By Sports Reporter/Doha

FIA vice president and Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation president Nasser Khalifa al-Attiyah has praised the efforts of FIA Women in Motor Sport Commission president Michele Mouton in supporting the role of women in motorsports.
Talking ahead of the start of the five-day seminar for women’s training, a first in the world, al-Attiyah said, “First of all, I would like to thank and praise the efforts of FIA Women Motor Sport Commission headed by Mrs Michele Mouton. Mouton’s efforts in motorsports is not something new to us.
“She has been working in this field for a long time. She is a pioneering driver, competing with men early on and scoring many wins as well. She is really a model to be followed. She is the one who has made the layout of the plans and strategy that we currently follow.”
Around 18 women from all over the world will take part in the seminar, which will be hosted by QMMF starting today.
“The seminar is a training project, initiated by FIA Women Motor Sport Commission. We support it strongly here in Qatar, as we believe in the role of women in motorsport and other walks of life. Our target is to find a solid ground to increase women’s participation, and also support the current female riders and motivate more women to try this sport,” he said. An international event will be hosted, as it was announced before, to fund a women’s training programme (for drivers and co-drivers).
Al-Attiyah said, “All facilities of QMMF will be offered in order to reach the targeted results, confirming that QMMF doors will be open for more constructive cooperation with all federations and concerned international authorities. Our goal is to highlight the Middle East and North Africa region (Mena) as a vital region that is capable of securing and sustaining motorsport.”