Present:
Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah, FIA Vice President, QMMF President
François Ribeiro, Head of Eurosport Events
Nael Attiyat, DHL Express Country Manager Qatar
Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah, Campos Racing
Mehdi Bennani, Sébastien Loeb Racing
Rob Huff, LADA Sport Rosneft
José María López, Citroën Total WTCC
Norbert Michelisz, Zengő Motorsport

Q:
President Nasser, if we can start with you. Firstly thank you for your kind hospitality today and the welcome you have extended to the WTCC. Please can you summarise what hosting an FIA world championship event means to the QMMF and Qatar as a whole?

NKA:
I am very happy to meet all of you here and I would like to thank Mr François Ribeiro for this opportunity and for Eurosport to give us that important event here in Qatar. But it’s not only important for Qatar but for our region to have two rounds in our region between Morocco and Qatar and now Qatar to be in the calendar is very challenging for us for the future to do more road racing activities with this level of WTCC. This really is an amazing opportunity. We have been talking together for a long time with Francois for that opportunity for Qatar that will encourage more of the suppliers and more of the teams and drivers to be really focusing for the road racing challenge and that will be very important for Qatar for the media side and the marketing side for the Qatar name to be on the map worldwide, it’s very important for us. But not only that but to also involve the drivers who compete here with their big names and also the manufacturers, the partners who will be here with the WTCC to visit Qatar and to know how important Qatar is on the map of world motorsport. We are very glad and this is an honour to have one of the biggest events in the world to be in Qatar and we are really ready to host this event and to build a culture around this event in the future for the WTCC in Qatar.

Q:
It’s not just any old round of the WTCC it’s the championship’s first night race. How good an occasion will this be?

NKA:
For sure it will be very exciting for the drivers and the teams. The performance of the engines will be much better, the focusing of the drivers will be much better because on the outside of the track it will be a black curtain and the drivers will be more focused on the track and they will do a good time for sure and for next year we will see many improvements for breaking their time in the future as the MotoGP [riders] are doing. This is the feedback we get from the MotoGP riders and the World Superbike riders. The condition was good for the teams, for the cars, for the spectators because they have time to watch after their work and there will be huge benefit with that. The challenge is so big now for us. We have the technology with the floodlights and the light system at the Losail Circuit. That is one of the biggest records we have done ever in motorsport. We started earlier with MotoGP than Formula One and that level of competition that we do. To add technology, to shift from daylight to light is not an easy job, a big risk and we invested a lot of money in that. To invest a lot of money like that you need to consider the safety issue at the circuit and the marshals’ flags, the paramedics, the doctors, the TV production side… and also the other side is the shadow for the riders that they don’t feel nervous thinking someone is overtaking them and they get nervous for that. On the car side it’s much easier, we have done one race with GP2 before, a night race, and they were amazed of that race. I am sure there will be much excitement for the drivers to race under floodlights.

Q:
The QMMF has played a significant role in supporting the FIA Women in Motorsport initiative. Please could you give an overview of the activities undertaken and what are the future plans?

NKA:
We are trying to make things level, to treat both in the same way, the male and female. We have a lot of care for the female also to collaborate with the FIA. We did the first ever programme for cross-country rallies with the woman selection. We received more than 86 participants but we chose only 18 women for this year. The experience they have in the dunes in the south of Qatar was good for building their skills in the navigation side, how to deal with the dunes and it was not an easy job like they watch on the TV, our famous driver Nasser Saleh can tell this later. The dunes are a different concept than road racing but they have good fun and they appreciated very well the FIA Women in Motorsport commission with Michèle Mouton. It was a good field we can say. And for the women to be at Losail Circuit we have many activities. Now we moved to offroad side to have more women participants and to encourage the woman not only as a driver or co-driver, but as a doctor, an official, from the media or marketing side. From all aspects of the organisational side we need the woman to be on the same level as the man so we have full respect for the women here in Qatar and to show the world we are really encouraging the woman for this hard competition, which is not easy competition. It’s a very hard level to compete against a man in it. But, believe me, we have previous champions like Jutta Kleinschmidt, Michèle Mouton and Fabrizia [Pons] and in road racing we have some German woman, Spanish, Hungarian and also from USA. We are fine to build the route for the woman and to encourage them and to give the maximum we can to make Qatar the field of the woman. This is the aim we are liking.

Q:
Turning to you François, this is the first time the WTCC has visited the Middle East so why pick Qatar?

