Mikko Hirvonen, the Finn leading the World Rally Championship, took his wife and two young children for their first family holiday in Abu Dhabi this year. Being the lead driver for the BP Ford Abu Dhabi team, he was uniquely placed to get a good deal at the seven-star Emirates Palace through his connections with the Middle Eastern royalty who help to pay his salary.
But, like many of his countrymen, the 29-year-old who learnt his trade from the age of 5 on Finland’s tree-lined dirt tracks had little knowledge of Abu Dhabi until the oil-rich state began sponsoring the sport three years ago.
He, the 500,000 spectators who religiously attend Rally Finland and the 50 million who watch on TV are now very familiar with the name, which was plastered around Australia at this weekend’s rally. “We have this following all around the world and they get the publicity,” said Hirvonen, who was awarded victory in Rally Australia yesterday after S?bastian Loeb, of Citro?n, was penalised by race stewards for a technical infringement. “It’s two different countries working together for the same goals.”
While Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala are the Finnish heroes, some of the fans’ attention is reserved for their team-mate, Khalid al-Qassimi. The 33-year-old sheikh holds his own on the circuit, but admits being more of an ambassador than a driver.
“I’m not only driving, I’m carrying a message,” he said. “When I started, people heard Abu Dhabi, they were thinking, ‘Is it a product?’ Usually motor sport is to do with banks, oil lubricants or tobacco companies. It was a big move for a destination to fill the gap. It’s something new and gave it life. You’re not talking about cigarettes, you’re talking about people and culture.” The message is clear despite the tenuous commercial link with Finland, which ranks 87th in the world between Belgium and Burma in terms of oil production: Come to Abu Dhabi.
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As the spiritual home of rallying, the Nordic region is an important platform for the ruling al-Nayahan family, which uses sport to promote its sandy promontory in the Persian Gulf as a leading tourist, cultural and commercial centre. Before Manchester City were a glint in the eye of Sheikh Mansour, half-brother of the UAE president, the strategy of Brand Abu Dhabi rested on rallying. It is a template that offers an insight into the wider Emirati thinking about sport as a marketing tool for a new country, rooted in centuries of nomadic farming and fishing before the discovery of oil in the late 1950s, seeking to make its mark on the modern world.
Compared with football, on which Abu Dhabi United Group has splashed £150 million in the transfer market in the past year alone, the financial investment is small. Annual outlay through a sponsorship of WRC, the title branding of the BP Ford team and a junior programme is understood to be £10 million. But the return, delivered through the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), is between three and five times that amount as the message reaches an estimated audience of 200 million people a year.
The orders come from Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon al-Nahyan, chairman of the ADTA, whose sports portfolio extends to powerboating, triathlon and Aero GP. But, ultimately, the money all comes from the same pocket — that of the Government. The presence in rallying is coupled with eye-watering investments in both Premier League football and Formula One. The latter project, steered by Khaldoon al-Mubarak, the Manchester City chairman, and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, aims to create a global motor-sports hub after the $40 billion (about £24 billion) Yas Island complex hosts its first grand prix in November.Simon Long, chief executive of ISC, the WRC promoter and rights-holder, says that he has never seen anything like it. “They’re integrated at every level of the sport; they’re part of the fabric,” he said. “The next logical step is for them to host an event.” An Abu Dhabi rally is possible in 2012. It could be an all-country race covering 500 kilometres of terrain ranging from desert to coast and city to mountains, along a purpose-built track.
Taken as a whole, Abu Dhabi’s involvement in sport is part of a well-considered plan to attract business and luxury travellers. Whether it works can be judged only over the long term but, while its oil reserves are not predicted to run dry for another 100 years, the spending will undoubtedly continue.
Result: 1, M Hirvonen (Fin, Ford) 2hr 53min 6.5sec; 2, *S Loeb (Fr, Citro?n) at 47.5sec behind; 3, *D Sordo (Sp, Citro?n) 1min 4.6sec; 4, J-M Latvala (Fin, Ford) 1:52.0; 5, *S Ogier (Fr, Citro?n) 2:23.3; 6, M Wilson (GB, Ford) 5:26.3.
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* 1min penalty because of technical infringement
Leading championship positions: 1, Hirvonen 78pts; 2, Loeb 73; 3, Sordo 50; 4, Latvala 36; 5, H Solberg (Nor, Ford) 29; 6, P Solberg (Nor, Subaru) 25; 7, Wilson 23.