Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management Company (ADMM), which will run the city's first Formula One race, aims to break even in three years.

The Abu Dhabi government holds a 60 percent stake in ADMM, which was founded last year and is managing the inaugural F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in November.

That race, the first of seven world championship races in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, will be an imporant earner for the group, its general manager Richard Cregan said.

"We are hoping to break even in the next two to three years as we want to be in that position," Cregan told Reuters. "We have aggressive targets to achieve it and the world-class F1 and other events are revenue earners."    

Aldar Properties -- Abu Dhabi's largest real estate developer which holds the remaining 40 percent stake in ADMM -- is building the Yas Mina circuit for the F1 event as part of a $40 billion development on Yas Island in the emirate.

"We plan to have six major events every year related to motorsports such as saloon car racing, open field racing, drag strip and karting. There will be exhibitions, festivals on motor sports and historic cars," Cregan said.

There is a growing interest in motor sport in the Gulf region, he said, and the Abu Dhabi F1 event joins Bahrain -- which has been hosting a race since 2004 -- on the sport's calendar.

Cregan said the company does not expect the current economic downturn to dampen the F1 race. "We have created a unique event in the UAE and the region. For that reason, there will be a good run on tickets and we will have a capacity crowd," he said.

The brand new Yas Mina circuit where the race would be held on November 1 has a capacity of nearly 50,000. "The project is on schedule," he said. - Reuters