Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (December 5th) – The Saudi Motorsport Company (SMC) has been awarded the first Motorsport Promoter of the Year Award at the 2022 Autosport Awards which took place in London last night.
 
The prestigious annual event celebrates the highest achievements in the motorsport world and the Motorsport Promoter of the Year award was a brand-new category for the 2022 edition. SMC’s win was awarded for its incredible achievements over the last 12 months, which saw the Promoter host two Formula 1 race weekends as well as editions of the ground-breaking Formula E and Extreme E series alongside the world famous Dakar Rally (now named Dakar Saudi Arabia) and the World Touring Car Cup Season Finale.
 
His Royal Highness Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal, Chairman of the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation and the Saudi Motorsport Company was in London and was honoured to collect the award on behalf of the Saudi Motorsport Company:
 
“It is a great honour to receive this award on behalf of everyone at the Saudi Motorsport Company. This award is a reflection of the transformative sporting, socioeconomic and cultural journey our Kingdom is currently on and in that respect, I must also thank all of the global motorsport family for the faith and trust you have shown in us”
 
“In the space of a year, SMC has grown into one of the world’s main promoters of major international motorsport events. In the past 12 months we have hosted the world-famous Dakar Rally, the first electric off-road motorsport championship, Extreme E, the revolutionary Formula E series, the season finale of the WTCR championship and of course, two epic rounds of the pinnacle motorsport–Formula 1.
 
With 70% of the population under the age of 30,we are determined to use motorsport to continue to build a sporting and cultural legacy by instilling a long-term passion for all aspects of motorsport in the youth of this country–be it in terms of driving, engineering, marketing etc–and opening up a literal world of opportunities for our young men and women.
 
This award only serves to reinforce our commitment and passion to build a new home of motorsport in the Middle East”
 
Saudi Motorsport Company’s next international motorsport event is the 45th edition of the iconic Dakar Saudi Arabia (previously the Dakar Rally). The world’s toughest endurance race will be returning to Saudi Arabia for its fourth consecutive year on December 31st - January 14th.