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Motoring Middle East has teamed up with the Dubai World Trade Centre to run daily discussion panels at next month’s Motor Show

The spectacular Dubai International Motor Show kicks off next month at the World Trade Centre from 10-14 November, and Motoring Middle East will be officially running the daily discussion panels – Ignition Live Talks at the show, in Hall 4 from 6pm and 3pm on Friday and Saturday.

– For everything you need to know about attending the Dubai Motor Show 2015, click here now! – 

There will be three panel discussions every evening hosted by Shahzad Sheikh and Imthishan Giado of MME starting from Tuesday evening (the opening day of the Motor Show). The talks will be free to attend, and you’ll be able to take part and engage with the panellists in open Q&A sessions.

We’ll have a range of guests and subjects will include: coolest movie cars, what is GCC spec, how to make a fortune on classic cars, how to be retro cool, getting into Motor Sports, cars and girls, preparing for an off-road expedition, customisation/tuning, starting your own car company and more!

Here’s the full schedule for the five nights of talks (subject to change) and the guests we have for you (listed in alphabetical order for each panel).

 

Tuesday 10 November

 

What is GCC Spec? (And the truth about Hot Weather Testing) – hosted by Imthishan Giado

Timing 6pm

Guests:
Ziyad Dallalah, Ford Middle East

Meet Ken Block – Gymkhana and rally superstar on stage

Timing 7pm-7:30pm

How to make a fortune (or lose one!) on a classic car – hosted by Shahzad Sheikh

Timing 8pm

Guests:
Gaurav Dhar, Classic Car Collector
Miguel Llorente, Al Ain Classic Car Museum
James Nicholls, Marina Marini

 

Wednesday 11 November

 

Why doesn’t your stereo sound THIS good? – hosted by Imthishan Giado

Timing 6pm

Guests:
Thierry Gay, EMMA
Two Tone, Music Artist

How to buy & run your dream classic – hosted by Shahzad Sheikh

Timing 7pm

Guests:
Akram Miknas, Promoseven Holdings
Brian Reilly, Zurich Insurance
Gaurav Dhar, Classic Car Collector
Tom Tacker, Al Ain Classic Car Museum

Don’t be boring, drive Retro Cool! – hosted by Imthishan Giado

Timing 8pm

Guests:
Alan Stote, The Alvis Car Company
David Brown, David Brown Automotive
John Steans, Eras Al Futtaim

 

Thursday 12 November

 

Be a better tailgater! – hosted by Shahzad Sheikh

Timing 6pm

Guests:
Mostafa Aldah, Road Traffic Expert
Thomas Edelman, Road Safety UAE

How to do an Off-Road Expedition – hosted by Imthishan Giado

Timing 7pm

Guests:
Manuel Schmitd, Land Rover Owners Club
Neville Darukhanawalla, Journalist & PR Specialist

Getting into Formula 1 – hosted by Shahzad Sheikh

Timing 8pm

Guests:
Nahla Al Rostamany, Motor Sports Professional
Neville Darukhanawalla, Journalist & PR Specialist

 

Friday 13 November

 

Cars and Girls – hosted by Shahzad Sheikh

Timing 3pm

Guests:
Lex Akehurst, XSport Group
Nahla Al Rostamany, Motor Sports Professional

How to start your own Car Company – hosted by Imthishan Giado

Timing 4pm

Guests:
Mohammed Al Qadi, Zarooq Motors
Mostafa Aldah, UAE Roadster

5pm-6pm BREAK

Cars in the Movies – hosted by Imthishan Giado

Timing 6pm

Guests:
Arafaat Ali Khan, Extra Cake
Miguel Llorente, Al Ain Classic Car Museum
Shariq Madani, Filmphoria

Restoring a Classic – hosted by Shahzad Sheikh

Timing 7pm

Guests:
Dean Le Roux, Ramy 4×4
Simon Crispe, Owner / Restorer
Vijay Pillai, Max Garage

 

Saturday 14 November

 

