Daham, Kukhun drift their way to Dubai finals

DUBAI — Two Jordanian drivers expect to top exhilarating displays of drifting on Friday when the Red Bull Car Park Drift Grand Final finds its way to Dubai for the second year in a row.

Ahmad Daham, in a 3.4-litre 1000-horsepowered Nissan Silvia, and Mohammed Al Kukhun, in a 2.5-litre 435-horsepowered BMW E46, will be representing Jordan at this year’s final.

“The cars were tested two days prior to the event and they are running perfectly,” echoed the two Jordanian competitors.

Both cars were modified and prepared in Jordan by the team at NMK Dyno Centre.

Daham and Kukhun clinched first and second places respectively in the Jordan Drifting Championship, giving them the opportunity to represent the Kingdom in the regional final.

“Drifting, since it’s in its first year, is not the top priority of Jordan Motorsport, but I hope that somehow the sport gets the sponsorship deals it deserves and drivers and teams can then focus on driving and forget about issues like, do I have fuel, spare parts, mechanics, a place to sleep…,” Daham noted at his first final appearance.

Daham and Kukhun want to see more sponsorship deals in Jordan and hope that Jordan Motorsport gets more teams involved in the sport.

Red Bull also sponsors all 1st-placed winners from the region at the event.

“Drifting is a very expensive sport and we are lucky to have Red Bull running such a high-class event and in my case having Al Sayad Tuna, Auto Mall Jordan, Target Auto Showroom UAE as sponsors. Without them I would not be here,” Daham said.

Kukhun, a member of the Hamada Drift Team, also noted that without his golden sponsor Hamada, and Ashya Jordan, Al Awal for Cars Middle East and ART Media Middle East, he would have a very tough time being in the sport.

“You know, just working out the logistics of getting to Dubai was bad enough. We had to get an official letter from Jordan Motorsport that allowed us to truck our team and equipment here, to which I am thankful for,” Kukhun, winner of the 2012 Red Bull regional finals, said.

Eighteen regional drivers will go head-to-head with their eyes on the coveted “King of Drift” title in a high octane finale. The participants earned their spots in the Grand Final after topping their national qualifiers.

“We are both here for the exposure. Jordan needs to be represented. We have a lot of talent and driving expertise and this needs to be shown,” Daham said.

“I agree,” said Kukhun. “Hopefully our presence here will give us and the Kingdom more exposure.”

According to the Red Bull website, the drifters are required to negotiate a challenging course dotted with obstacles, and will be judged according to a set of six criteria. Forty per cent of the mark is allocated to drifting skills, while proximity to the clipping point, and car look and design will each give the driver 15 per cent of the mark. Tyre smoke, car sound, and performance in the “Box” — a tight enclosure the drifters need to do a donut in — each contributes 10 per cent towards the total score. Uncontrolled spinning and driving in the wrong direction will get the drifters penalised.

Abdo Feghali, Lebanese rally champion and the face of Red Bull Car Park Drift, presided over the design of the track for this year’s finals.

“Year on year, the Red Bull Car Park Drift event is getting tougher and the calibre of drifters is improving, making the competition fiercer. We made sure the track has a 40/60 split between closed and open areas of the Meydan Hotel parking lot. A varied set of obstacles throughout will push the drivers to the limit of their ability,” Feghali said.

This year’s competition is held in partnership with Ford Middle East, Sony Action Cam, MBC Action, the Meydan Hotel and Pirelli. It will be a main highlight of the Dubai Motor Festival 2014 which includes the Dubai Grand Parade featuring a convoy of super, luxury and classic cars led by the Dubai Police fleet of high performance cars.