Red Bull Car Park Drift set to ignite Catherine Hall
Published:Saturday | September 17, 2022 | 12:08 AM
CATHERINE HALL, Montego Bay is poised to become the first hosting venue for the Red Bull Car Park Drift competition in the Western Hemisphere with the tyre screeching and engine revving event set to unfold on October 1, with gates set to open at 5 p.m. and the event commencing at 7 p.m.
Dean Corrodus, race coordinator and organiser of the event, announced that Jamaica was chosen as host nation due to the growing appetite he sees for motor racing in the country.
“Jamaica is very special place, as the saying goes, likkle but wi tallawah. Jamaica definitely has that drift culture and we are a motor culture, that motor sport culture spawns from the automotive society that we have. So, anything with engine, mechanical, we love it,” said Corrodus.
The Red Bull Car Park Drift competition will be contested by 20 participants, competing over nine obstacle courses. According to the rules, drivers will lose points if they spin a car, hit an obstacle, or drift in the wrong direction. In addition, a three-point penalty will lead to an automatic disqualification.
According to Corrodus, the participants will be judged on drift and precision, rather than speed. Among the three judges will be former 100-metres world record- holder, Asafa Powell, who has an insatiable appetite for fast cars.
RIGHT UP HIS ALLEY
“Asafa has about 14 to 16 cars. He absolutely loves it, he’s a gear head and you see from his YouTube vlogs, he’s always modifying a car so this is right up his alley. He has attended two of the meets we’ve had so far so he has been trained as a judge, so he’ll be one of three official judges along with Doug Gore and Yusif Bassell for the Red Bull Car Park Event,” Corrodus added.
Corrudus is also expecting the event to be highly competitive as the winner of the Jamaica leg of the championship will represent the country at the world finals in the Middle East later this year.
“The winner will be flown to the world finals in Saudi Arabia, where a drift car will be provided for them to compete against other competing nations. This is the world finals, so the finalists representing their nations from all over the world will converge in Saudia Arabia in November,” he said.