MACAU, China: Qatar’s Nasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah became the new FIM vice president in a landslide win at the 125th FIM Congress yesterday. Al Attiyah — who is also president of the Qatar Motor and Motorcycling Federation (QMMF) — bagged 70 votes out of 94 to secure his position as vice president. The Qatari, who is general manager of the Losail International Circuit, will be vice-president of FIM for the next four years. A delighted Al Attiyah told The Peninsula: “This is a big day for us. We worked extremely hard for this (win). This is a major victory for the Asian continent and the Arab motorsport circuit.” The second and third positions in the vice presidency will be taken by Jorge Viegas (Portugal) and David White (Australia). Al Attiyah is the first ever Asian or GCC official elected to the post of vice president at FIM. Also yesterday, Vito Ippolito, was elected with 55 votes against 41 votes cast for his opponent, Jean-Pierre Mougin, to continue as the FIM president for the next four years. The QMMF president said the win in Macau was achieved after years of hard labour. “This was not an easy win. We had to beat people who are older to me. They have more experience. They are established people with great reputation. They know how things work but I knew all that. And that’s why I had a strategy,” Al Attiyah said. “I started my preparation when we staged the first ever MotoGP in Qatar (in 2004). That was the time when I brought the Arab motorsport officials together. That was the time when we formed true friendship to boost the sport in the region and the continent. That was the time when we formed this group to further the Asian cause. That was the time when we built bridges. We set a target and moved together. And we succeeded as a group.” The Pen

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