The football match played between Hungary and Croatia on Sunday 24th of March in Budapest, provided the opportunity for a brief encounter of the Croatian and Hungarian Automobile Federations Presidents with the President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović.
The President of the Hungarian Automobile Federation Gyárfás Oláh was honored to greet Croatian President and the newly elected President of the Croatian Car and Carting Federation Davorin Štetner.
“It was a great honour for me to meet the President of Croatia. I had the opportunity to tell her that Croatian and Hungarian Motorsport were always in good collaboration, but with Mr Davorin Štetner the newly elected president of HAKS and good friend of mine, we could raise the relationship between the two countries and our representation in the international Autosport alliance”, said Oláh.
Gyárfás Oláh is also one of the key people in the organisation committee of the Hungarian Grand Prix in Formula 1 and he invited the Croatian President to visit the race held on the Hungaroring Circuit from 2nd to 4th of August.
“I invited the President at the 34th Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix, and I hope she will join her first Formula 1 experience on the Hungaroring”, he stated.
Talking to the two Presidents, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović once again pointed out her love for sports. Since she was raised in the Kvarner region, well known for Motorsport, car and motorcycle racing is not strange to her.
“I wish all the best to all the people involved in this sport and I hope for a great cooperation between the two Federations. I hope that the Croatian Motorsport will grow in years to come”, said the President Grabar-Kitarović.
The CCKF President Davorin Štetner thanked the Croatian National Tourist Board and the famous former water polo player Dubravko Šimenc for this great initiative of combining the sport with the promotion of Croatia.
“One of my missions is to continue to build CCKF’s great relationships with other Federations of the Central European Zone. Together we are stronger and my friendship with Mr Gyárfás Oláh is a foundation of close cooperation of our Federations”, said Štetner.
Hungary is the country with a huge tradition in Motorsport and we often have the opportunity to see Hungarian drivers on races in Croatia. A strengthened cooperation of the Federations will be a big help in the growth of the Motorsport in this region.