Street racing in Dubai...

[chapstic2001]

Jezzussss....

http://www.marax.at/funpix/arab_street_racing.htm

let the fuel price mockery begin....

[ZAMIRZ]

That isn't street racing, they're at a track.

I was in the Emirates about a month ago, had a great time, it's a fantastic place to live it up.

[artplumber]

Is that a chick w/shorts on? Where were the morality police?

Just goes to show, SUV drivers bought everyone of those cars for those guys a few cents at a time.

[onewhippedpuppy]

They should thank me by purchasing me a Carrera GT. I'll take mine in silver please.

[masraum]

Originally posted by artplumber
Is that a chick w/shorts on? Where were the morality police?

Just goes to show, SUV drivers bought everyone of those cars for those guys a few cents at a time.

Nope, not shorts. It's a tiny little skirt and a shirt that shows cleavage.

I need their problem.

Funny, I have this mental image of them shooting across the desert with the headdress thingy flapping out tho window behind them. Reminds me of Nigel Shiftright with a silk scarf flapping in the wind.

[chapstic2001]

Originally posted by ZAMIRZ
That isn't street racing, they're at a track.

Details details.....sheesh!

[tchanson]

Originally posted by ZAMIRZ
That isn't street racing, they're at a track.

They're at a track in the linked photos, but street racing has become a real concern in the region, as noted in a front page story from the WSJ last week:


In the Middle East, Illegal Street Racing Is a Rich Kid's Sport

Lamborghinis and Porsches Star in Risky Contests; A Prince's Deadly Lesson

By YASMINE EL-RASHIDI
May 3, 2006

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- After bidding his friends goodbye at a Starbucks cafe late one recent weekday night, Ahmed Khawaga steered his metallic-blue Chrysler Crossfire sports car into the desert.

He stopped on the shoulder of a desolate stretch of road, turned on his headlights and revved the $40,000 car's engine to a roar. "Here I come!" he shouted into the empty expanse.

The 23-year-old Mr. Khawaga, and two friends who soon joined him, spent the next few hours zooming down Emirates Road side-by-side at speeds approaching 150 miles per hour. They are part of an illegal street-racing scene that's taken off across the Middle East -- especially in the Persian Gulf region.

Roughly 60% of the Middle East's population is under the age of 25, and many of these youths are flush with disposable income as their countries' economies boom from record oil revenues. That means they have money -- and rubber -- to burn. In Saudi Arabia, young men pilot their Lamborghinis and Porsches over a bridge that separates Saudi from neighboring Bahrain to stage weekend races there. In Kuwait, the upscale district of Salmiya hosts the most popular drag strip in town. During the peak summer season in Egypt, rich young Arabs ship their fancy cars from the Gulf region to join the rounds.

A few years ago, the contests were mainly informal affairs. "We used to just meet on Sheikh Zayed Road" -- the city of Dubai's main thoroughfare -- "on Fridays or at night when it was empty," Mr. Khawaga says. Drivers would pull up next to each other, roll down the windows and nod their heads to mark the start. "Instead of just cruising, we'd race," he says.

Today, word of more organized duels spreads days in advance -- sometimes attracting several hundred spectators. The racers and crowds gather at remote spots across the Emirates, time and place circulated by cellphone text messaging or over the Internet. Some drivers wear traditional Arab dress, the cloak-like white thobe, while others wear jeans and T-shirts. It's almost entirely a man's world; on a recent racing night, there was only one woman -- the wife of a fan -- in sight.

The races are mainly about reputation and machismo, but in the United Arab Emirates bets are another draw. Wagers from racers or spectators have reached as much as 100,000 dirhams, or more than $27,000, according to participants.

Word of the races has spread far beyond the Middle East. At the elaborate villa where he lives with his parents, Mr. Khawaga logs onto one of several Internet chat rooms for amateur racers, some of which feature video of recent race gatherings. One American racing fan was particularly struck by the action. "I didn't think that they even had a Drag Strip over there...I thought they all rode Camels," wrote a young Pittsburgh resident who also expressed awe over the array of expensive cars owned by youth his age.

