New location set as Red Bull Car Park Drift returns to Kuwait later this year

KUWAIT: Fans, race supporters, enthusiasts and drivers worldwide eagerly anticipate the return of Red Bull Car Park Drift. Event organizers have confirmed the drift tournament is returning to Kuwait, where it will be held at a brand-new location, on the Kuwait Global Steel Services factory grounds.

Red Bull Car Park Drift is organized by Basel Salem Al Sabah Motor Racing Club and is held in partnership with by Dunlop, Al-Babtain Group and Acqua Eva. The tournament tests the professional motorsport athletes in ways that are unique to the sport of drift. This difference is the highly technical placement and use of obstacles in the circuit.

This only adds to spectator excitement, as the obstacles require precision, perfect timing and execution. And the scoring system is exacting.

The judges tally a final run score out of 400 total possible points. Of these, 320 points may be accumulated skillfully from the many obstacles, with the remaining 80 being based on visual components, such as the look of the car and the smoke of the tires.

Obstacle scoring includes the Box, Gate, Flipper, Pendulum, and the Spiral with figure 8 and 11.

1. Box

Quite literally as it sounds, it consists of a set of water barriers arranged in the shape of a box. At a size of 10 meters by 8 meters, it contests the competitors to drift within. You hit a barrier, you lose points; you drift the wrong way, you lost points; you spin the car, you lose points. Making up to 50 points out of 400 for two boxes, if The Box is carried out incorrectly, you risk a low score.

2. Spiral

One of the most difficult challenges that drifters face. The Spiral covers a surface area of approximately 24 meters and it usually signifies the end of the run for competitors. With a narrow space between the triangular pylons, this may seem insurmountable but previous Kings of Drift have proved that this is merely a myth. The spiral also forms part of drifting skills section 2.

3. Figures 8 and 11

While the ‘barriers’ used to create the shape can vary from country to country, the concept is unified — drift the car throughout the course that make the figures 8 and 11. These two obstacles are imperative as part of the drifting skills sections, making up a total of 120 points.

4. Gate

At the entry of the Spiral, lies the first Gate that a drifter essentially needs to open and before he finishes with a donut, he turns to hit the second Gate. These make up 10% of the total possible points. If a competitor can impress the judges with their drifting skills here, then they might just be at the top of the leaderboard and move onto the next round.

5. Flipper

An object that, basically, drifters need to cause to flip. It is quite difficult, and it needs to be completed perfectly, not once but, twice. And if a drifter is unable to flip the Flippers, then they forfeit the points that make up 15% of the total score.

6. Pendulum Technically, a weight hung from a fixed point, a pendulum is an object that the drifter’s car has to hit at a turn, drifting. It serves as one of the most exciting and entertaining aspect for spectators. If a drifter hits the pendulum while just ‘driving’ head on, he or she collects zero points for this out of a possible 50.

The driver must expertly navigate between tight spaces, exit and enter into the next challenge obstacle, and impress the judges as well as the crowd, by appearing to make the entire run seem effortless on their part. Each driver is allowed 2 runs per day, giving them the opportunity to improve their overall final score.

The drifting event is expected to continue later this year. A full announcement with additional details is to follow once the dates have been set.

To find out more about drifting and other motorsports, visit @RedBullKuwait on Instagram and Twitter, and @RedBull on Facebook, or visit redbull.com/events