Shadian out to defend title

AMMAN — Al Hussein Rumman Hill Climb with the participation of 22 drivers, kicks off on Friday with Khatcheek Shadian defending the title he earned last year against some of the best drivers in the Kingdom.

Shadian clocked 1m52s in his Cosworth F3 but failed to break the 2007 record of Lebanon’s Roger Feghali.

In 2007, Feghali, in a Mitsubishi Motortune Proto, clocked 1m48.76s to break the 2005 record to Jordan’s Ameer Najjar’s (1m49.71s).

Last year, Fadi Bikawi (1m54:38s) came second in his Mitsubishi Evo HS400, followed by Ahmed Daoud (1m56:81s) in his Mitsubishi Evo 7.

Jordan Motorsport CEO Othman Naseef told The Jordan Times that drivers will cover a three-kilometre challenging track.

“The Hill Climb course is exactly three kilometres in length and three metres in width with an average rise of 8.5 per cent. There are a total of 27 bends and corners including four hairpin bends. The course is situated two kilometres north of Rumman,” he said.

“We expect a very exciting event and that is why we encourage fans of this sport to attend and enjoy,” he added.

“We have an impressive list of drivers who have the right experience to take the title and at the same time we have new names in addition to one female driver,” he pointed out.

Joining Shadian are Ahmed Daoud, Saher Fatafteh, Ihab Shurafa, Wael Mustafa, Atef Awad, in addition to Lina Hadidi and others.

The event consists of three rounds with the last for the top 10 timings.

Meanwhile, safety issues are the main focus of the organising committee.

“We have finalised all issues regarding safety for both drivers and fans. This is our main concern and we really hope that everyone will have the best time watching the event on big screens provided for the audience,” a committee member said.