Academy to nurture young talent launched by LCSC

In what is undoubtedly a huge step towards unearthing motorsport talent in Qatar, Losail Circuit Sports Club (LCSC) yesterday announced the launch of the Qatar Motorsport Academy.
At a press conference on the sidelines of the MotoGP Grand Prix of Qatar at the Losail International Circuit, LCSC Vice President and General Manager Khalid al-Remaihi said the academy will come into effect from October 2018.  For its ambitious project, LCSC has tied up with Dorna Sports, the commercial rights holder for the MotoGP, and Qatar’s Aspire Academy.
The announcement was made in the presence of Minister of Culture and Sports of Qatar HE Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali, Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta, General Director Aspire Academy Ivan Bravo, QMMF President Abdulrahman al-Mannai and Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) President Vito Ippolito.
Al-Remaihi said the aim of the Qatar Motorsport Academy was to create a platform for younger talents in the age bracket of 6 to 14 and nurture them into future MotoGP riders.
“The Qatar Motorsport Academy will more or less be the platform for youngsters to get into the sport. We want to accept 6 to 14-year-old kids into the academy, which includes locals, people of different nationalities living in Qatar and also those who are living around us in the region,” said al-Remaihi yesterday.
“We want to capitalise on the opportunities we have in Qatar, like in the winter season where we can practice the sport here. At the same time in Europe and other parts of the world it’s the off season. With the help of Aspire and Dorna we can provide that service even for people in Europe,” he added.
The LCSC Vice President said one of the major objectives of the club was to create an environment for the existing motorcycling enthusiast in the country and in the Gulf.
“Since the establishment of the Club in early 2016, we had three major objectives. One to promote the sport to get the community in Qatar involved in the sport, and the second was to make full use of the facilities. I am happy to say that we have achieved those goals. An example of that is 81% utilisation of the facilities, which shows how much we have increased the events and quality of the events and how we have attracted people come to come to the circuit,” said al-Remaihi
“Now when it comes to promoting the sport, we understood that we needed to create an environment for the existing enthusiast, people who like the sport already. Those who come enjoy the championship and atmosphere in the events as that would help in creating the culture in the country for the sport. We also understood that we need to create a platform to nurture younger talent and we were working on the possibilities we have,” he added.
On LCSC’s tie up with Dorna Sports and Qatar’s Aspire Academy, al-Remaihi hailed them as the best possible partners in reaching academy’s goals. “What we found out is we need to have an alliance with right partners. This is why Losail Club has tied up with Dorna Sports, who with their vast experience and knowhow of the motorcycling racing will create programmes for younger generations that will be their stepping stone into MotoGP. And also Aspire Academy is an icon in sports training, education and excellence in sport. To have that kind of support in Qatar is a great value to us,” al-Remaihi said.
“Specific to Dorna’s and Aspire’s involvement from a collective point of view, it’s a platform for growth of MotoGP. Our friends in Dorna have a great record and we believe in their great capabilities and support to reach our goal. And with the help of Aspire they will cater to the special talents selected. It’s an opportunity for us achieve our maximum potential. Our target is to launch this programme in October 2018, which is the beginning of our season. From now on until that point of time, we will fully mobilise all our collective resources to be able to deliver our programme. We hope people will see the fruits of our collaboration,” he noted.
The LCSC General Manager also thanked QMMF and its’ President Abdulrahman al-Mannai for the support. “We do not want forget the cooperation of local federation QMMF and Abdulrahman al-Mannai and his team, which is essential for what we want to achieve. Hopefully in near future, we will get to see Qatari rider or someone living in Qatar or someone from the region in the MotoGP class,” he said.
Carmelo Ezpeleta, the Dorna CEO said the Qatar Motorsport Academy is very important to the future of sport and was excited to collaborate with LCSC. “Qatar was the first country to conduct floodlight race, which was necessary for MotoGP. They have conducted the MotoGP races successfully over the last 15 years and have been pioneers for the sport in general. Through this academy, it’s a continuity of our association with them. It’s a social responsibility for us to teach the sport to newer and enthusiastic audience. That’s what we intend to do with our tie-up with LCSC and Qatar Motorsport Academy. For us at Dorna its very exciting project. One of the main aims is to give opportunities to people, who have never raced before. The Qatar Motorsport Academy is very important to the future of the sport and we are excited to collaborate with LCSC,” Ezpeleta said.