Dubai’s ‘Grand Prix’ celebrates a nation’s first decade

All set to go; Dubai Grand Prix, 4 Dec. 1981

The residents of Dubai were eager, impatient and agog with the news that Dubai’s first Grand Prix would be held on 4^thDecember 1981 to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the United Arab Emirates’ National Day. As the track reached completion, there was an influx of foreign journalists in town. Ian Macaulay, the son of Edward Macaulay, the chief feature writer of the Daily Mirror in the U.K., rated his visit to Dubai as the premier assignment on his current programme. It was one surprise after another, he exclaimed, every time he turned a corner there was something else he had not expected to see. The journalists were sipping, not a glass of water as expected, but a chilled Coca Cola.Then they caught sight of the Hyatt Regency and they were totally nonplussed!

Scheduled for December, the Grand Prix was a prestigious event for Dubai – a major publicity, promotion and tourism boost. With my baby due in early December, I wondered whether I would have the opportunity to watch this unique and extraordinary event live. Nothing can compare to the feeling of being there at the track, in person, to feel and partake in the tremendous spectacle which would lift Dubai into the lime light once more. It was a saloon car race but both the cars and the drivers were not the regular, run of the mill, fare. The cars were highly modified and the drivers, the cream of the crop

The event was called the Dubai Grand Prix, but it was not an official Grand Prix. Formula One cars would make demonstration turns with other cars actually racing.There was a galaxy of world champions who had agreed, in principle, to attend the event: Juan Manuel Fangio of Argentina, Alan Jones of Australia, Sir Jack Brabham from Australia, John Surtees and James Hunt from Britain joined by Jackie Stewart. The other British drivers included Stirling Moss, John Watson, Nigel Mansell from the United Kingdom and a long line of champions who were still confirming their participation.

When did the first automobile race take place?

In 1895, the first true automobile race was held from Paris to Bordeaux in France, a distance of 1,178 kilometres. The winner’s average speed was 24.15 kph. In comparison, the 2021 French Grand Prix was a 53-lap race with each lap measuring 5.842 kilometres, making the total length of the race 309.690 kilometres. However, one must bear in mind that the race from Paris to Bordeaux was a race on the road and not a lap race.

It was the end of November and the Grand Prix on 4^th December approached rapidly. We eventually decided to attend because the children were so keen and excited. I also knew the arena would be full of medical personnel and ambulances and, if I started labour pains, they would deal with it! I had just completed the ninth month of my pregnancy and the first person I bumped into was my doctor, Dr. Zarina Chinchinwala, a well-known and excellent gynaecologist. I was relieved and she was horrified. ‘What on earth are you doing here?’, she mouthed over the din of the loudspeakers and general cacophony and then gave the thumbs up sign to show she was proud of me. Her presence was very reassuring and for the first time since my father’s passing, the lump in my throat got a little smaller.