JEDDAH — Following the outstanding success achieved over the past years, Kingdom-wide Saudi Drift Star 2018 championship, was launched by motorsports developer Captain Abdullah Bakhashab, under the supervision of Saudi Arabian Motor Federation with the sponsorship of Nissan, the official car of the Championship, and Petromin Oils, Mix FM radio and Intro.

During the press conference, Bader Al-Hussami, CEO of Nissan Saudi Arabia, said: “We, in Nissan Saudi Arabia, devote our efforts to make it easy to enjoy owning and driving sports cars for all motorsport fans. Our passion is to achieve success on the racetrack with our knowledge and experience, aims to provide an interesting experience for the drivers of Nissan cars, and thus, we support and sponsor motorsport events such as Saudi Star Drift Championship, which aims to develop motorsports in Saudi Arabia. This is in addition to the great attention and participation of a large number of youths who want to compete and develop their talents and skills in driving sports cars. We remain committed to supporting these youths to create positive impact on their lives and communities.”

Sameer Nawar, CEO of Petromin Company, commented as saying that the sponsorship of this championship falls within Petromin’s strategy for supporting various youth and sports activities that are within the framework of security and safety, through which we are sending a message to young people about the importance of practicing this sport in special places built for this purpose in order to protect their lives and the lives of other road users.

Nawar added: “Petromin is very keen to be among the first companies to support the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 to raise the level of sports in the Kingdom. We were the first company to organize karting race for ladies, we, as well, sponsored many motorsports events, which attracts youths’ attention and held under the direct supervision of the Saudi Arabia Motor Federation.”

Bakhashab explained the format of the championship. Every round will include four categories, namely: Professional category, Advanced category, Amateur category and Nissan category.

Winners of the first four places of each round will be qualified for the final and special round, which will be held in Jeddah in the 5th round. The finalists will compete in the finals on board two Nissan Z cars of the same specifications next December.

The 1st round of the championship will kick off this Friday at King Abdullah Park for Adventures at Alshoaba in Al-Ihsaa Governorate, where the audience will be on appointment to repeat the thrills and excitement of the championship of last season, which was beyond expectations. The second round will be at Al-Khobar Corniche on Oct. 26. The following rounds will be in Riyadh on Nov. 23 and in Jeddah on Dec. 19. The championship will be concluded in Jeddah on Dec. 20.

Bakhashab said: “I am pleased to announce the launch of the Saudi Star Drift 2018 Championship, which comes within our projects designed to develop motorsport in the Kingdom.

“The drift races have become wildly popular and attracts a large number of audience and participants alike, thereby raising the level of professionalism of participating teams and attract companies’ support.”

He added: “On this occasion, I would like to extend our thanks and appreciation to Nissan, Petromin Oils, Mix FM radio and Intro for their participation and sponsorship.”

Bakhashab assured that this championship is being organized aiming at transferring the youths’ passion and enthusiasm from public roads to its dedicated places, which will enhance road safety for all users in Saudi Arabia, and contributes to channel the energy of youths towards useful activities that enhance the status of Saudi Arabia both regionally and internationally.