this world series.
His Highness said: “Once again, a new sports law that is a continuation of the international and high-level sports events that we have recently become accustomed to in the Kingdom in general and on the Jeddah Corniche in particular, as the Acceptance of Jeddah at the decisive stage of this global series organized by the International Federation of Automobiles, shows that the Kingdom has become a place for motorsport and reflects its prestigious position at the international level after the qualitative shift that it has seen in recent years. “.
This happened during a press conference for drivers and teams, which took place this evening, Friday, at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in the presence of Jean-Baptiste Lee, World Touring Car Cup Series Director at Discovery Sports, drivers, team representatives. and international media.
His Highness added: “Now we have a growing portfolio of events whose importance lies in providing citizens with greater opportunities for growth and we hope that motorsport will inspire them and encourage them to create a career, be it in the motorsport sector as engineers, mechanics. , team managers or even riders in the future and now we have a large number of talented riders who deserve to compete in international competitions and our role is to provide them with the knowledge and experience to hone their talent and prepare them to take part in major events.”
For his part, Jean-Baptiste Lee, Director of the Touring Car World Cup Series at Discovery Sports, praised the efforts of the Saudi Motorsports Company and the Saudi Motor Sports Federation over the past few periods, pointing out the possibility of hosting the World Touring Car Finals. 2022 season in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and on the Jeddah Corniche circuit. New, which is a great event for WTCR and its partners, appreciating the efforts of the organizers to combat the weather and heavy rain that fell in Jeddah. yesterday, and preparing the Jeddah Corniche and its course in record time.
The riders expressed their hope to participate in the qualifying stage tomorrow, Saturday, on the track of the fastest street circuit in the world, and praised the possibilities of the track and the speed they were able to achieve during the first test of the track. time today, and stressed that the short track Formula 1 circuit will add more excitement to the race, especially given the high speeds on the track.
In his speech at the conference, Saudi rider Ahmed bin Khanin expressed great pride in this historic moment as the first Saudi rider to compete in this series, especially after the first participation in his homeland and among his fans, and the Saudi rider praised the new short track for the Jeddah circuit. Corniche and its design, which will increase the enthusiasm of the race, Bin Hanin said: “I expect the race to be strong and I am very excited to participate, especially since touring car racing is always exciting. competitions that are punctuated by many epic excesses between riders on the track.”