August 14, 2017 – Sary Zahalan made his way to the podium as Lebanon’s 2017 King of Drift! The unforgettable adrenaline-charged day at Warde Parking – Kfardebian under the supervision of legendary drifter Abdo Feghali, highlighted an afternoon full of roaring engines and tires smoke. Around 10000 spectators overran the Parking to cheer on the qualified 20 drifters.
While Zahalan achieved 357 points to convince the four judges and walk away with the top spot, drifting fans got to witness unprecedented drifting action, reflecting exceptional skills and technique in a safe environment.
Zahalan drifted his unique BMW E46 Compact to a flawless victory. His final run ensured a tidy pass. Second place went to Oliver Kik driving Nissan 350Z with 324 points. Fadi Bou Chahine rounded the podium as third scoring 303 points on his BMW E30.
The judging panel consisted of a panel of motorsports experts including Rally Champion Jean Pierre Nasrallah, TV show presenter Mostafa Fakhri, ATCL member Elie Ghanem and Red Bull athlete Ahmed Daham. The process was based on drifting skills as a major criterion, in addition to car look and design, clipping point, car sound, tire smoke, and the box.
In a quick post-event chat with Abdo Feghali, he said: “This was the highest Red Bull Car Park Drift in terms of altitude, held at 2000 meters above sea level, which was challenging for both cars and drivers. Unfortunately, we saw a few drivers retire with mechanical problems, while others struggled to hit the gates and clipping point, but it is all part of the competition and I think we saw a series of amazing shows today. Sary was simply the best and truly deserves this victory.”
Red Bull Car Park Drift is in collaboration with Kfardebain Municipality, Mzar Ski Resort and in partnership with Falken Tires and Shop and Ship, Total and PS4.
The 2017 Lebanese King of Drift will represent Lebanon at the 2017 Red Bull Car Park Drift Grand Final in Kuwait, which is the culmination of a series of national qualifiers and will feature drifters from Kuwait, Egypt, Lebanon, Mauritius, Bahrain, Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, Oman, Qatar and UAE.