Tuning and Customisation – hosted by Imthishan Giado

Timing 3pm

Guests:
John Steans, Eras Al Futtaim
Suhaib Shashaa, Arab GT
Zlatko Mulabegovic, Top Performance Magazine

How to be a Racing Driver – hosted by Shahzad Sheikh

Timing 4pm

Guests:
Mohammed Al Falasi, Drift Academy
Noel Ebdon, Motoring Middle East

5pm-6pm BREAK

How to Off-Road! – hosted by Imthishan Giado

Timing 6pm

Guests:
Ali Asger Rokadia, Emirates Off-Roaders
Marwan Semaan, Ramy 4×4
Oomen Jacob, Torq Garage

The Lady Racers – hosted by Shahzad Sheikh

Timing 7pm

Guests:
Lex Akehurst, XSport Group
Nahla Al Rostamany, Motor Sports Professional

Hosted by Motoring Middle East:

Shahzad Sheikh, Editor-in-Chief

He has been a journalist for over 25 years, and for 20 of them he has been writing about cars. Having driven everything from the Bentley Blower to a Renault F1 car, between 2006 and 2011 he also established and ran the Middle East Edition of CAR Magazine. Now at the helm of Motoring Middle East, Shahzad insists that: ‘you ain’t seen nothing yet!’

Imthishan Giado, Managing Editor

Quite possibly the oldest young man in the Gulf, Imthishan’s a true product of the local motoring scene, having spent most of the last three decades meticulously (some would say pedantically) cataloging and observing the growth of petrolhead fever. A serial car buyer, car gazer and classic car hunter, he brings just the right amount of (medically-approved) neurosis to the team, as well as a wit dryer than the sump of a Metzger-engined 911.

 

The Guest Profiles!

(In order of first appearance)

 

Gaurav Dhar, Classic Car Collector

Gaurav has been working with classic cars in the Middle East for over 7 years. He has been advising people on entry level car-collecting all the way upto building pure investment collections. He has put together several events for international organisations here in the UAE, while advising some of the top auction houses on entry into the region. Along his global travels, Gaurav now established close relationships with a large network of museum directors, collectors, specialist garages, publications, authors, builders and organisations  – enabling him to impart the most current knowledge to those seeking it out. A collector himself, you will no doubt encounter him attending one of the many car events locally or internationally.

Miguel Llorente, Al Ain Classic Car Museum

Born in the Spanish plains, Miguel Llorente started his love affair with automobiles when he bought his first car in Rhode Island (USA), a rusty Volvo P1800E that brought him a few breakdowns and many smiles. Eventually, what started as a hobby turned into a feverish passion and soon he found himself restoring 300SL’s in California. Ever since, he has starred in the show “Open Roads”, driven part of the PanAmerican in a classic Mercedes, and been featured in Autobild Deutschland for rediscovering the elusive Cuban Gullwing. He now works as the curator at the Al Ain Classic Car Museum.

James Nicholls, Marina Marini Australia

James Nicholls is a writer, lecturer and broadcaster specialising in classic cars and boats. Born in the UK, with an Italian mother he is now based in Sydney, Australia but attends many of the international events on the classic car circuit. He also works as a consultant for Australia’s oldest auction house and recently conducted the highest dollar value classic car auction ever held outside of the USA and Europe.

Thierry Gay, EMMA

Thierry Gay is behind the re-launch project of key after-market In-Car Entertainment (ICE) brands in the UAE and Middle East. He won Car Audio ‘Best Sound Quality” EMMA Arabia 2012 and 1st Place Sound Quality Expert EMMA Arabia 2013-14 season. He has been in the ICE industry for the past 10 years and in the audio field for over 40 years. Thierry now specializes in integrating new multimedia technologies in the automotive world with no compromise on sound and video quality. His experience working with Middle East installers give him the insights on both consumer demand and supply capabilities in terms of hardware and fitting competencies. Originally from France, Thierry has lived and worked in the UK, the United States, North Africa and first came to the Middle East 20 years ago.

