Under the patronage of HH Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Governor of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, and the direct supervision of the Saudi Motorsport Federation and the Eastern Region Tourism Council, Red Bull confirms the participation of the Middle East’s sixteen best motorsports athletes in the Red Bull Ras B Ras knockout competition. On Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011, the all-star lineup will race head-to-head in Khobar Plaza in front of 11,500 spectators in order to clinch the Championship, the first of its kind in the region.
This was announced in the press conference that was held yesterday in Khoubar with the participation of HRH Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Fahd Bin Abdullah Al Saud, President of the Eastern Region Tourism Council and HRH Prince Sultan Bin Bandar Al Faisal President of the Saudi Arabian Motor Federation (SAMF) in addition to Mr. Alberto Chahoud from Red Bull and Dr. Saleh Al Sowaile from SAMF.
The most talented Arab athletes have been carefully selected based on their backgrounds and accomplishments in various motorsport disciplines in order to compete in the Red Bull Ras B Ras. The sixteen contestants traveling from ten Arab countries will gather in Al-Khobar to participate in this unique event, which is taking place in the Middle East for the first time and gathering this large number of recognized champions and drivers. Each of the participants has extensive experience and several titles to his name.
‘We are thrilled to bring this ultimate motorsports event to the region and I am confident participants and fans alike will enjoy the competition’, said Alberto Chahoud, Regional Communications Manager, for Red Bull. ‘We are grateful to the generous patronage of HH Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd Bin Abdulaziz Al Sa’ud and the great support of both the Eastern Region Tourism Council and the Saudi Arabian Motor Federation’.
From Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz Turki Al Faisal, Bander Alireza, Saeed Al Mouri and Majed Al-Ghamdi have been chosen as the best contestants to represent the Kingdom due to their ample motorsport records. Red Bull Athlete, Prince Abdulaziz Turki Al Faisal, holds the 2009-2010 title for the Porsche G.T.3 Cup Middle East Challenge Champion, while his comrade Bandar Alireza already holds the Champion title for the Saudi and Middle East 1300cc Radical 2010 / 2011. Majed Al-Ghamdi has already won the Toyota Rav 4 cup twice, which was organized in parallel to the Middle East Rally Championship in 2002 and 2003. He also won the 2002 prize for fastest driver in the Rally of Champions, Jeddah. In 2008 Al-Ghamdi came in second at the Cross Country Cup in the T 2 category, while the following year he won the mini Saudi title after a tough competition on the international Reem circuit.
The last of the Saudi athletes, Saeed Al Mouri, also holds a title for the Saudi Radical Champion (2009 / 2010) and Middle East Radical Masters Champion (2010 / 2011). Most recently, Al Mouri became the Red Bull Car Park Drift (ME) Winner 2011.
Big talents emerge from Qatar that have left their impact on the scene, with Misfer Al Marri, who won the 2010 Middle East Rally, and Abdul Aziz Al Kuwari.
Lebanon’s Roger Feghali, the Emperor of cement roads in the Arab world, has a passion for rally racing and has many titles to his record. Also from Lebanon, Joe Ghanem proved himself in the field when he clinched the title at the UAE C-class GT Championship, just after his twenty-first birthday.
A Champion was selected from Bahrain: Fahad Al Musalam, who has earned consecutive wins at the Chevrolet Supercars ME Championships (2008 / 2009, 2009 / 2010).
Red Bull Ras B Ras will feature a myriad of experienced rally drivers with participants traveling-in from Jordan, Kuwait, Oman and UAE. Jordanian driver Mazen Tantash is Jordan’s 2010 Rally National Champion, while Mshari Al Thefiri is the six-time Kuwait Rally Champion (2005, 2006). Last season’s champion and the current leader of the 2011 Oman Rally Championship, Khalid Al-Minji, will also join the competition along with the three-time Group N Middle East Rally Champion from UAE, Sheikh Abdallah Qasimi.
From closed international circuits, the event will include the participation of two contestants representing the young generation of Gulf drivers: Omani driver Mazin Al Shibani and Emirati driver Mohamed Al Mutawaa. The former is considered one of the best autocross drivers in Oman and the UAE. He has five years experience in motor racing. The latter is a promising driver, who is one of the big names of Karting and GT races in his country. He won six out of the eight races.
The final two contestants to join the line-up are Tamer Bashat from Egypt, who prides himself with fourteen first-place titles at the Egyptian Autocross Championship, and Fadi Hammadeh from Syria who is a three-time Syrian Speed Test Champion (2005, 2006, 2008), and the 2004 Middle East Hill Climb champion, category N. He also won the 2011 Tal al Riman climb race in Jordan.
The heroes are getting ready to showcase their skills in attempts to clinch the coveted title of the first-ever head-to-head challenge of its kind in the Middle East. With such an amalgam of talents, Red Bull Ras B Ras is becoming the region’s most anticipated motorsport event of the year.
Tickets to the Red Bull Ras B Ras event will be available through STC offices and MEED stations across Al-Khobar, Riyadh and Jeddah. Motorsports enthusiasts can also be part of the action by entering the online head-to-head contest, “Put Your Knowledge to the Test” on www.redbullmea.com. The online competition is open to all website visitors and offers fans the chance to actively engage with Red Bull Ras B Ras by submitting their favorite driver to win each race.
