Coffee with Hanan presents the 1st guest/interviewee:
Haytham Sultan: "Sky Dive Dubai" Formula Racer!
Photo copyrights reserved to @haythamsultanofficial IG and original photographer
Coffee with Hanan kicks off from Dubai. My first featured guest is the young ambitious and multi-talented Emarati car racing professional Haytham Sultan Al Ali. Haytham is a bright 23 year-old Emirati formula car racing driver from Umm Al Quween. His passion for motorsports started at a young age as a hobby. He has started his journey in cycling with the UAE team and won the bronze medal in the 2007 Gulf Championship in Abha, KSA and the silver medal in the President's Cup Championship (also in 2007). For personal reasons, he ended his career in cycling and moved onto Karting (in 2008), which he embraced more as an amateur, but he quickly proved to be good at it. Thus, he joined the professional team and snatched the first place in the Arab Universities Championships (in 2009). Subsequently, Haytham kept on participating in national and international competitions, namely the World Karting Championship in Paris, 2010 and again in 2013 where he achieved the 18th place globally among 16,000 racers from all over the world, and was the 1st among his Arab peers.
Afterwards, Haytham progressed into the post Karting phase, which is the car racing space, where he proved to be proficient with a solid potential and a promising future. He has competed in the Formula Gulf Championship for two consecutive seasons 2011/2012 and 2012/2013. The next competition in his pipeline is Formula 4, which is being held in the United Kingdom (the dates have not been announced just yet), so he is in the middle of preparation for that as we speak.
Haytham’s commitment to motorsports and dedication to the strictly intensive training and fitness routines didn’t stop him from pursuing a Bachelor degree on a part time basis at the Jazeera University in Dubai. He holds a degree in Automative Engineering and is a member of the Federation of UAE for cars and motorcycles. In addition to that, Haytham is a karting trainer at the “Ithihad”, and is a Public Relations and Communication Sciences Student. Morover, he has been working as a UAE Immigration Officer. Haytham is a proud member of the “Sky Dive Dubai" racing team, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. I guess now you know why I used the adjective “multi-talented” in my introduction.
What stroke me during my interaction with Haytham, is how still, composed, and eloquent he was for a 23 year old. He carries himself with a high sense of discipline and exhibits a level of professionalism and maturity that are beyond his age. Haytham is a patriot who aims to be the first Emirati and Arab to win the formula 1 championship. He is also an active promoter of Road Safety partaking in several campaigns where he educates youth about speed and accident risk – Namely, the "Commit the Safe Distance" Campaign with Dubai Police, the "Speed fatal" Campaign with Dubai Police, and the "Children's Protection from Violence and Sexual Harassment" Campaign, (among others).
It is my pleasure to share with you some of Haytham’s inspirational insight as we discover more about what motivates him, the challenges he faces, and snatch a few words of wisdom from him to share with the youngsters who want to follow suit and pursue a career in motorsports, or in any other field that they are passionate about.
Interview : Dubai -- The afternoon of Wednesday March 27th 2013
What is your biggest dream or ultimate professional goal?
· Intuitively as a car racer, my ultimate goal is to win the Formula One -- I would love to be the first Arab and Emirati to win the Formula One.
Is there a significant Arab presence in this sport? Are there lots of other Arab folks in the circuit?
· There are a few, but less than we hope to have. It would be great to have more presence.
What is the root cause behind this “insufficient” presence of Arab racers in the circuit? Is this a high-barrier-to-entry sport? And if so, can you elaborate on that?
· Yes, this is the most expensive sport. So, financial limitations are definitely factored in. But, in my opinion, another integral part of the obstacle is the general perception pertaining to this sport in our side of the world. To many people in the Arab region, this is more of a hobby than a professional sport. This is mostly true with respect to the first step, which is Karting. A lot of people don’t realize that Karting is an important first step to get into car racing. In fact, world champions pretty much all started their careers in Karting before they progressed into the Formula. However, in our region, a lot of people view Karting as a kids pass-time and don’t aspire to pursue it professionally. That is mostly because they don't realize that it is the first step towards car racing. To be honest, even I didn’t know that when I first stepped into it. It is not till later on that I realized how primordial it is in preparation for a professional career in car racing.
· The other barrier I can think of, which kind of relates to the first point I made (financial limitations) is the dynamics of sponsorships. I am very fortunate to be sponsored by Skydive Dubai and am very grateful to His Highness Sheikh Hamdan for his support. But what I have noticed is that in many cases, people simply expect that the government should sponsor them. It is a sense of entitlement that overlooks the fact that sponsorship has several other avenues to venture (beyond that). I unfortunately have sensed that in our region, sponsorship is at times viewed as charity, while in reality it is rather a business deal that promises a win-win to both parties involved (the athlete and the sponsor/a corporation). If there are adequate contract terms and both parties commit to each clause of the contract with utmost good faith, the sponsorship partnership would be very fruitful. On the one hand the athletes should carry the responsibility through and do their best to achieve results and well represent their sponsors. On the other hand, the sponsors should also make it their duty to support the athlete and realize the value he/she adds to them from a marketing perspective.
