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David Richards, chairman of Prodrive and Aston Martin, and a former team principal of the BAR and Benetton Formula One teams, delivered the opening keynote address for the first Motor Sport Business Forum Middle East yesterday.
He was speaking to a packed audience of more than 400 high-level delegates.
Mr Richards said: "When I visited the Gulf in the mid-1970s to organise the first international rally in the region and set up the Middle East Rally Championship, motor sport was in its infancy.
"Today, the fact that Bahrain is hosting the most important global motor sport forum shows how far the sport has progressed in the last 30 years and what a prominent position the region has now established for itself within the motor sport industry.
"It is a great honour to be invited back to Bahrain to speak at the forum as I am sure it is another milestone for the Gulf and will become an important event in the annual motor sport calendar."
Other speakers include McLaren Group chairman and CEO Ron Dennis, who will give today's keynote speech, and Simon E Azzam, CEO, Union Properties, owner of Dubai MotorCity, the title sponsor for the event.
The high-level delegate list includes global sponsorship and marketing directors from some of the biggest companies in the world including Vodafone, DHL, Siemens, Lenovo, Allianz, Red Bull, Emirates, Accenture, Coca-Cola, Philip Morris, BNP Paribas and Gulf Air.
Exhibitor space has been sold out and features a diverse array of companies linked to the world of motor sport including Kangaroo TV, F1 Racing, Sports Marketing Surveys, IFM International, Arabian Business and REEM.
The forum will carry on today (April 2) at the Bahrain International Circuit as part of the run-up to this year's Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.
The event has raised enormous interest throughout the region and represents the first time it has taken place outside its traditional home in Monaco.
