Riyadh is gearing up to host the first qualifying round of Red Bull Car Park Drift for the third consecutive year in Saudi Arabia. April 5 will witness the launch of the first Saudi qualifying round, to be held at the Malaz Stadium, followed by the second qualifier in the parking area of the Red Sea Mall in Jeddah on April 12. The third and final round will be held at the Fouad Commercial Center in Alkhobar on April 19. Building on the success of the previous seasons, this year's Red Bull Car Park Drift, a popular event for most of the Middle East countries, promises to deliver some of the most exciting drift shows in the region. The qualifying rounds in Saudi Arabia will be held under the supervision of the General Presidency for Youth Welfare and the Saudi Automobile Company. The event is sponsored by Chevrolet, Hankook Tires, and Castrol Lubricants. First place winners of each round will have the chance to represent the Kingdom and compete with the winners of the other participating countries at the grand finale in Beirut in July. Ahmed Soudodi, Chevrolet Marketing Manager at General Motors Middle East Operations said: “We are very happy to renew our partnership with Red Bull in 2012. Chevrolet Camaro is one of the most iconic muscle cars in the world that excels by almost every objective and subjective measure. Lebanese Rally champion and Red Bull athlete, Abdo Feghali, will be evaluating the drivers' performance along with a panel of esteemed judges. The evaluation will mainly assess the skills of the drivers in their modified cars as they maneuver and wield their handbrakes and whirl through dizzying turns in the most dazzling ways. In addition, the judges will consider the engines' roars and the physical appearance of the cars, the smoke produced by the friction of the tires, and finally the audience's involvement, excitement, and cheers for each performance. Red Bull Car Park Drift was launched in Lebanon five years back and two years later, it became a regional competition. Before gaining international fame and exposure, the concept of drifting started in Japan back in the 1970's based on the idea of competing in a parking lot.