FR:
Very simply: because of my relationship with QMMF and Nasser. When you see for such a small country what QMMF is doing in motorsport on two wheels and four wheels is outstanding. I know no other federation of such a small country, which is doing so much for motorsport. I trust QMMF and I trust Nasser and when he gave me his word that he would do a first-class even for WTCC I had no hesitation. The second thing that picked up my brain is the quality of the infrastructure. Losail is a first-class circuit, which has been doing great for MotoGP. I said to Nasser you open the season with MotoGP so why don’t you close the season with WTCC. I think it’s good for your calendar so why not. That was the beginning of our discussion but then, maybe most importantly, is the common goal and appetite we have together to find a Middle East driver to do in the Middle East what Mehdi Bennani has done in Morocco. WTCC made Mehdi Bennani a star in his country and I hope that in the future we will find a Middle East driver to bring him on WTCC and make him something. There is not only Formula One and single-seater in motorsport. Touring car is also very important and touring car is a great way for young drivers to become professional drivers. That’s the goal we have long term and very few ASNs are supporting young drivers like this to help them achieve their dream and become professional drivers. That’s also one part of Nasser and QMMF that I like very much.

Q:
This will be the WTCC’s first night race. What does this mean to you?

FR:
As Nasser said Qatar has been a pioneer before anybody had night races. If I remember well their first night race was with MotoGP in 2004 four years before Formula One and probably 10 years before Abu Dhabi. It was a natural choice to go to Qatar to do the first race for WTCC. We have been finishing WTCC for 10 years in Macau. Macau is great, Macau is an amazing city, Macau is an amazing tradition for motorsport and touring car in particular. But in Macau we were racing at lunchtime on Sunday, which meant a very, very difficult broadcast. To finish a championship you want the maximum number of people in front of the television and to finish the championship at lunchtime in Macau on Sunday meant that European viewers had to get up at five or six o’clock the WTCC final round. I don’t know if you watch TV at home with your family at five o’clock on Sunday morning – personally I don’t. That was the idea to finish the championship in a better zone with the conditions as much as possible to have as many spectators as possible watching on TV. This is what we are going to do Friday. We are going to race Friday evening here in Losail when it will be between seven and nine o’clock Central European Time. This is a great time for television and to give you an idea on Eurosport before us there will be one of the biggest audiences of the year with a ski jumping event from Finland and straight after WTCC Eurosport will go live with alpine skiing from Apsen in USA and the WTCC will be in an amazing environment on television. We will put Qatar on the map and I estimate over 60 million viewers in the world. This will be difficult to do in Macau whatever the respect that I have for what Macau has done for us for the last 10 years.

Q:
The final round of the 2015 WTCC season – what are your expectations?

FR:
Maybe we have been lucky with the rain. I know it’s very unusual in Qatar, very unusual. I was surprised this morning when I landed to have that amount of water on the Corniche. But it reminded me exactly the conditions we had in Motegi in Japan where we had huge storms and huge rains before the race, which washed out completely the track. There was no grip and Motegi were probably some of the best touring car races of the season. I think the same conditions will happen in Losail. The level of grip will be very low, the racing won’t be easy but it will be very spectacular. I expect for Qatari people the WTCC is new. It’s the first time we come and we never came in the Middle East for 10 years so WTCC is new and they will see a lot of similarities between MotoGP. They are sprint races, there is no pit stop, there is no strategy, it’s bumper-to-bumper with a lot of action, incidents, overtaking – it’s very exciting. You don’t have time to fall asleep, the race is not played on pit stops or tyre change, it’s purely the determination of the drivers to win a race and I think Qatari people will do a parallel very quickly between WTCC and Moto GP.

Q:
As the championship promoter how important is it to have a local driver in Nasser Al-Attiyah on the starting grid?

FR:
It’s great. Personally I would have been so sad to come here to Qatar and not to have its greatest ambassador of sport. Not only is he an Olympics ambassador, most importantly you cannot do more than him to promote motorsport and his country through motorsport. He had the season that was just unbelievable. He won Dakar, he won WRC2, he won the Middle East Rally Championship but he will not win WTCC. You cannot expect him to win for his first time out in WTCC – ask Sébastien Loeb how tough is WTCC. It’s an unbelievable level of competition. You will probably see 12 cars in one second in the qualifying so it’s going to be very difficult. I hope he likes that experience because coming from rallying to touring car is exactly the opposite. It’s a 180 degrees exercise between the two categories. I just hope he enjoys it because if he enjoys it Nasser is one of the only drivers on the planet to be completely free for his choices. If he likes it then it could be his next sporting challenge, who knows? Anyway I’m super-glad that such a high profile like him is participating in his home event. It’s great and I am sure he will have a very warm welcome from all drivers in the same way all WTCC drivers gave a very warm welcome to Sébastien Loeb at the beginning of last year. I wish him well – he’s a great competitor.

Q:
Turning to you Nael, how important are international motorsport championships like the WTCC to DHL?

NA:
As a matter of fact it’s a very important event for us. It’s a world-class championship that expects all partners to perform very well. A world-class partnership with our logistical partners is the theme here. We depend on each other. We deliver material on time, we carry 200,000 kilograms of material to 12 circuits around the world and we deliver on time every time to the circuits where it should be. Above that we choose the transport methods according to the needs and the speeds that are required.

