ALKHOBAR, 16 January 2008 — The stage is set for the 2nd round of the three-round Chevrolet Speed Star Championship, to be held at Al Iskan Park in Alkhobar for two days from tomorrow. The first round took place in Jeddah recently and the third round is scheduled in Hail later this year.

Sayeed Al-Moori won the championship’s 1st round, driving his V6 BMW Z3 car. He led the podium winners clocking the best time 01:41:770 on the second day of the round. In second position was Majed Al-Ghamdi, who clocked 01:50:905 in his red standard 8 cylinder Lumina SS.

Eyeed Al Najjar failed to stay in third position surrendering the place to Bandar Al Sylami , who was on his 6 cylinder Lumina SS and clocked 01:51:046.

In each round, participants are expected to display their drifting-style technique in a twisting track of 1.5 km specifically designed for the championship.

According to Abdullah Bakhashab, Saudi rally champion and organizer of the event, the races are being judge don time and drivers accumulated points from each round with the title awarded to the driver with the most points. The official car is Lumina SS for its great power and high flexibility on the track.

As with other Chevrolet Motorsport events in the region, accessibility to the competition is a major focus.

To enter the championship, a rear wheel or all wheel drive car and the desire to compete are the only requirements.

The results through collecting points will be — 20 points for 1st position, 15 for 2nd, 12 for 3rd, 10 for 4th, 8 for 5th, 6 for 6th, 4 for 7th and 2 for 8th. There are cash awards for the winners -10,000 for 1st position, 6,000 for 2nd position and 3,000 for 3rd position.

Drifting is a high skill, high powered motorsport that calls for drivers to control a car while it slides at high speeds through a marked course, Bakhashab said. “It is similar to rally racing, but is done on a closed paved course.

It is judged on execution and style rather than just who finishes the course the fastest, similar to skateboarding and freestyle motocross,” he said, adding that the sport caters well to spectators and is exciting to watch.

2007 was the first year of the Chevrolet Speed star series, the first national championship series in the Kingdom.