Gurpreet's drift ride at Jordan's Wadi Rum with drift king Ahmad Daham
Red Bull Athlete & National Football Team Goalkeeper Gupreet Singh Sandhu learns to drift in Jordan from the drifting star of the Middle East Ahmad Daham.
If ever there was a country that perfectly aligned with stunning backdrops for driving and drifting -- it has to be Jordan, and the moon-like landscape of Wadi Rum in particular. A maze of monolithic rockscapes rises up from the desert floor to heights of 1,750m creating a natural backdrop for the video captured during the Red Bull Drifting shoot in Jordan recently. Drift racing is one of the fasting growing motorsports in the Middle East. Pioneered by Japanese street racers in the 1970s, it evolved into a mainstream international sport in the early 2000s. In recent years it has gained popularity, particularly across Jordan.
Red Bull has created an exciting video capturing the entire drifting experience in Jordan starring the trailblazer Indian footballer. He started with travelling across the natural wonders of Jordan that is the Dead Sea and Petra. At over 400m (1,312 ft.) below sea level, the Dead Sea is the lowest point on the face of the earth where you can float without sinking. Petra, known as the 'rose red city' is a world wonder, and without a doubt Jordan's most valuable treasure and greatest tourist attraction.
Sandhu was in Jordan to learn how to drift from the drifting star of the Middle East and Red Bull Athlete Ahmad Daham. Winner of multiple Red Bull Car Park Drift championships, Daham has been crowned King of the Desert twice and he is the Guinness World Record holder for the longest twin drift. In addition to holding the Guinness World Record for the longest twin drift, Daham stacked up a series of big wins. He followed up his 2014 Jordan Drift Championship by winning the Red Bull Car Park Drift championship that same year, repeating the feat in 2015. In 2016, he was crowned King of the Desert in the annual King of Desert series – a title he retained in 2017. A favourite saying of his is “sideways is the new way forward”! With a huge fan base all around the Middle East, he always takes the time to talk to his fans, giving them advice on tuning and driving.
The training involved learning how to do donuts, the figure of eight and drift around a corner on the track on a 700 horsepower car.
Sandhu also hitched a ride with Daham for an experience of a lifetime when they both drifted through locations like Namala Road, Wadi Rum and dropped Sandhu off at the Dead Sea.
Red Bull Press release
