Durban — Jim McFarlane has won the qualifying event for the World Drifting Championship.

The thrill-seeker secured his place at the next competition in Oman.

McFarlane, from XS Promotions and powered by Motul, will represent South Africa in the world championship. There was a close finish with incredible displays by Juan Stemmet in 2nd place and Christopher Long (aka Some Drift Guy) in 3rd position.

Mutual Athletes hosted the Redbull Car Park Drift, contested by South Africa’s top drifters Andre Leibbrandt and Mikey Skelton.

McFarlane said he was excited to have won a hat-trick title at the Red Bull Car Park Drift series.

He said it was a tough day and they faced challenges such as throttle issues and the power-steering cable snapping. McFarlane said last year’s event was cancelled due to political violence in the region.

“Our mechanic Warren did an exceptional job in fixing everything, and in record time, allowing my son, Hudson and I to both use the car during the event.

“This was a sweet win for me. Stemmet will be joining me to compete against the world’s best,” said McFarlane.

The Red Bull car drifters top 3. 1Jim McFarlane 2. Juan Stemmet 3. Christopher Long. Picture: Khaya Ngwenya/ Independent Newspapers

Red Bull Motorsport Athlete Rally, Hill Climb Champion and Guinness World Record holder Abdo Feghali said the action was amazing but some drifters were not lucky as they had mechanical problems. Feghali said they would excel and compete for the top 5 positions in Oman.

He said: “That is always the case in all motorsport disciplines, which does not allow you to go any further in the competition. The winners showed a lot of progress since last year. I am sure the guys will represent South Africa and the Red Bull car park drift world final.”

The three judges were Brenton Gregory, a legend in the South African drifting scene for nearly two decades. Over the years, he has gained a reputation for his unique and fearless approach to the sport. Bruno Miranda competed in the National Drift Series (NDS) for five years, where he was always in the top 3. After retiring from competition he became a resident judge on the SupaDrift series. Alongside, Michael van der Linde has been judging the National Drifting Series and 2023 and it will be his third year judging Red Bull Car Park Drift.

Durban-based drifter Joey Govender said this was his fourth year participating in the Red Bull Car Drift.

“This competition was stiff, several great drivers throughout the country were here in Durban, which created a lot of pressure. It was just me getting everything wrong, the previous day I did everything correctly, the pressure of coming from 20 drivers to 8 drivers, knowing that your friends and family are here watching you and worse, Durban is my hometown, you would not want to put a foot wrong,” Govender added.

Mercia Jansen, Motul area manager for southern and eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean, congratulated all the participants in the South African leg of the Red Bull Car series.

“The demands that the Red Bull Car Park Drift series places on cars and engines provide the perfect playground to showcase Motul’s superior lubricant range.

“That is why we are proud to be the lubricant partner for this event and to work with top drifters to test and enhance our formulas and continually innovate our products,” said Jansen.

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