Racing to finish first

Joe Ghanem, son of Lebanese rally champion Samir Ghanem, entered the world of motorsports at a very young age. It all started with rental karts when he was seven years old. His first championship was at the age of 14 when he took part in the Karting Lebanese Championship (Formula A) in which he won in the junior category. Between then and now there have been many races and victories for Ghanem.

His recent achievement was at the eighth International Hill Climb Championship that took place in Syria. He drove the City of Arabia Mitsubishi Evolution 9 Group N, the production World Rally Car with official rally specifications.

He won first place in his category and finished seventh overall. Until then, Ghanem had primarily been doing single seat racing on the tracks. This new experience served as a test for him to see how he might adapt to different types of cars and races.

Commenting on the variation in racing forms, the talented racer says: "As a racing driver, you are always curious to try out different cars and ways of racing. Every car and every race adds to your experience and the more experience you can acquire, the better it is for your career development. I do not consider my participation in the Hill Climb event
to be a shift from single seater to rally racing.

These are two different forms of racing and each has its own characteristics and techniques. In both types you need to drive the car as fast as possible in its own style; they both have their own special brand of adrenaline. In single seater racing you are alone, racing closely against other cars and enjoying the thrill of wheel-to-wheel racing and overtaking.

In rallying, you have to communicate with your co-driver throughout and you are racing in different stages.

The most exciting thing about rally racing is the different courses you drive on such as surface: there's snow and gravel and varying geographic conditions. Although I never tried rally racing in that sense, I imagine it would be an exciting and challenging thing to do.

"Ever since I was a young kid I knew that I wanted to be a professional racing driver and I cannot imagine myself doing anything else. As a racing driver, your aim is to win and this is what I intend to do. I want to win the crown of motorsport in whichever category. If my career keeps me as a single seater, the crown is the Formula One Championship
and if my career takes me to rally racing, then the crown is the World Rally Championship."

Having a father who has won so many races and championships against such great drivers from the Middle East has been an advantage for Ghanem: "My father's experience and knowledge of racing is a huge help to me. From a driving and technical point of view, he is brilliant. We have a constructive relationship.

I might not agree right away with everything he says, but I am happy with his input – in tough situations it does come in rather handy!

"I don't see myself following in his footsteps as I see myself taking his dream and fulfilling it. My father never pushed me into racing. He never came with me to the karting tracks and did not teach me how to drive or race karts.

It was a dream that I followed on my own. The first time he saw me driving was when he came to my first karting race. He was impressed with what he saw and from that point on
we became race buddies. We travel together to all my races. He supports me in every way. He wants me to become a world champion but not necessarily in rallies.

He is as keen as I am on achieving this dream on international circuits.
When Ghanem is not behind the wheel, he is like any other boy his age. He is currently studying graphic design at Notre Dame University and his friends are his greatest fans. "They support me and are always there for me. They help me out with my studies when I miss school; they call home and ask about my racing when
I am away. Hanging out with them is simply the best way to relax. I would love it if they could travel with me to my races – it will be fun. Hopefully we can do it some day."

Ghanem had hoped to race in the Formula Renault UK series with the Manor Competition team. Unfortunately, they were not able to secure the necessary funds to continue and he had to withdraw his application, "Motorsports is a very costly sport.

This is why you see young drivers and sponsors or partners chasing each other. Drivers need all the financial and technical support they can get from partners. The rewards they can get out of young drivers are tremendous, especially
if the partnership is long-term.

"Winning always gives me an inner satisfaction that I am on the right track towards achieving my greatest goal. Being given the chance and the right car, I can show that I am capable of winning.

"I hope that this result will help in attracting partners so I can return to Europe and start preparing for a new season in formula racing," he says.

– Ruqya Khan, a Sharjah-based freelancer.