Q:
Now it took a bit of work to get all the WTCC cars and equipment from the previous race in Thailand. Please could you briefly explain how everything has got to Qatar in plenty of time?

NA:
From Bangkok to here it was a bit challenging because it was 4,000 kilometres away and we needed to bring the material in the middle of November. We utilised our jumbo jets, the Boeing 747 aircrafts and we had the material on time here. It’s not an easy thing because we have to move things like the cars, engine, spare parts, fuel and equipment and the distance we have covered this year is around 87,000 kilometres. It’s a bit challenging but we did it right on time every time.

Q:
And finally Nael, looking ahead to 2016 and, specifically, the Middle East region, what are some of the main activities DHL will be engaged in?

NA:
In the big picture DHL sponsor a number of other activities in motorsport. We are the logistics partner for Formula One since 2004 and it’s going very well with Abu Dhabi and Bahrain. Both are sponsored by DHL as a logistics partner. Other than that we have been partnering with Formula E since the start and also the WTCC since 2010.

Q:
Turning to you Nasser, welcome to the WTCC. I would start by saying congratulations for all your achievements in 2015 but as there have been so many we really don’t have time! Seriously, it’s been a very good 2015 for you – your best year in motorsport yet would you say?

NSA:
First thing good evening to everybody and I am really so happy and proud to be with all the drivers here. I follow this championship when the drivers move from WRC to WTCC. This season was really a great season for us. To start with Dakar and win Dakar and we were planning to compete in three different competitions – WRC2, the World Cup for Cross Country Rallies and the Middle East championship. Our plan was to win one, maybe two but not three. But, okay, we find ourselves in really good shape. I was working a lot for myself to always be in a good condition. We were really happy to have all this support from everybody on the events we compete. It’s a great year for us and also to drive in the final race of the WTCC season is really nice to have this gift from our federation, the QMMF and I’m quite happy.

Q:
So given all your success why are you putting your reputation on the line by making your WTCC debut?

NSA:
I love the circuit racing and I follow many, may races. When I was driving for VW in 2009 and 2010 I did the 24 hours [of Nürburgring] and the six hours in a front-wheel-drive Scirocco. But to make a sprint race compared to an endurance race is completely different. The races will not be easy but, okay, the good thing is to learn and compete and get the good experience and to watch the best drivers fighting each other. It will not be easy because it will be the first time for all the drivers at this Losail Circuit. It’s quite fast, 16 corners but, okay, I think everyone will enjoy and I am sure it will be a really great race. 

Q:
Despite your lack of circuit racing experience you know the Losail International Circuit better than all the other drivers here. What’s it like as a track, how good will the racing be and what tips do you have for your rivals?

NSA:
For all the drivers they should be watching for the first corner. Many things happened during the GT3 race here and many national race. It’s a really fast, medium corner but I am sure the professional drivers will manage.

Q:
And you’ve had a chance to drive your Campos Racing Chevrolet on the track as we can now see from this video. Please describe the experience?

NSA:
Actually I really liked to drive the World Touring Car. It was a really nice feeling. I enjoy the test but you need to run this car for more kilometres to understand. There are lot of things you can respect but, for me, I am quite happy to compete with the best drivers and to learn from everybody and to enjoy the weekend.

Q:
Turning to you Rob, you’ll be making you 249^th WTCC start in Friday’s second race, which is a great achievement. After all this time, what’s the appeal of the WTCC and how long do you plan to keep going?

RH:
You’re making me feel quite old now, wow! Eleven years now in this championship and I’m definitely feeling part of the furniture. That adrenalin rush you get when you win, even when you just put the helmet on. You can see how wide Nasser’s eyes were in the video… that feeling you have when you are racing, when you are driving is quite special and the WTCC every year is putting on an amazing show and introducing new things. To have the night race as the final race of the year for me is very new. I’ve never done a touring car race at night, they used to be quite famous back in the UK in the 1990s so I’m looking forward to it very much.

Q:
Not since 2005, your first season in the WTCC, have you failed to take a win so how confident are you of making sure that doesn’t happen again in Qatar this weekend and if things don’t go to plan can you look back on 2015 as being a good year for LADA or not?

RH:
Obviously it’s great to win races and if anything we’ve definitely got a much faster and stronger car than last yea and if anything it’s probably what’s hampered us from winning this year. Last year we had three opportunities from the reverse grid and all three times we took that opportunity with a second in Argentina, a win in Macau and the win in Beijing. Of course I would be disappointed not to have a win this weekend but, at the same time, we’ve been stronger in the championship this year, more consistent and I have to say the whole LADA Sport team has made a huge step forward with the car and the whole running of the car. I’ve had a fair few different team-mates this year, which has also made it not that easy but we seem to have had some good continuity in the team right now and to win here in the night race in the grand finale of the year, the championship has already been sewn up by López but to make some headlines would be a great finale for us.

