SALALAH: The Oman Automobile Association organised Arrive & Drive karting sessions at Salalah’s Celebration Square for friends and families to take part in recently.
The karting sessions were organised from July 15 to August 20 as part of OAA's 'Khareef Dhofar' programme.
Humood al Balushi, Events Manager of the series, said: “We gained a positive response from the public and even though it lasted for 35 days; people were still coming up to us and asking if we could keep going.”
He added: “We had Sundays set for only ladies and families to attend the sessions so that everyone could enjoy the experience and the fact that the activity was something brand new and exciting for the people of Dhofar, we had them queuing up at our ticketing booths everyday.”
One of the challenges the department faced was accommodating the large number of customers from adults to youngsters, who turned up daily for karting. The closing timings had to be pushed from 10 pm to 11.30 pm, due to the rush during registrations.
According to Sanad al Rawahi, it was essential to run the karting activity in Dhofar as it is considered to be the foundation of motorsports and by hosting it, OAA had provided the opportunity for motorsport lovers and those new to it, to explore the basics of this world and experience the thrill of competition and speed amongst themselves.
He said: “It was also crucial to assign Sundays as a special day for ladies and families which allowed at most, privacy and comfort while participating in our karting events.
“The number of female participants has exceeded our expectations and as a result, we have noticed their increasing interest in wanting to give karting another go or take the race to the next level.”
The ladies were glad to have that one day for themselves where they can bring along their children and friends to enjoy the sport.
It was Shahad al Marhoon’s first time to go-kart and believed OAA had made the best choice with setting a separate karting session each week for the ladies.
She said: “It was amazing! I loved everything about it especially racing competitively against my friends. We were able to enjoy the experience without feeling too shy and overly conscious of our surroundings.”
The sessions proved to be the greatest accomplishment for the association and they look forward to bringing it back to Salalah for the next upcoming series.
Sanad al Rawahi said: “Hopefully for next season, we will add further activities associated with Go-karting as I think it’s important for us to conduct competitions and challenges, which will help us explore the hidden talents that have yet to be seen amongst the people.”
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