Akram Miknas, Founder, Promoseven Holdings

Akram Miknas, chairman and founder of PROMOSEVEN HOLDINGS B.S.C.C. (P7H), is known to be one of the pillars of modern marketing communications in the Middle East. He has just been recognized as No. 3 in the Middle East’s 50 Most Powerful People in Media, Marketing and Advertising. He is an avid collector of antiques and objects d’art and also has a large fascinating collection of film and photography equipment, musical boxes, automata, clocks and watches that date back to the early mid-19th century. Of course he also has a beautiful collection of twenty-five vintage and heritage cars, some dating as far back as 1924. The cars are all in working order and frequently used, and also go on display at parades and at exhibitions and at the Formula One Pre-event race in the local community.

Tom Tacker, Al Ain Classic Car Museum

I started fixing things at the age of 4 when my Grandmother would give me broken clocks, radios,lamps, blenders and anything else that would keep me busy. At age 14 I purchased my first car, a 1964 Plymouth Valiant with no engine or transmission. I put a V8 in it and spent countless hours getting it in top mechanical condition. By age 16 I was doing side jobs for the neighbors, from tune ups to brake jobs.  I took every shop class in school that they offered, wood shop, metal, welding small engine repair, auto shop. I was the teachers pet as I was far and away above the other students. In small engine class as the other students learned how engines work, I built mini bikes for the teacher and he sold them for a sweet profit, none for me, I didn’t care I just wanted to hear them run. When I finished high school I went an Arizona Automotive Institute. Graduated top of the class with perfect attendance. I moved back to California and opened a repair shop. After a few years I decided to try the dealership life and raise a family. I started working for Mazda in 1984 I became the rotary engine specialist. In 1989 I competed in a nationwide Mazda troubleshooting contest, I placed 2nd place, a few seconds behind my study partner. Only 4 people out of 12 even got the car started. I went on to run several shops over the last few years and now find myself looking after the cars at the Al Ain Classic Car Museum.

Alan Stote, The Alvis Car Company

Born in Winchester England in 1948, Alan was educated at Lordswood Technical College following which he and his brother built up a motor component manufacturing business. After being listing on the London Stock Exchange in 1985, he sold his shareholding in 1988 and bought what had previously been the passenger car division of Alvis Limited. Today The Alvis Car Company still manufactures new Alvis cars to order and its sister company, Red Triangle, service and restore over 200 Alvis cars each year. Alan has been a keen car collector for nearly forty years over which time he has experienced the enormous pleasure of classic car collecting as well as the occasional pitfall.

David Brown, David Brown Automotive

David Brown has been involved in vehicles all of his life. One of his hobbies includes renovating classic cars, and competing in classic car rallies, but he has more recently become very interested in making use of the new and advanced techniques of low volume manufacturing, which allow cost-effective production of complex parts. It is this interest that he has since gone onto put into practise, whilst realising an ambition and dream he has had for some years, in founding David Brown Automotive in 2013. David Brown Automotive is a design-led luxury automobile manufacturer, based in Coventry, UK. Its first vehicle, Speedback GT, is a limited edition luxury grand tourer, which, inspired by classic 60’s design, is both fully engineered offering state of the art technology, performance and reliability, and built using traditional handcraftsmanship. Since its launch in Monaco in April 2014, Speedback has received press coverage and consumer interest from around the globe.

Mostafa Aldah, Road Safety Expert and UAE Roadster

Mostafa holds a PhD (from Loughborough University) in road and vehicle safety, specialising in the prevention of injury in traffic accidents. His background is in materials engineering and automotive engineering, having completed a B.Eng. degree (honours) in Automotive Materials Engineering, also at Loughborough.

Thomas Edelmann, Road Safety UAE

Thomas is the Founder and Managing Director of RoadSafetyUAE.com – a holistic platform aimed at increasing the awareness for road safety in the UAE, by leveraging the key stakeholders governmental entities, corporate supporters, the media and the individual traffic participants of the UAE.

