World Drift Racing King Daham Meets Rally Star Karan, Inspires Builders And Tuners

NAIROBI, Kenya- Renowned drift racer Ahmad Daham continued his tour of Kenya with a visit to Karan Racing Team garage and Boosted Auto Garage on Monday afternoon.

The visit was part of his one-week itinerary in the country during which the two-time King of the Desert annual series champion will undertake mentorship workshops with talented drifters aimed at promoting the sport.

At Karan’s garage along Mombasa Road, the Middle East drifter interacted with top Kenyan rally driver Karan Patel where the two shared notes on their respective experiences in the motorsport world.

He expressed his excitement at interacting with drifting enthusiasts as well as rallying stakeholders such as Karan.

“We have some exciting projects beginning Tuesday, the most important being the drifting academy. Hopefully, we will be able to get drifters who compete underground onto the professional track and mentor them to become better. Motorsports seems to be a big thing in Kenya and its only needs a bit of a push to take it to the next level,” he said.

Speaking at the same time, Karan – who currently lies second on the Kenya National Rally Championship standings – described their conversation as enlightening.

“We haven’t interacted much but from what I have seen so far, he is a very nice guy. We both are into motorsports obviously and love driving cars. It is a great experience learning about a different car and set-up from what we would normally have in rallying,” he said.

At Boosted Auto Garage in Lang’ata, Daham mingled freely with a group of builders and tuners, answering their queries on matters drifting in addition to viewing the cars undergoing renovations and customisations at the garage.

Daham said he was impressed by the passion for building and tuning in the country, adding that he is excited to help his peers in Kenya become better builders and tuners.

“I am excited. The adrenaline has kept me up all day. They (builders and tuners) have asked the right questions…the technical ones. I like these kinds of stuff…to promote drifting and to teach people about building of cars and how to avoid mistakes. Hopefully, we are going to have a wonderful show on Saturday,” he said.

The Red Bull athlete advised those in attendance to continually push themselves to learn more about tuning and building in addition to undertaking as much practice as possible.

“Tuning is a tricky thing unlike drifting. There is no one tip on how to become better. Any small mistake you could ruin a car, the pistons or the bearings. The more cars you tune the better you become,” Daham, who owns his own tuning company known as NMK, said.

Speaking at the same time, Vincent Saleh, one of the directors of Boosted Auto, said such mentorship initiatives are just what the doctor ordered for drifting in Kenya.

“This is the way to go. Having him here is not only big for us in Kenya but in the world as well. For you to be drifter, you have to be certified by FIA although it has not grown as big in the country as the other forms of motorsport. A big thank you to Red Bull for bringing such an international drifter to help cement the sport in the country,” Saleh said.

Astral Aerial CEO, Mr. Kush Gadhia – one of the corporate partners for Daham’s visit – expressed his optimism in the youth’s potential to develop and pursue their skills and talents, moreso now in the motorsports scene.

“Through our RPAS Training Academy, we have done so for the drone industry, and we hope to achieve the same through Ahmad’s input at Red Bull Drift Academy for the Motorsport community,” he said

Daham will be at the University of Nairobi main campus on Friday to speak to students at the institution as well as the public on matters career and drifting.

On Saturday, drifting enthusiasts will get the chance to see him in action as he takes them through practical drift racing sessions.