leg of Chevrolet Speed Star Championship 2008 will take place in Jeddah on July 2 and 3, Chevrolet Motorsport announced here Sunday. The championship will then move to Al-Khobar and Al-Riyadh later in the year. Chevrolet goes ahead with its plans to support motorsport events in the Kingdom following the successful 2007 championship where motorsport fans were treated to exciting drifting techniques. Abdullah Bakhashab, motorsport developer in the Kingdom and organizer of the event, expressed his joy over organizing the event for the second straight year. Fadi Ghosn, Marketing Director, General Motors, Middle East, speaking at the official launch of the championship in Jeddah said: “It is my pleasure to announce the launch of the Chevrolet Speed Star Championship 2008, which will be bringing a controlled and formalized structure to what is popularly known as driving skills. As you all know, driving skills has come in for a lot of criticism in Saudi Arabia - and rightly so. Exciting as it may be, this is not the kind of driving we encourage on public roads, hence our involvement in transforming it into an organized motor sport discipline. “Saudi drivers who are undoubtedly skilled in driving technique can now find an outlet for their talents on the race-track, and not the highway,” he said and added: “Our role is to ensure that safety reigns supreme, and under the auspices of Chevrolet Motorsport, we are confident that the Chevrolet Speed Star Championship will be every bit as exciting as drifting has always been, but with the added advantage of being as safe as it can possibly be.” Abdullah Bakhashab, the championship promoter and Saudi motor sports champion, explained the details of the new championship 2008 and the judging criteria. The championship will consist of three rounds. The first will take place in Jeddah; the second in Al Khobar (Sept. 17-18); and the third in Riyadh (Nov. 7-8). In each round participants will display their driving techniques in a twisting track specifically designed for the championship. The races will be judged on time, and drivers will accumulate points from each round with the title awarded to the driver with the most points. The results, through collecting points, will be as follows: 20 points for first position, 15 for the second, 12 for the third, 10 for the fourth, 8 for the fifth, 6 for the sixth , 4 for the seventh and 2 for the eighth. There will be cash awards for the winners as well: SR10,000 for the driver finishing first, SR6,000 for the second and SR3,000 for the third. As with other Chevrolet Motorsport events in the region, accessibility to the competition is a major focus. To enter the Speed Star Championship you need a rear-wheel or all-wheel drive car and the desire to compete. Fadi Ghosn and Abdullah Bakhashab awarded the winners of Chevrolet speed star championship 2007 at the Sunday's press conference. Saeed Al-Mouri, the winner of the 2007 title won SR10,000. Ead Al-Najar won SR6,000 for the second finish while Abdul Bandar Al-Soulami won SR3,000 for his third spot. __
