Abu Dhabi: ‘The Meeting Place of Champions’ is the grandiose slogan of Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit.
It’s a maxim that appositely encapsulates the fact that motorsport’s glitterati annually descend on the five-year-old venue for the Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Yet with such prestige of being a major player in a fast-paced world comes with it a need to be forever moving forward.
Yas Marina Chief Executive Officer Al Tareq Al Ameri told Gulf News that, as such, soon after the grand prix between November 21 and 23, painstaking planning will begin for next year’s event.
Al Ameri, who succeeded Richard Cregan as CEO in March this year after working as commercial director at the circuit, said: “I think I will allow one week to regroup. But then literally we will start looking at the next one [grand prix] and how we’re going to improve.
“Am I excited about being in charge of my first grand prix? Excited and stressed, to be honest. I don’t think people understand the level of complexity that comes with hosting an international event. It takes us a year in preparation.
One key goal of Al Ameri and his team is to increase the capacity of the circuit, which is currently 60,000 – an increase of 5,000 from last year.
This would meet the surge in demand for tickets for the grand prix – fewer than 2,500 remained on Monday, with another sellout guaranteed.
Sales have been better than last year, Al Ameri stressed – an annual trend.
Speaking at his offices at the circuit, he said: “We’re gearing ourselves up to hosting more people through the venue. Could we increase the capacity again next year? Yes, that could happen. It will be part of the process we go through after the grand prix.
“Year on year we want to be increasing capacity and that’s what we are planning for.”
How does he assess the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in comparison to the 18 other races globally?
The 35-year-old, who pays regular visits to other grands prix to glean ideas in a bid to improve and lives just two minutes’ drive from Yas Marina, said: “I’m not trying to be biased, but Abu Dhabi is a fixture now on the F1 calendar. It has a unique proposition; it’s unsurpassed by any other circuit.
“What is the unique proposition? First of all, the venue is state of the art and we don’t bring the event alone. We engaged with Abu Dhabi entities to be part of what we deliver here.”
Yet what exactly makes Yas Marina “unique” and not just a fitting venue for “champions” such as F1 luminaries Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Fernando Alonso et al?
Al Ameri says it is another ‘c’ word – one less bombastic than champions, but still as worthy – which exemplifies Yas Marina’s ethos.
“Our focus is building communities,” the Emirati former engineer, who previously worked at Abu Dhabi Aviation, said. “We are committed to providing an active and sustainable local motorsport community.”
It’s no idle boast, either, as a perfunctory glance at Yas Marina’s portfolio of local motorsports activities shows it is impressively comprehensive and all inclusive.
Firstly, there is the Yas Racing School, which offers a variety of driver and passenger experiences as well as driving courses, all managed by expert motorsport instructors.
Then there are a host of events organised by the Yas Motor Racing Club aimed at fuelling and maintaining local interest in motorsport.
For instance, the circuit will host its first single-make championship, the TRD 86 Cup, between December and April.
Drivers will race head to head on different circuit layouts on six race weekends, with a chance to win a range of cash prizes.
Meanwhile, aspiring youngsters can get their first taste of four-wheeled action at Yas Kartzone — and that’s not to mention the myriad of fitness, health and business events the circuit holds throughout the year, including the women-only GoYas.
Pushing for local events
Al Ameri said: “This year, we’re pushing our Yas Motorsport Club more and more to be organising more local events. We want to change the equation in terms of motorsport. The TRD 86 series is more affordable and reduces the barriers to getting into motorsport.
The age-old question of whether an Emirati driver could ever grace the starting grid in Formula One elicits a wry smile from Al Ameri.
His predecessor, Cregan, reportedly said a few years back that this was a possibility by 2020 – but Al Ameri is more circumspect.
“I think this will be down to the maturity within the motorsports community,” he said. “We will fulfil our part of it by creating platforms, programmes and initiatives, to allow the local motorsport community to engage and develop themselves within it. It will be on the shoulders of drivers themselves to go through it.”
Al Ameri says the staunch commitment to the community – a refrain he repeats constantly throughout the interview – was imbued in him by his mentor Cregan.
“Mr Richard Cregan, he was a mentor of mine and I still have a very good relationship with him,” Al Ameri said. “I still consult him on various things. He brought me into this community and he showed me that this is all community
“The corporate image is not that predominant. It’s all about community and people and our relationship with them. That’s what we need to push in all our messages: Building a community and being part of a community.”
Expect even more community engagement via events and initiatives in the next five years, then, is the emphatic message from the Emirati.
“We want to keep the momentum of the first five years’ success and build on it,” he added. “We want to create a more diverse business integrated to Abu Dhabi and the community and make it sustainable.”
Is it important Yas has an Emirati figurehead in him to help promote itself locally? He replied: “I hope that they picked me for my merits. But I do take full pride of being Emirati and showcasing Abu Dhabi to the world through initiatives and events we hold here.”
The eyes of the world will be upon Yas Marina Circuit from next Friday when its showpiece, the Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, takes place.
The event has added lustre this year due to the fact that it is the final race of the season and will be the F1 world title championship decider between Mercedes rivals Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
In a further intriguing and exciting twist, double points are on offer for the first time – 50 as opposed to the usual 25 for the winner – with Hamilton leading Rosberg by 17.
How does Al Ameri feel about such a thrilling denouement and novel and controversial addition to the F1 season? “I am excited by the rivalry between Nico and Hamilton,” he said. “To me, it’s what people want to see.”
Al Ameri continued: “The double points? I’m keeping the same statement when they first announced it. I like it. It’s giving something to the fans to make their event more exciting.
“If you’re a purist, you don’t like introductions or changes to the formula. But from my perspective, I think it’s a good thing. It will create excitement for the fans.” Therein lies the secret of Yas Marina Circuit’s success: Al Ameri and his team genuinely care for and champion the community, meaning this thriving sports hub is much more than an elitist ‘Meeting Place of Champions’.
