Selwyn Persad becomes first Trinidad and Tobago member of world automobile body

SELWYN “Bunny” Persad is the first person from TT to sit on the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) World Council for Automobile Mobility and Tourism (WCAMT).

Persad was elected for a four-year term at the FIA annual general meeting (AGM) at the FIA headquarters on December 17 in Paris, France.

Persad is proud of his accomplishment.

Asked how he felt about his new position Persad told Newsday, “Wow. If you are involved in the FIA it is something that you want to aspire to because when you are passionate and you are working towards something especially in the administrative field this is where you want to reach.”

Persad is also the president of the TT Automobile  Association (TTASA) and has held multiple international portfolios under the FIA, including being a lifetime honorary member of North America, the Caribbean and Mexico Sport (NACAM), FIA.

NACAM Sport is one of the zones under FIA, which TT falls under.

TT is also part of Region III – Mobility, one of the four regions of the FIA.

At the FIA AGM a new president was elected as Mohammed Ben Sulayem won a four-year term. Deputy president for Automobile Mobility and Tourism Tim Shearman and senate president Carmelo Sanz de Barros were among the others elected.

Sulayem takes over from outgoing FIA president Jean Todt whose third term came to an end.

Jameer Ali, a member of TTASA, is excited that Persad’s position on the FIA can boost TT in the sport.

Ali has lofty goals and is hoping that possibly during the winter months top international racers can visit TT to race at Wallerfield.

Persad said TT must take baby steps towards reaching that goal.

“A lot of people are excited about it, but for anything to happen in Trinidad we have to have the accommodation for it. We don’t have the accommodation right now for anything at any (high) level, so we need to work on that.”

Persad, in discussing what his new role will entail, said, “While my heart is really for TT, remember we make decisions for the world and every single country in the world…the opportunities that come to the table now I will know first-hand.”

He added, “We can’t go after big opportunities (now), but there will be opportunities that we could work with and I will be right there. I can’t really say we could jump into anything big yet.”

Persad does not have any specific role on the board yet, but he will be involved in FIA meetings at least every quarter.

Editor's note: 
This story was edited on January 12, 2022 to reflect the correct name of the local automobile association headed by Selwyn Persad.