During two days of an intense adrenaline rush, and wild Egyptian crowds asking for more smoke, Car Park Drift (CPD) was the way to spend the weekend in the Smart Village parking lot. After last year's event at Cairo Stadium, the fan base of drifting had increased dramatically in Egypt, as did the eagerness of many racers to be part of such an annual festival. Rami Serry, one of Egypt's and the Middle East's drifting champions, said, “Hearing people chanting your name in the stands makes you erupt with willingness to reach the sky and be as they expect you to be”. Drifting is basically when the racing driver intentionally overstears his car in which it loses traction in the rear wheels and starts going sideways. The trick is to keep on going sideways as much as possible with total control of the car. Maintaining the pace, and blowing more smoke from the burning rear tyres with roaring engine sounds, makes the complete Drift King or DK. On the first day of the competition, held from Friday 27 September to Saturday 28 September, and in the absence of spectators, surprises started early for most spectators. The biggest was when Ahmed Al-Kabbani, who was very close to winning last year's competition, could not get his car ready on time and decided to roll-back and withdraw from the competition. The second blow was the failure of Ahmed Al-Wakil to qualify for the second day after his car broke down. Al-Wakil was always likely to reach the podium. Putting aside all the frustrating moments many drivers experienced in the qualifying day, many signs signalled that the next day of the finals would be breathtaking to the entire crowd. Ahmed Tarek's performance along with last year's champion Serry was part of the confirmation; they both made it publically clear to other drivers that they had to show something special in the finals in order to prevent being stepped on. On the second day of the competition and in the presence of 7,000 motor sports fans from around Egypt, 17 of Egypt's finest drifters planned to dance sideways as much as they could, judged by racing icons in the Middle East Abdo Feghali, Nasser Abou Heif, and Tarek Abdel-Mugied. The real deal started. The final round was tailored into three heats. In each heat some drivers had to be disqualified for various reasons. For example, their graded performance by the judges, or disqualification, as a result of committing many mistakes. In the first heat things went according to plan for most of the favoured drifters to win the champion except for the long-awaited Tamer Bashat. With his all-wheel drive (AWD) Mitsubishi Evo, Bashat started so clean and in style but suddenly his Turbo cut off to scatter bits all over the lively fans. Bashat's disqualification was a sure setback for the fans, however, it was a huge obstacle out of the way for most drivers. Time for the second heat, and only 10 drivers remaining, only two steps away from the big dream, and everything is possible. Pressure eased for the drivers after the first shaky heat. Hani Sharaf, the only representative of the Valvoline racing team in the finals as all his mates failed to qualify, proved that it's not the car but the driver who makes the difference. “Reaching this stage of the race and being one of the best four means a lot to me. I just made a miracle with such a low powered car compared to the top three and even the racers below me in the rank,” said Sharaf. More bad news awaited the crowd in the second heat when Ahmed Tarek entered the track and all of a sudden his mind blowing 1100hp Toyota Supra car leaked oil and caught fire. In a dramatic scene, Tarek stepped out of his car and thanked God and applauded his fans. “God wanted this to happen and I am totally accepting his will. I just wanted to prove that we have good drivers and good cars in Egypt,” Tarek commented after the race. Moving on to the final battle of the best four men standing, Sharaf started a great run, however, he struggled to steer the car due to a hydraulic problem and went out of track as well as the competition. After Sharaf came the No 1 favourite and ex-double champion Serry who also faced some mechanical problems and was disqualified, putting an end to his eternal dream and paving the way for Haitham Samir, the champion of this year along with Moataz Atef the runner up, towards the big event in the United Arab Emirates. Al-Ahram Weekly asked drivers and the organisers whether they thought the flood of mechanical problems, which resulted in the disqualification of many good drivers, harmed the competition. “I believe that drivers who won aren't the best in Egypt, however, I hope they can win in the Middle East finals,” answered Tarek. On the other hand Serry, with frustration writ all over his face, said, “As much as I am very depressed, as much as I am happy that my brothers made it to Abu Dhabi. What an awkward feeling.” Shadi Osama, the head of Marshals, said, “Mechanical problems are part of the sport and we all can't deny that. “I wasn't expecting to participate in the race from day one, as my engine broke down two times and I had to get another one. I'm now looking forward to the finals,” said Samir.