Manuel Schmidtd, Land Rover Owners Club

Manuel is a passionate and experienced off roader with experience through a large amount of offroad trips with experienced accumulated by exploring the region and beyond, including expeditions in Morocco and Saudi Arabia. He takes his specially equipped Land Rover Defender 90 that has been modified to withstand the harsh environment of the desert and mountains. Manuel is driven by the nature of exploring the unknown and the aim to reach places where others don’t go. He shares his passion with the Land Rover Owners UAE group that he founded with three friends 4 years ago and now has 700 members. An adventurer by nature, he has also climbed the Kilimanjaro and is a passionate cyclist and trail runner.

Neville Darukhanawalla, Journalist & PR Specialist

A self-confessed automotive buff, Neville Jal Darukhanawalla has been associated with cars and bikes since his school days in the late 1980s. A two-time national champion, racing scooters in his native India, he has raced in different forms of motorcycle sport – road racing, motocross, rallies, flat track, trials etc. A massive fan of Formula One and MotoGP – in fact, of all forms on motor racing, he believes that racing improves the breed. He was the team leader of a marathon expedition crossing the inhospitable Sahara Desert in 1990 – on a 100cc scooter, no less – traversing north to south from Morocco, Algeria, Niger and onto Nigeria, a distance of nearly 10,000kms. With a total trip time of 28 days, he led his teammates for a collective riding time of 17 days as they overcame all that nature, man and machine could throw at them. A motoring journalist since 1987, he switched over to the other side in 2008 and is currently looking after the PR at Fiat Chrysler Middle East as the PR Manager.

Nahla Al Rostmany, Motorsports Professional

I was taught to drive when I was just 12 years old by my Uncle but realised my passion for cars when I used to go to the park and only play on the rides that were to do with cars and driving! I got my driving licence at the age of 16 and set about learning about cars and how they worked. By 20 years old the Dubai autodrome invited me to go karting for fun and also evaluate my driving. They were surprised to see how fast I was and not afraid to push it to the limit, so I was nominated to go to Bahrain for the Thunder Arabia academy with Formula Ford. After three days of tough training, I finally succeded in becoming the first UAE female to have a racing license. I joined Dubai autodrome in 2007 and that’s when my journey started with motorsport. I then became the first UAE girl to have a timing license. In 2009 I joined Yas marina circuit and became the only female in the world to have a position of deputy circuit manager. After a decade I have managed lots of races events, bike events and worked five years with F1. I continue to build my passion in motorsport and leading others in love with this sport to fulfil their dreams.

Lex Akehurst, XSport Group

Lex is the only person in the UAE to hold both FIA and FIM circuit race licenses and was the first female on the podium at Dubai Autodrome in 2007. She has accumulated a decade of experience in the region as Managing Director of her own motorsport consultancy, currently managing drivers and consulting with teams and media internationally. She has represented various bodies as promoter, organiser and consultant within FIM, FIA and UIM, and National Motorsports, and working with manufacturers and teams internationally. Until recently she organised over 25 international Grand Prix Championship events for the UIM F2 powerboat series. Over the years Lex has developed motorsports TV shows, print and digital publications and has helped develop many festivals, galas and events. Prior to working in motorsports, Lex was in the Automotive industry as a founding Director of a technology start up, developing GPS Vehicle Telematics, location based services and Fleet Management training and solutions. After successfully raising incubator funding, the company was sold to Siemens AG.

Mohammed Al Qadi, Zarooq Motors

Mohammed, a UAE National who graduated from Ajman University, has been a pillar of motorsport in his country for more than 15 years. He started his career in Motor Sports back in 1994 as a volunteer marshal at one of the local rallies, and since was involved in cars and motorsport, for instance as a volunteer for all the events held back then by the Emirates Motor Sports Association (now known as Emirates Motor Sports Federation), and moved up the ladder from being a marshal, to Rally Stage commander all the way to become the UAE Rally Championship Manager.

Arafaat Ali Khan, ExtraCake 

Arafaat Ali Khan, is a geek and a motor head – a rare combination. He is one of the founding members behind the popular Middle East Film and Comic Con pop culture festival run by communications agency ExtraCake. He handles marketing and PR duties for the events by day and fights crime by night… well not really with the fighting crime, but he does have a super passion for comics, movies action figures and cars – of which he’s owned some of the most iconic.

