Durban - Multiple Lebanese rally champion and Red Bull Car Park Drift kingpin Abdo ‘Dado’ Feghali was in South Africa in 2021 to film a project in Durban as well as act on the judging panel for the very first Red Bull Car Park Drift in South Africa.
“I was so happy to introduce the competition to the country and meet all the drifters from SA, the talent was better than I had imagined,” he says.
Feghali will once again be back on SA soil for the 2022 edition of Red Bull Car Park Drift. Feghali was born into a motorsport family.
"It was never a question," he says. "I would do everything to get into that driver's seat and play for the rest of my life.” He started his career back in 1998 and his persona of ‘Dado’ as a legendary drifter has steadily grown in the Middle East and around the world.
One of Feghali’s standout achievements is breaking the Guinness World Record in 2013 for the longest continuous drift in Abu Dhabi, covering an incredible 11 180 metres.
Nowadays Feghali does a lot of work around the world promoting the sport and helping its development by showing how there is a lot less barrier to entry (in terms of cost) than most other motorsports.
Feghali will once again be a judge as Red Bull Car Park Drift returns to Durban. “The beauty of an event like this is that you can do it with a personal car as long as it is a rear-wheel drive car and has a few modifications,” he says.
His tips for anyone starting out would be to:
- Make sure you have a hydraulic handbrake, which will help you a lot in terms of changing direction with the car by locking the rear tyres and initiating the drift.
- Study videos online. For example all the obstacles at Red Bull Car Park drift are standard around the world, so if your goal is to compete in the event one day you can prepare very well ahead of time and even build your own.
- Watch expert drifters in action at an event such as Red Bull Car Park Drift. Last year the cars were amazing and the drifters were really good, I’m sure this year is going to be even better.
This year Durbanites will be able to get in on the tyre-screeching finals action live as spectators are invited into the fore, they’ll be able to watch as the best drivers in the land are tested on a tricky course.
To catch the biggest drifting event in the country, fans can buy their tickets at Computicket.
Feghali believes those who attend can expect to see a new level of driver and even more powerful cars because as they’ve seen you need the complete package.