· Another key player in this dynamic is the media. Frankly, there is some room for improvement in this space as well. For instance, if the media does a better job covering events, it will make things naturally fall into place. Think about the way the media operates in Europe and/or the U.S. There is a high level of coverage diligence for all sports, and that is because they understood that in the end of the day, it is lucrative to all parties involved. So, it is a joint effort combining the athletes’ commitment to deliver on their promise, the sponsors’ ability to see the value of the partnership and invest more funds in a way that is incorporated into their marketing plan, and at last but not at least, the media’s role in providing adequate coverage to support those sports and increase their visibility. If all these pieces come together, the outcome would be a well coordinated successful platform that will definitely help increase the level of presence of the Arab youth in this sport.
This is not an easy sport. Can you mention one or two main traits you possess that you believe have helped you the most in getting to where you are today?
· I believe it is a combination of my passion for challenge and persistence. I enjoy the spirit of challenge and I always look to grow to the next level. As for persistence, like I had noted, I started up in Karting, which is a fairly new sport in the UAE. (About 7 years old in the UAE and about 10 years old in the Arab world), but I liked the challenge it presented, and I kept at it with a focus to perfect my skills, and that is truly how I ended up in the Formula circuit today.
What is the most challenging aspect of the actual race for you?
· It is without a doubt concentration, which is crucial. We have to be able to zoom out of our personal/day-to-day lives on the day of the race. What helps me achieve a high level of concentration is a good physical condition. One has to be in good shape for the mind to stay focused. If the mind is not focused, then there is an increased risk of accidents. Any minor distraction in a matter of seconds could be fatal. So, I think a lot of it has to do with staying focused and keeping a high level of concentration and that is the key challenge in any given race.
Do you have an idol or role model that you look up to in this sport?
· Well other racers are my peers, so I don't think I look up to any one person as a role model. However, I certainly believe that every person has something amazing about them that I admire and can learn from. Without mentioning any names, some have great technical skills that help them achieve great results, but they have pitfalls when it comes to their character, interpersonal skills, or come across as arrogant etc. Then, there are others who might not be at the top of the list, yet they have some good values about them that I admire and I learn from. So, I really look around me and get inspired by different traits in different people.
Every successful person experiences setbacks and failures from time to time. How do you handle failure and how do you rebound from it. In other words, how do you get back on your feet?
· Absolutely, to experience success you have to experience failure. It is the normal course of any career. You just have to learn to accept it. At times, you do your best but things don’t turn out the way you had expected, which is sometimes for reasons out of your control, such as technical problems etc. You would simply have to acknowledge that it is what it is, and you have to not dwell on it. Just move on and shift focus to what is next.
What advice would you give to the young folks out there (Arab or non Arab) who aspire to pursue the same career path as yourself in this sport. Where to start and what to do (or not do)?
· My first and foremost advice when it comes to this sport is safety. I want to emphasize the fact that this sport is not meant to be practiced in public roads. It is a sport that requires a lot of practice, but it is very crucial to hold practice sessions safely and in the proper venues. Nowadays, we have several car racing tracks that there are quite frankly no excuses for anyone to not use them. In the UAE we have about 5 or 6 tracks. My message to the apprentices out there is to take advantage of these tracks for their own safety and the one of others. Please do not do something foolish that risks your lives and the lives of others. So, safety is the number one advice in this sport.
· Secondly, I want to share how this sport has several opportunities for those who have passion and interest. Not everyone might want to necessarily be a car racer, but if there is passion for this sport, there are other opportunities to still be involved, which are sometimes overlooked. As you might know, the car racing team includes a technician, a mechanic, an engineer, a marketing person ... If we can get the best professional in each of these fields and form a strong Arab team that is proficient and passionate, we would be unstoppable.
Thank you very much Haytham. I applaud you for your achievements to date and wish you continued success.
If you have a follow up question or any burning question for Haytham, feel free to comment and I will be happy to circle back for answers as appropriate. Thank you.
Please visit Haytham’s website to learn more about him and to keep abreast with his progress.
· Instagram Handle: @haythamsultanofficial
Photos copyright reserved to @haythamsultanofficial IG and original photographer
Going through your article was a moment of pleasure. Very good choice for the topic. Sport unites people around the world!
RépondreSupprimerM. Haytham Sultan is very inspiring and seems very experienced! Good luck to him for all his future victories, the best is yet to come!
Bravo Hanane, keep up the good work!