Q:
And turning to you José, WTCC champion for a second time and now we have confirmation that you’ll be going for a third title in 2016. How pleased are you and what do you have to do to make it a hat-trick of titles next season?

JML:
First of all I am very happy to be here in Qatar and to share the race with Nasser will be fantastic and also to all the guys here. I think it’s going to be a very nice race. I am very happy to keep going with this team who gave me the opportunity to be here today and who gave me the opportunity to be two times world champion. Some things have changed. We are going to miss Seb [Loeb]. I really admire him and it’s been a pleasure to share the team with him. For me he’s an idol and I’ve always said that since I was eight years old I have been following rallying and following him a lot. So I am very happy to be with this amazing team for another year. For me it’s fun for me already but talking about a third championship I don’t know because two years ago I was not thinking about one. We will see. There is a lot of work to do and I will have a very difficult team-mate again which is Yvan. I have learned a lot with him and for sure the competition is going to be stronger. For the moment I am happy to be competing in the WTCC with Citroën but for next year we will see.

Q:
You mentioned your Citroën team-mate Sébastien Loeb and the success he has achieved and you were competing alongside some other motorsport legends in London last week when you took part in the Race Of Champions. What was that like?

JML:
Well I was not very busy because I lost in my first heat and I had to spend all the day watching the other guys racing! It’s always a nice opportunity to race with people I would not normally have the opportunity to race with, people like Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Formula One drivers especially. It was very nice to be there, really tough as well but the feeling of these races is really nice because you have the mix of competition but you are more relaxed and you can have some fun with the people, meeting very nice people. It was great to be there.

Q:
Turning to you Mehdi, José knows what it’s like to be a champion in the WTCC but there’s a chance you could be celebrating winning a big title on Friday night – the Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy. What would it mean to you and what’s your plan of action?

MB:
Sure it’s going to be my second race because we are in an Arabic country and I want to do like all the WTCC drivers have done for me when I did my first race in Marrakech when I was a beginner. They gave me a warm welcome and I want to give a warm welcome to Nasser Al-Attiyah – you will enjoy. For sure we have some big fights with Michelisz. I have a big respect for him and he’s a very talented driver and I know the fight will be to the chequered flag in race two. We are fighting for the title. That’s going to be more hot for all the spectators to follow the race and for the drivers we are going to be in the best position to start the championship and to be fighting for the championship in the last race and the last lap is something wonderful.

Q:
Now Norbi, we’ve heard from Mehdi but what would winning the Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy mean to you and how do you plan to win it?

NM:
Like Pechito, Rob and Mehdi said thank you very much for the warm welcome. It’s also a pleasure for us to have Nasser joining us for this race weekend. Regarding the Yokohama Trophy it’s a very nice position to be in to fight for a championship at the end of the year and just like Mehdi said, as a racing car driver you are looking for competition throughout the year and if you have this competition, which is getting more intense towards the end of the season, it’s a very nice feeling for somebody who wants to race, who likes to win. I know the season had ups and downs for us. At the beginning of the year I didn’t set any targets for myself. I just wanted to achieve something we achieved last season. But throughout the year I realised we are in a good position to fight for the Yokohama Trophy and as soon as we arrived to the last part of the season I realised we have the chance to get the title [again] after 2012 and of course winning the title for the first time was quite special but the possibility of winning it for the second time is as special as winning for the first time.

Q:
Back to you Mehdi, we’re at the end of the 2015 season. What’s in store for you in 2016?

MB:
For sure I like too much the WTCC and as everyone can see Marrakech is a huge event for the world championship. It’s an event all Moroccan are waiting for and for sure the WTCC is still in Marrakech next year and I will be there next year inshallah fighting closer and closer. My aim and the Moroccan aim is to be fighting for the world championship. I hope to be closer or to take it one time and we shall see how it’s going.

Q:
And how about your Norbi? What can you say about you plans for next season?

NM:
If you allow me I would like to go back to the previous question because I would like to tell Mehdi how much I appreciate the fight we had throughout the season and I would like to wish him all the best. Of course we are competing against each other but we have known each other for five years, I appreciate his way of thinking and his way of driving so all the best. For 2016 I think I am in a good position to improve as a driver, to have maybe slightly better possibilities. For a racing car driver at one point you want to win but you also have to realise what tools you have to get to make it possible to win. I have said many times that if you want to win a world championship you have to have the perfect conditions. My team, Zengő Motorsport, is a great team and I know how hard Honda is working on the car to improve the car and the performance for next season and I appreciate a lot the confidence I get from them and also for future possibilities.