More than five months have passed since the drifting championship ended on the high mountains of Al-Ain Al-Sokhna of Egypt. However, the sound of wild engines is still ringing in every Egyptian motor-head. Daydreaming of drifting machines going sideways and smoking rubber everywhere. Recalling the car drifting championship that took place back then, it was a contest that gathered all the Egyptian drifters, as it does every year, to prove who represents Egypt in the Middle East finals in Dubai. Against 16 eager drivers representing eight countries, the Egyptian champions decided to give a brief on how they prepared for the regional encounter and their expectations. Ahmed Tarek as well as his mighty 600+ Supra were sensational, finishing on top, accomplishing the job as it should be. Driving skills, car looks, engine sound, Tarek took care of every detail showing that he is up to carrying the Egyptian flag in the finals. On the other hand, Haitham Samir, the ex-Egyptian champion who represented Egypt in last year's finals in Dubai, demonstrated that class is permanent while form is temporary. Samir showed clinical control on his RWD converted Evo, enough to put him second, besides Tarek on the flight heading to Dubai. On the preparations and what should Egyptian fans expect to see, Tarek said he started preparing his car “the second day after my win in Egypt. We decided to downgrade the car's power from 650whp to 450whp in order to secure a safe journey to the podium and avoid any mechanical failures”. Tarek apparently learned a tough lesson in last year's drifting championship in Egypt, when he was ruled out due to a mechanical breakdown from power overload on the car's engine. Keeping in mind the high temperatures and the dense humidity in Dubai, Tarek seems to be following the right path. “I imported a whole new set of spare parts. Everything is serviced and new in the car, especially the whole new fuel system and roll-cage,” Tarek added. Tarek made sure to build a world class drifting machine that could represent Egypt with pride against other rivals in the Middle East. “I made a huge effort and paid a lot of cash, but the end result is that my car is no less than any other out there in the Middle East. It's even better.” Moving on to the trouble bubble Samir, who has every driving skill to get the job done, he decided to go to new levels after the last championship in Egypt, so he decided to make an unfamiliar new car project unlike any other. The Rx-8 2jz appeared as stunningly as an epic dream, however, when Samir got to the point of finalising the car, the result was nightmarish. The car's engine had a lot of problems that could be solved but for no more than five months before the problems returned. “The deadline for shipping my car passed, so I decided I had to rent a racing car from Jordan. It will probably be a Beemer with 25-Turbo or a 2Jz,” said Samir. Samir's situation is ironically similar to Rami Serri's back in the 2013 Middle East finals in Jordan, when Serri struggled to ship his car and had to rent a drift car from Jordan which luckily was the right weapon, enough to put him in second place on the podium. Sharing the same thoughts, Tarek and Samir believe that if they concentrate solely on driving and enjoy every trick, leaving behind all the pressure, they will hopefully raise the Egyptian flag in the skies of Dubai. There will be great drivers from all over the Middle East, including from Jordan Ahmed Daham with his Silvia S15, Mohamed Al-Kokhon E46 1jz, from Oman Ali Lalou who finished third in the finals last year and from Lebanon Bassam Zahlan. The event will also be witnessing two main factors, one being the first ever appearance for Tunisia, Mauritius and Turkey. Expect a strong showing from the latter, as Turkey tends to adopt the European school of drifting. The second is the absence of the title holder Jad Himo who died in mysterious circumstance a couple of months ago. Egyptian fans will be able to watch their country's car ambassadors on live satellite coverage from Dubai on 28 November. The writer is a freelance journalist.