With daredevil drivers, ever-faster cars and no official rules or safety checks, street-racing has evolved into an extremely dangerous pastime. In the tiny emirate of Dubai, whose population is about 1.4 million, 557 accidents in 2005 killed 73 people between the ages of 18 and 25 -- roughly a 100% increase from a decade ago, according to the Dubai Traffic Police. Last month alone, at least 12 people were killed, bringing this year's casualties to almost 100.

In Egypt last year one race left up to half a dozen drivers and spectators dead. The race was between Egyptians and several youths visiting from the Gulf region. According to Egyptian authorities, the carnage began when one of the drivers, a young Arab prince, lost control of his car. He survived the accident.

Street racing has also spawned an underground collection of garages that offer services to illegally enhance the performance and speed of vehicles. One mechanic in the older Bur Dubai neighborhood says his black-market side business in souping up cars came about by chance. "One day one of my young customers asked me if I could help him make his car faster," he says, speaking on condition his name not be used. "One thing led to another and word spread."

Racing upgrades can cost anywhere from several hundred dirhams to tens of thousands of dirhams. Mr. Khawaga says his brand-new Crossfire needs no enhancement, but he points to the inside of a friend's Nissan four-wheel-drive. The car has had the back seats removed to make it lighter and faster. Mr. Khawaga says such work allows even the oldest and bulkiest of cars to compete.

The illegal races are a growing concern for U.A.E. police and traffic departments. Last year over 100 young men between the ages of 18 and 25 were arrested, according to authorities. But catching violators in the act isn't easy. To mislead authorities, young men now spread false word about race locations.

Spectators inadvertently help divert the law by blocking off roads used for racing with parked cars. The racers themselves remove their cars' identification tags. Often the races take place in the middle of the night.

Chasing the racers, police say, would only add risk for everyone. The police say all they can do is try to take down plate numbers and summon the cars' owners to the station the following day. "It's not simple," says Mohammad Abu Rashid, an officer at the Dubai Department of Traffic.

Last month the Dubai Traffic Police sent onto the roads a new team of undercover traffic police. They also launched a road-safety campaign to provide motivation for racers to stop, and have urged colleges to stress the importance of road safety.

Meanwhile, in both Egypt and the U.A.E., concerned authorities are trying to encourage these young racers to participate in controlled races as an alternative. In the U.A.E., the Emirates Motorplex in Umm Al Quain, owned by the Sheik of the Emirate, Rashid Bin Ahmed Al Mualla, has upped its activities partly in an effort to encourage young men to go there instead.

Racing there means more prestige, since the center's events are now heavily covered by the media. The center is host to a series of tracks and holds all sorts of races that mirror those on the streets, including drag races on a ¾-mile track.

"The motorplex is great," acknowledges Mr. Khawaga. Still, he says, it's no replacement for the crude action on the streets. "You just don't get the same high."


Tim

[Spede]

Dang, them is some nice rides. My sister told me about a story she heard where these guys street race and kill themselves at an alarming rate. Something like 90 in the last few months. I guess they can buy the cars but not the brains.

[ZAMIRZ]

I've been to the street races in Dubai, the WSJ article is full of half-truths and speculation. This one is my favorite: "In the tiny emirate of Dubai, whose population is about 1.4 million, 557 accidents in 2005 killed 73 people between the ages of 18 and 25 -- roughly a 100% increase from a decade ago, according to the Dubai Traffic Police." Yeah, well the overall population has boomed quite a bit in the past 10 years too, it's not like all the street racers were there 10 years ago. While race wagers do go up pretty high and there's quite the list of new european exotics, it's just like street racing stateside. I personally think it's "safer" to see a newer european exotic hauling ass down a freshly paved highway than some rusted out '60s Camaro with slicks and a shoddy nitrous system flying down some back-country middle America road.

They've also cleaned up a lot of the racing in the city, Sheikh Zayed Road is littered with speed cameras as you roll through Dubai, you can't get up past 85mph without getting a ticket and the amount multiplies almost exponentially the more you get.