Gaza’s racing club hits speed bump
A group of amateur auto racers created a club for sports car racing in the Gaza Strip, but they lack safe cars and adequate roads to drive on without causing safety concerns for the public and themselves.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Sports car racing is slowly making its way on the roads of the Gaza Strip amid a crumbling infrastructure and dire living conditions. The growth of auto racing in Gaza faces numerous challenges, and amateur auto racers continue to practice despite a lack of safety procedures.
The Israeli blockade, the population density (4,000 people per square mile), the small size of Gaza (360 square kilometers, or 139 square miles) and a lack of adequate facilities and infrastructure are obstacles hindering the practice of sports car racing in Gaza, said Ministry of Youth and Sports media spokesman Ghassan Muheisen.
“These obstacles hinder the proper progress of this sport and keep it limited to individual and arbitrary attempts on the part of a group of amateurs, who refuse to give up and insist on practicing their favorite hobby,” Muheisen told Al-Monitor.
A group of amateur auto racers founded the Gaza Racing Club in February 2014, which is the first and only sports car racing club in Gaza.
