New Delhi: India's organisation of the country's first ever Formula One GP has been boosted by the support of 30 volunteers from the UAE.
The brand new Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida will play host to the F1 roadshow this weekend, with officials pulling out all the stops to make sure the track is ready in time.
Organisers have been working night and day to ensure all construction is complete — and they have been helped along the way by 30 members of the UAE Motorsports Marshals Club, who have travelled to India to perform important roles at the event.
They have been sharing their experiences from past Abu Dhabi Grands Prix with their Indian counterparts, while also learning from their hosts ahead of this year's UAE event on November 13.
The UAE Motorsport Marshals Club was established by the ATCUAE to recruit, train and maintain a team of volunteer motorsport officials for events within the UAE.
Mohammed Bin Sulayem, President of the ATCUAE and Vice-President of the FIA, expressed his delight at the initiative taken by the marshal club members.
Major step forward
"We are happy to be part of India's first GP and it is not only a major step forward for India, but for the entire region, and it proves that this part of the world is becoming increasingly important in motorsport.
"We should always maintain such support to each other as ASN [National Sporting Authorities] and as members of the same sporting world."
Formula One is visiting India for the first time in its 61-year history this weekend and hopes are high that a successful event will allow it to build a larger following in the world's second-most populous nation.
Indian fans recently demonstrated their passion for the sport when more than 40,000 spectators attended an exhibition drive by Lewis Hamilton in his McLaren through Bengaluru.
