Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President of the Emirates Motorsports Organization (EMSO), has announced a strong UAE crew to represent the country in upcoming months inaugural FIA-supported MENA regional Karting Championship in Oman.

The event, taking place in Muscat from 10-14 February and run by the Oman Automobile Association, aspects teams from the 20 nations making up the Middle East and North Africa region.

This is an interesting new event; the first of its kind in the world where the excellent young karters in a place compete towards each other explained Ben Sulayem, who is also the FIA Vice President for the MENA region

This is a multi-year development project for these young drivers who are the future F1 and rally stars from our region, so it is necessary they begin with ideal expert guidance.

The UAE crew drivers are (UAE unless stated): MENA Rotax Max Challenge - Thani Al Mehairi (12 yrs, Micro Max), Saqir Al Qassemi (14 yrs, Mini Max), Khalifa Al Qubaisi (15 yrs, Junior Max), Abdulrahman Al Shamsi (27 yrs, Senior Max), Ali Al Mansouri (30 yrs, DD2).

MENA RD1 2-hour endurance race and MENA RD1 sprint race - Mohammed Matar Al Shamsi (30 yrs), Sultan Mohammed Al Suwaidi (25 yrs), Mohammed Esmaeil (39 yrs, Iran), Hussain Umid Ali (37 years, Pakistan), Greg Watt (52 years, Australia) and Marc Roca (36 years, Spain).

The MENA Karting Challenge, which will be attended by FIA President Jean Todt, additionally features a regional congress for regional FIA members to talk about areas of mutual interest. The event will be broadcast on MBC TV and has the social media hashtag #MenaKarting.

The first MENA Karting Championship Nations Cup winner will be crowned at the official prize giving ceremony on Friday, 14 February.

Caption: Mohammed Ben Sulayem This is an exciting new event.