On a sunny Friday, 24 October, Cairo International Stadium witnessed the setting out of the first native drifting championship in the country's history. It's been a long time since Egypt's big Formula One event back in 1947, but it was possible last week to relive those days of glory. Yes, people knew there would be a race, but even the most ardent of fans could not have expected what was coming. The real deal was a blast from the moment you stepped in, whether a driver, correspondent, or a fan. If you where there, you would think that the event was organised by foreigners. But it was a completely local Egyptian event from the ground up. Putting in mind that the fan base of motorsports in Egypt has decreased dramatically through the decades, it was more than surprising to see nearly 4,000 excited spectators, sitting under world class tents. From emergency workers to sponsors, everyone was working professionally. All the hard work was clearly felt by all. STT racing management, hand in hand with the Automobile and Touring Club of Egypt, had it planned and ready to show the whole world – including Egyptian sponsors -- that everything is possible. “It's our first step towards bringing back true motorsports back to Egypt,” said Wa'el Ahmed, Automobile and Touring Club of Egypt representative. The race itself introduced Egyptian drivers to a whole new level of drifting, that is, sliding the car sideways while trying to control it, maintaining sustainability at various speeds. The four experienced racing drivers in the judges seats -- Walid Amir, Yasser Al-Shami, Ayman Marzouk and Nader Al-Khayat, granted each driver points on his technical performance, the looks of his car, engine sound, and tire smoke, taking into consideration not to penalise drivers with less powerful cars. “We decided to equalise the chances of all the cars regarding points on the looks, engine sound and tire smoke. We focused on the driver's technical abilities with each trick,” said Amir. What Amir meant is that he and his fellow judges agreed that big chunks of points going to looks, sound and smoke may result in a wide gap between the drivers. That might sometimes be unfair, as a driver might commit no mistakes but has less smoke. He might lose to another driver who commits a penalty but his smoke points are more. “Judges could be changed during the championship,” Shadi Osama, STT representative, said. After the first and second runs in which 45 drivers were competing, many people heard completely new names who made it to the final round -- Mohamed Abdel-Sattar, Abbadi Al-Zayat, and Ahmed Hazem. The public obviously did not have a clue about the judging method. On the other hand, for Moataz Atef, usually standing on the podium, the event was a disaster as he lost his way on the track, throwing himself out of the competition. Amin Elewa performed perfectly in the first and second run. He shared his car with teammate Hani Sharaf who broke the front axle during his run, sending Elewa to an early shower. “Disgrace covers me everywhere. I feel guilty towards my friend,” said Sharaf. “Thank God for everything. If Sharaf did not share the car with me, the percentage of it braking would have decreased, but again it might have happened if I was driving it alone for the whole race. This is motorsport; anything can happen,” added Elewa. Approaching the end, it was the bang moment when the top three winners were announced. It was Haitham Samir third, the astonishing Hisham Al-Khatib second, and the new drift king Karim Shlash on top. “I didn't see that coming, honestly. It was a great event, great judging, well done,” Shlash excitingly commented on his win. Despite the exhibition's success, officials agree that without financial support from sponsors, professional racing organisers like STT will not be able to keep up the world class standards they showed off on Friday. But with 4,000 fans who could reach 10,000 in a year, much more than the number of fans you see today in any domestic football match, there is no reason why motorsports can't hold its own. The writer is a freelance journalist.
