ABU DHABI - Monday, 27 April: UIM President Raffaele Chiulli and F1H2O star Marit Stromoy were amongst a raft of influential speakers at the recent SportAccord Convention World Sport & Business Summit in Sochi.

Raffaele Chiulli emphasised environmental protection and safety amongst the sports' top priorities. "We started a proper communication campaign called 'Yes, we care', in order to divulge our achievements and knock on the doors of the other motorsport Federations to share experiences and knowledge.

"We are fully committed to raising awareness within our sport and outside, in view of also bridging the gap between the industry and the competitive side of the sport, because they both need each other." he said. "Safety is another key issue and we at the UIM have launched several initiatives to increase the safety of our drivers, such as the life bracelet 'SAMEDA' with the former Formula One driver, Ivan Capelli."

As to the topic 'High Road or Low Road - What it takes for motor sport to thrive in a fast-changing landscape', Marit, herself an accomplished international singer as well as one of the sport's top drivers and currently sitting in sixth spot in the Championship standings, suggested that drivers should be turned into kind of 'pop stars or rock stars' to get young people interested in motorsport. "Take their personalities and showcase them as people and racers - and then you can easily draw the crowds." she said!