Gulf Air the official Carrier for Bahraini Motor Racing Star
Hamad Al Fardan
National Carrier’s support to promote local talent continues
28th July 2008: Bahrain’s national carrier Gulf Air, today renewed its sponsorship agreement with the country’s rising motor racing star Hamad Al Fardan at an official signing ceremony held at Bahrain international Circuit.
Under the renewed contract, signed by Mr. Al Fardan and Gulf Air Chief Executive Officer Mr. Björn Näf, Gulf Air will cover all his race-related travel within the airline’s network.
For his part, Mr. Al Fardan will promote Gulf Air by carrying the airline’s logo during all his races this year in the German ATF F3 and the Austrian F3 Cup, which began earlier this year.
“Our sponsorship of Hamad Al Fardan is a perfect fit for Gulf Air. Both the Gulf Air and Hamad are global ambassadors for the Kingdom of Bahrain and we are proud to be associated with him,” says Mr. Näf.
“As the national carrier, this sponsorship fits well with Gulf Air’s ongoing initiatives and we are committed to fostering local talent and sports activities in Bahrain. This announcement, along with our recent announcement of our sponsorship of Queens Park Rangers Football Club and of course our ongoing sponsorship of the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix are proof of this commitment.”
“Hamad’s racing skills are phenomena and he is undoubtedly one of the brightest prospects for the Kingdom in the field of motor sports and we hope to eventually see him compete in the Bahrain Gulf Air Formula One Grand Prix,” concludes Mr. Näf.
Commenting on the agreement Hamad Al Fardan says, “I am thrilled to have Gulf Air, a Bahraini company, as one of my main sponsors. Gulf Air’s support to the growth of sport in general and motor sport in particular in the Kingdom has been tremendous. I am very pleased to be partnering with them for another year.”
Mr. Al Fardan completed his first season in single-seater racing, when he was just 16 years old, racing in the 2004 Formula BMW Asia series. Competing with team Belgravia, he finished an impressive third in the Rookie Championship.
In 2005, Mr. Al Fardan joined championship winning team Meritus for the Formula BMW Asia title as the second youngest driver in the championship. He finished the season in third place notching up four wins, two pole positions and seven podiums, then moved on in 2006 to New Zealand to compete in the Toyota Racing Series with Meritus.
The Bahraini continued his rise on the Formula Three circuit when in 2007 he achieved 12 podiums and finished 3rd in the British Formula Three Championship (National Class).
This year has been just as successful for the youngster tipped to be the Middle East’s first F1 driver, he is currently competing in the German ATS F3, where he is ranked 10th so far in the championship and had two podium wins and in the Austrian F3 cup where he is ranked 2nd in the championship and had three first place podiums.
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