INTERVIEW: How I combine my chemical engineering career with passion for motorsport – Femi Olaoye

Nigeria, renowned for its prowess in sports like football, athletics, and basketball, is now making inroads into non-traditional sports like motorsport.

One of those at the forefront of this revolution is Femi Olaoye, who expertly combines as a Chemical Engineer and a motorsport enthusiast.

Mr Olaoye speaks to PREMIUM TIMES about his passion, his preparedness to represent Nigeria by October at the FIA Motorsport Games 2024 in Valencia, Spain, and a handful of other issues.

Femi Olaoye (Credit @Femolevsky X Page)

Excerpts…

PT: Is it true a Chemical Engineer will be representing Nigeria at the FIA MotorSport Games 2024?

Femi Olaoye: YES .. I am a chemical engineer by day and a sports driver by night. I’m honoured to be Nigeria’s representative at the FIA MotorSport Games 2024.

PT: What sparked your interest in motorsports?

Femi Olaoye: My passion for motorsports started when I used to watch my dad drive cars. I was fascinated by the speed and the thrill of driving. I taught myself to drive at 13-14 and was inspired by racing titles and games. Spending time with my dad’s car, a Benz 230 E, further fueled my passion.

I got a license and just started driving. It has always been something that came naturally to me.

I’ve always followed motorsports, and competitors’ speed, passion, and dedication have kept me alive in the sport.

PT: Can you explain the different types of motorsports?

Femi Olaoye: Certainly. The FIA is the governing body for motorsports worldwide, similar to FIFA in football. Under the FIA, there are various categories of motorsports. These include Formula One, also known as open-wheel racing, where cars have exposed wheels. Another category is touring car races, which use regular cars.

We also have Grand Touring, or GT racing, with sub-categories, including GT4, GT3, and GTP. These are prototype cars that compete in endurance races.

This type of racing led to the development of World Endurance Racing, where different types of cars, including GT cars, compete in 24-hour races on multiple tracks. The winner is declared based on accumulated points.

Additionally, there’s IndyCar, which is the American version of open-wheel racing. They have their own system and rules but sometimes compete in FIA events. Motorsports encompasses various categories, each with unique characteristics and rules, governed by the FIA, with some exceptions like IndyCar.

PT: Is this your first time participating in the FIA MotorSports Games?

Femi Olaoye: Yes, it’s my first time participating, but it’s the second time Nigeria will participate. The maiden edition of this championship started about two years ago. It’s just picking up. The first event was held two years ago, and we sent Mr. Segun Olugbade. He opened the floor for Nigerians, and I will represent Nigeria in this second event. It’s a new avenue, a low-hanging fruit, entry point for Nigeria because Motorsport is very expensive, and basically, you need to have a low-hanging fruit entry point to get Nigeria out there and start to participate and understand the industry, and that will then attract sponsors, and they will get their vehicles. It’s a very expensive industry, and it’s important to be able to enter strategically so that you don’t just spend money you don’t have.

Femi Olaoye (Credit @Femolevsky X Page)

PT: What targets have you set for yourself in this competition?

Femi Olaoye: For racing in general, I’m always hard on myself because I’ve spent a lot to be the fastest driver in the grid.

At all times, I just want to win any race event I enter, and there is nothing like second. The target I have set for myself is to be the first P1; it’s to compete and live in the action because mid-grid, back of the grid, there’s no action there. The action is upfront. I want to take P1, and that is the goal I have set for myself. Every race that I enter, that is the goal that I set for myself, not just for my country but for myself and my standards. I believe I’m good enough to compete with anyone in the world.

PT: How do you balance your passion for motorsports and your career as a chemical engineer?

Femi Olaoye: Motorsport is very serious, competitive, and cutthroat. It’s the pinnacle of sports in general. You have to use every faculty that God has given you to ensure you can deliver and even your engineering skills. Even when you are racing virtually, sim racing, you must engineer your car to perfection to ensure you take the first place. Anything slightly off will set you back by a couple of seconds, and that can make the difference between winning a race and coming in second. It’s such a perfect competition that if you miss out on one tiny detail, then you have lost the race, and you could crash. It’s the same thing. My passion and dedication to engineering are the same as those required in motorsports. Engineering takes a lot of time, but what I try to do is find balance because there is no life without balance. All work with no play makes one a dull boy. If you don’t balance life you tend to lose your head. I try to devote my time maybe on weekends or during the week if I have a bit of energy after work and I try to chip in some time to ensure that I have a balanced life. I pursue my passion and my career. It’s a delicate balancing act because family time is there as well. My wife has been so helpful, she has been such a pillar of support, and most of what I’m able to do is because of her. I give a big shoutout to her.

PT: Is there a federation for motorsports in Nigeria?

Femi Olaoye: We don’t really have a fledgling Motorsport industry in Nigeria at the moment. What we have is an industry in its infancy. There’s a federation called the Automobile Touring Club of Nigeria that is responsible for the FIA’s governance in Nigeria. They are the official representatives in Nigeria and they govern motorsports with respect to the Nigerian terrain. There is another group that put themselves together almost like the American fashion where they all organize competitions. Right now, they are the only championship that actually exists in Nigeria that is working

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PT: What facilities are in place and what are the plans for expanding

Femi Olaoye: There is an off-road track in Ogun State where we do cross-car racing and another one in Ondo State, and there is another one in Edo but we have not moved there yet because we are mostly off-road. That’s because we try to use tracks that have been built by the organisers of the event to basically ensure that we are expanding organically and we have to save a lot of money and the industry is expensive and we are trying to manage our resources. We are trying to build another track in Abuja to expand to the north. These are things that we are actively trying to eke out as money comes in, sponsorship, as we are able to organise ourselves properly. We believe we can build an effective Motorsport industry in Nigeria. Because the passion is there, the talent is there, and it’s just the finance that is needed.

PT: Will Nigeria have multiple participants in the FIA MotorSports Games 2024?

Femi Olaoye: Ideally, we should have two participants, but currently, I’m the only one representing Nigeria. We want to ensure that our representatives can compete at a high level, so we’re being selective about who participates.