Shariq Madani, Filmphoria

I am a social, talkative, fun-loving guy who enjoys books, food and a long drive. But my real joy is in the comfortable darkness of a cinema, watching a good movie, and later spending hours discussing it. Born and bred in Dubai, I’ve spent all 36 years of my life here. Love for movies is what led my friends and I to start our passion project: Filmphoria.com. Despite the sheer pleasure of having viewed thousands of films over our collective lives, our appetite to discover more remains insatiable. At Filmphoria, our quest for cinematic euphoria each and every time the silver screen lights up continues to evolve.

Dean Le Roux, Ramy 4×4

Dean Le Roux is currently the Performance and Technical advisor for Ramy4x4. He fell into the Racing scene straight out of high school building Race Cars for a one make series V8 Masters in Cape Town, South Africa, working there for just over 8 Years. A key member in all production phases including the restoration of a few classic mustangs and Japanese sportscars. Moving to Dubai in 2014 he started Working at Ramy4x4.

Simon Crispe, Owner & Restorer

Simon obtained his driver’s license on his 15th birthday and had already owned his first car and restoration project, a 1957 VW Karmann Ghia for a year! He restored that car in his 90-year old Grandmothers garage in New Zealand! Later Simon graduated as an architect from the Auckland University in NZ after also completing several years as a part time mechanic in a local Jaguar and Rolls Royce garage.  Simon’s lifelong hobby has been the ownership, improvement and restoration of more than 60 cars. Simon moved to the UK with his wife in 1983 and has lived in Dubai for over 20 years, where he restored two very special and very rare Classic British Sportscars.

Vijay Pillai, Max Garage

I started as Works Manager at Max Garage before buying the company in the year 1992. Max Garage has come a long way from being a modest garage employing 10 people to becoming an all emcompassing automotive workshop with over 20 dedicated workstations, a fully dedicated body shop and a state of the art paint booth. Max Garage currently employs over 55 personel that include trained technicians, experienced service advisors and expert managers. We also specialize in classic and vintage cars. We have undertaken many restoration projects which have been critically acclaimed and also won many awards at the Emaar Motorshow. We have also won awards internationally for our restoration projects.

Suhaib Shashaa, Arab GT

Suhaib is the Founder and Editor in Chief of ArabGT, he started his carer back in 2006 when he launched hi first website JordanCars.net. Between 2008-2011 he established a tuning company specialized in mapping engines and re-programming engine power. He is now the main presenter of a show called Special coverage at ArabGT network.

Zlatko Mulabegovic, Top Performance Magazine

Founder of Top Performance magazine, editor, test driver. Involved in tuning and custom cars for a quarter of the century. Raced in endurance karting, autocross, sprints, Touring racing and time attack. Multiple UAE Auttocross champion, twice class winner of the UAE Touring Car Championship. Member of the Nissan Endurance record breaking team – two regional endurance records broken. Car & bike event organizer. Founder of Honda Club Middle East.

Noel Ebdon, Motoring Middle East

He’s the ‘go to’ for anything the rest of the team won’t do, from riding electric unicycles to wing walking on top of a 1930s biplane. As well as being a journalist, he’s also the resident racer on both two wheels and four, having previously competed in karting, autocross, motocross, enduro and road rallying across the world. He’ll shortly add the UAE Touring Car Series to that list, with much more to come with a bit of luck.

Ali Asger Rokadia, Emirates Off-Roaders

Ali Asger Rokadia is the Managing Director of Rokadia group of companies. He has lived in the UAE for 35 years and got into off-roading 8 years ago. He’s part of many clubs and a founding marshal of the Emirates Offroaders. He’s done over 700 drives and been a marshal with the Gulf News fun drive for the last five years.

Marwan Semaan

Marwan is a Motorsport Engineering Graduate from the UK and currently Deputy Managing Director at Ramy 4×4,. He has spent all his life chasing cars. From an early age till date, he had the honor to create racing cars, the curse to break Trucks and the pleasure to build Jeeps. Since adrenaline rush is what he need, adventure is what he seeks and 4×4 is what he loves. He has made Off Roading a part of his life.