Roars of excitement filled the air at the Doha Corniche recently, as crowds witnessed a high-energy event giving way to smoking tyres, hot cars, loud engines and deft steering skills. The exhilarating Red Bull Car Park Drifting Middle East Championship was back in Qatar after a break of five years with participants from the region competing stiffly for the initial round of the 2016 season, negotiating the track with their cars sliding sideways, billowing thick smoke — all to earn the title — ‘Qatar’s King of Drift’ .
Although Japan is said to be one of the earliest birthplaces of drifting, the techniques of heroes like Kunimitsu Takahashi and ‘Drift King’ Keiichi Tsuchiya have been picked up by eager enthusiasts from the world over as both professional and street racers adopted them.
The high speed event conducted in Qatar showcased the drifting skills of some of the best amateur drivers in the region and was supervised by Lebanese drifting legend Abdo Feghali.
Referred to as ‘Dado’ by his friends, Abdo has quite an impressive record; he began his career in 1998 as a rally driver and went on to become triple national champion. His accomplishments also include winning the Middle East Hill Climb Championship from 2007 to 2010 and the Lebanese Hill Climb Championship between 2006 and 2012.
Over the course of time, Abdo realised he was being driven by yet another passion — drifting. His drifting skills have not only exhibited some spectacular tyre-burning scenarios in the Middle East, the veteran drifter went on to earn a Guinness World Record a few years ago, for the longest drift. The achievement was accomplished in 2013 at Yas Island track in Abu Dhabi, when Abdo drifted over a distance of 11180km.
Abdo’s success has been creating greater momentum for the sport in the Middle East as more and more drivers in the region are inspired to enjoy the adrenalin rush of throwing their cars around a track at high speeds and massive angles — all in style.
The champion who works towards organising and designing the track for the Red Bull Car Park Drift, spoke to Community on his interest in the sport and the increasingly popular drifting championship that he oversees.
Referring to his interest in drifting, Abdo says, “I can proudly say, we introduced drifting to the Middle East and Africa, in 2008. The roads in Lebanon are slippery and my driving style always involved moving sideways from one corner to the other. Of course, this meant, losing precious time in rallies, which was what I was involved with in the initial days — racing and rallying. But fortunately, it also happened that my driving style actually pointed me forward towards drifting — something I’ve become very enthusiastic about.”
“Racing and drifting are in my blood, it’s my passion and every time I’m behind the wheel I feel just like a small kid making a dream come true. I always give all of my power, energy and focus to do the best I can. I’m happy that I can rally, race and drift on a top level.”
Besides increasing the popularity of drifting, Abdo explains that another goal of the organisers behind the championship is to discourage and ultimately bring an end to street drifting. “Back in 2008, when we began working towards the Red bull Car park Drifting event, it was our dream to create something of international standards, aimed especially at the Middle East. When I broke the Guinness Record in 2013, it was a huge boost, in this direction. We have been working hard to get drifting out of the streets, to train people and encourage them to drift in safe environments. We’ve been telling people where to drift and how to drift.”
Beyond achieving the objective of discouraging people from performing crazy antics on the road, the team has achieved another successful target. “We have made champions out of amateurs; we now have 3-4 professional drivers in the Middle East countries that we cover. We are proud of our achievement and hope to continue the same over the next 5 to 10 years.”
The tyre-burning sport has caught the fancy of a rather wide age group — from youngsters who can legally drive, to people about 45 years old — all participating with fervour. The drifting scene in Qatar has gained thrust in the recent past and is quickly gaining pace.
“We still need time to get the best out of the drifters. We realise there are areas where we need to make inroads in terms of training participants on the rules of the Red Bull Car Park Drifting event. Most people are used to racing at the Qatar Racing Club; the rules of drifting are different; it’s not all about high speed. With more education and training we expect to see Qatar surge ahead.”
Abdo clarifies that the championship is extremely safe, with various safety measures kept well in place for the drivers as well as the spectators; “It’s safe. It’s not a high-speed event”, he reiterates. He has a word of caution to youngsters looking to take up the motorsport, “Come and drift in the identified and designated areas. Don’t attempt it on the public roads like crazy. Come to us; we can help you and give you some real cool ideas that can be adapted — we have the experience.”
With the first level of the championship having fared successfully in Qatar, fans are gearing up for more adrenalin-charged shows, in the upcoming rounds later this year. The general drift from the motorsport appears to be the promise of more action-packed events, in the foreseeable future. As organisers continue to emphasise, hopefully, enthusiasts will confine the drifting to safe environments.
PULLING OUT ALL STOPS: Abdo Feghali ready to roar!.
