MEDIA INFORMATION
ZAIN REEM INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT, SAUDI ARABIA
SAUDI RACING FESTIVAL 3, February 25 – 2010
SAUDI ARABIA’S REEM INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT PREPARES TO
HOST THIRD ZAIN LOTUS AND SAUDI RADICAL RACES ON THURSDAY
Al-Sharif and Al-Mouri chase hat-trick of Reem race successes on Thursday
Saudi Oger Cup youngsters aim to continue improvements
RIYADH (Saudi Arabia), Monday, February 22: Saudi Arabia’s Zain Reem international race circuit will host the third Saudi Racing Festival and the third rounds of the Zain Lotus Cup Middle East and the Saudi Radical Championship on Thursday afternoon.
Faher Al-Sharif will be bidding for a third successive victory in the Zain Lotus Cup Championship and fellow Saudi, Saeed Al-Mouri, will be hoping to achieve a similar feat in the 1.5-litre category of the Saudi Radical series. Both drivers faced stiff competition in their respective opening two rounds of the series, but start as favourites to continue their early season motor racing success at Saudi’s fledgling and increasingly popular race circuit.
Thursday’s Zain Lotus race will also feature the all-important Saudi Oger Cup, a new incentive for up-and-coming young local drivers. Mosaed Al-Khwayter and 16-year-old Prince Mohamed Bin Faisal bin Abdullah bin Mohamed of the Bison Reem Team have been the stars of the opening two rounds and they will renew their rivalry on the challenging circuit on the outskirts of Riyadh. Theab Al-Qatani also featured strongly in the most recent race and will be out to match his closest Saudi Oger Cup rivals.
Al-Khwayter and Prince Mohamed Bin Faisal are more than capable of challenging for the overall podium in the Zain Lotus race, although Lebanon’s Doumit Bou Doumit came close to taking victory last time out and the former Lebanese rally driver will be determined to improve on his recent second position.
Al-Mouri may have taken back-to-back Saudi Radical race wins, but competition has been intense in this exciting new race category. The Bison Reem Team trio of Raed Abuznada, Medhat Sakhelared and Prince Saud Bin Turki will be breathing down Al-Mouri’s neck and 1.3-litre front-runners, Faisal Shaker, Bander Ali Reza and Talal Bin Laden, will also be in the fray in what is already developing into a fascinating battle for supremacy.
Qualifying will take place on Thursday morning and the actual racing will start at 2:30pm, with the Zain Lotus race preceding Saudi Radical Championship action. Spectators are more than welcome and race officials are expecting numbers to continue to increase as the popularity of motor sport in Saudi Arabia expands.
“Rounds one and two have shown the massive potential for motor racing in Saudi Arabia,” enthused HRH Prince Sultan bin Bandar Al-Faisal, CEO of the Zain Reem international circuit. “The enthusiasm for the sport is plain to see and youngsters are already seeing the fascination and draw of circuit racing. Both of these race series’ race are well-supported and this is building strong foundations for the future of this new sport in Saudi Arabia.”
The Saudi Speed Festival has received valuable sponsorship from Zain, Saudi Oger, Toyota, Castrol, Bison energy drink and the Saudi Bin Laden Group of Companies, Al-Ghassan Motors and Saudi Radical.
– Ends –
For further media information:
Zain Reem International Circuit, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bilal Kurjieh, E-mail: bilal@race.com.sa and Abdullah Al-Azem, E-mail: abdullah.alazem@race.com.sa
Saudi Arabian Motor Federation, PO Box 87881, Riyadh 11652, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Tel: + 9661 477 1035, Fax: + 9661 477 1050, www.samf.gov.sa
Arabic: Firas Nimri, Mobile: + 9662 777 282000, E-mail: nimrifiras@yahoo.com.
English: Neil Perkins, NDP Publicity Services, Mobiles: + 44 7831 123153 or + 971 50 3616881, E-mail: ndppublicity@googlemail.com.