Abu Dhabi Spirit of the Rally Award
FIA World Rally Championship
Dead Sea, Jordan. 27th April, 2008: The ‘Abu Dhabi Spirit of the Rally’ award was today
presented to HRH Prince Faisal Al Hussein, Chairman, Jordan Motorsport - which organised and
managed this weekend’s Jordan Rally.
The recipient of the award was chosen to mark the country’s successful staging of the World
Rally Championship round, the first hosted by an Arab nation in 32 years.
The ‘Abu Dhabi Spirit of the Rally’ award recognises parties demonstrating the same values that
the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, stands for; respect, innovation, integrity and
teamwork. It also acknowledges a positive contribution to the WRC by any of the myriad of
parties involved in the sport.
“This weekend marks the culmination of years of hard work by Jordan to host a round of the
World Rally Championship – the world’s most dramatic form of motor-sport,” said HRH Prince
Faisal.
“The Jordan Rally has proven to be worthy addition to the WRC calendar and has tested the skills
of the best drivers the world has to offer. Abu Dhabi’s recognition of our efforts is a timely tribute
and we look forward to strengthening our ties with the UAE as the two principal Arab supporters
of the World Rally Championship.”
Jordan’s bid to host a round of the WRC was announced in Monte Carlo in 2005, and after three
years of lobbying and bidding by HRH Prince Faisal and Jordan Motorsport, the dream became a
reality this weekend as the Dead Sea nation hosted 359.60 competitive kilometers of world-class
rally action.
With over 1,000 people involved in the inaugural WRC Jordan Rally’s management, officials from
the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority paid tribute to organisers for demonstrating the Arab world’s
capacity to successfully host leading international sporting events.
“In presenting this award to HRH Prince Faisal Al Hussein, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority
recognises Jordan’s monumental efforts to achieve its dream of hosting a round of the World
Rally Championship,” said Ahmed Hussein, Deputy Director General of the Abu Dhabi Tourism
Authority.
“Jordan has worked very closely with all the parties involved in the sport; organisers, teams and
drivers, to ensure that its debut WRC round would satisfy the extensive criteria required to hold
such a complex event. They have also supported the WRC and motorsport in general for an
incredibly long time, consistently demonstrating the values which Abu Dhabi stands for.”
Photo caption: HRH Prince Faisal Al Hussein receiving the ‘Abu Dhabi Spirit of the Rally’ award
from the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority's Ahmed Hussein.
