This is the second year for me to participate in GulfRun as well as the Bahrain International Circuit. This time around there were more cars, but also more events on the track. I’m going to post another post about the track days with all the pictures, for now these are the pictures from the track photographers.
One thing is for sure Bahrainis are the nicest people and great to have fun with. They really are easy going and very helpful, I don’t know Bahrain that well but whenever I asked for directions a lot of people went out of their way to help out (since my GPS unit was stolen by the owner of the black Mitsubishi Evolution).
There are a lot of nice restaurants in an Area called Aadliya which I kept messing up the pronunciation. It also seems that cops in Bahrain are tightening the belt so we were taking it easy on the roads. The best part about the whole trip is that we were staying at the Banyan Tree which is 5 – 10 mins from the track, its funny waking up in the morning and seeing all the drivers having breakfast in the hotel restaurant. There was a nice camaraderie between all the drivers and people, and I did get to meet some really nice people, and that honestly is the best part of the whole GulfRun event.
Link: BIC
That is honestly one of the best car shows I have seen in a long time in Kuwait. A huge turnout from the first day, lots of people, family, and kids showed up and enjoyed the show. The booths from Tristar Motorcycles, Al Fahad Travel, Kromozone, Ford, Mitsubishi, and My Toy World were there, and then the other sponsors for GulfRun such Agility, Huper Optic, Magic, Slider Station, and EggHead Electronics were at the event as well.
There were lots of interesting cars, and they look good with all the stickers. Then there was a few surprises such as the Desmosedici RR which is made in extremely limited production, a Moto GP motorcycle that you can take home. I think that GulfRun has made a good impression on lots of people and got them very interested in this event. Lots of families came and I was really surprised, people kept coming up to me who I wasn’t expecting to see and there was lots of family to say hello to. The best part is all the photography enthusiasts who showed up to the event.
The organization of the car show was very well done, lots of smiling faces and the music was blasting a little too much but it attracted people to the cars. Hopefully it will be bigger and better next year. I’m curious to see how its going to be topped next year.
Link: GulfRun
Recently I have been insanely busy with GulfRun pretty much for the past three weeks. Modifying my car, the car show, and everything leading up to the main event at the Bahrain International Circuit. I had my Landcruiser covered with GulfRun stickers, and my Beemer was covered with stickers for all GulfRun stickers, this attracted all kinds of attention and some of it unwanted such as the police. I haven’t had a speeding ticket or any other ticket except for parking in the past two years, but in the past three weeks I have had my license taken taken twice, and my car registration taken twice as well. They are on a vengeful track these days stopping cars left, right, and center. The police officer took my car registration because of stickers, the sound of the exhaust, and front plate. Its ridiculous, I got it back the next day but why the hell so much trouble for people, can’t they just give tickets and let people just pay the fines without inconveniencing them for stupid things. It drives me nuts that they waste their time on random stupid things like these when they could really be helping people, I remember the last time I called 777 it took them over 45 minutes to find us.
After speaking to a few people who work in the Ministry of Interior and they were telling me they have orders since the beginning of November to go on this rampage, so people should be vigilant and I for one could do without all this trouble.
Link: Flickr
GulfRun was nothing short of fantastic this year, it got bigger and better from last year. There was lots of support from all the sponsors such as Al Fahad Travel, Agility, Magic, Huberoptic, EggHead Electronics, and Slider Station. Then there was the track support from Pirelli, Porsche and Ferrari which was fantastic, it felt like we had an F1 support team for all technical issues even when are just driving and racing for pleasure. There is a lot to post about and I was happy there was a huge turnout of people coming to check out GulfRun 4 from Kuwait and Bahrain. At one point I was a taxi taking people out on the track and pretty much letting loose, and I was very happy that my car made a huge improvement over last year but I will be posting up pictures very soon.
Link: Flickr
This is probably the coolest set of cars a person can have and they are all owned by one Yoshida San. Yoshida is a matured gentlemen, an avid gamer, and the owner of AGE SOFT a video game software house. I can’t believe how funky these cars look with the manga on it, I really like what he is done even though many will not appreciate it, but in Japan they are beautiful.
Link: WorldCarFans
That was one hell of fun event! I haven’t seen this many cars in one place in a long time. I honestly think that it is extremely organized and professional. Most of the paperwork taken care of before the show, and these sticker guys were on these cars like clock work flying form car to car.
The amount of unique cars there was just amazing, there were a few that I think are going to be interesting. And there are the sleeper cars, those are the cars that look stock but are far from it they are extremely modified vehicles which are meant to eat up the road.
All the cars are stickered up with the sponsors from Agility, Al Fahad Travel, Huberoptic, Slider Station, Magic Energy Drinks, and 3gg Head. Turtle Wax was there giving away their cleaning, detailing, waxing, and other products to be used on the vehicles. Then Castrol was there and giving a nice lottery so that you can win Oil, I managed to win 6 liters of Castrol Edge Sport 10W-60 which is exactly what I need and I’m taking that to the track. It was a great show up of most of the participants and Al-Watan TV was there as well. Al Falah Car Wash did an amazing job cleaning these cars to have ready for the stickers, and they closed down the car wash for this day and the whole place was filled with the colorful cars.
Now the show event is taking place in Marina on Thursday and Friday, most vehicles are already there and looking very nice.
Things re going to get very interesting on Wednesday night at Al Falah Car Wash at 6 pm to 10 pm. I think there will be a lot of media coverage for all the vehicles and the beginning of the GulfRun adventure. There are close to 46 cars and all of them are going to be there to have their cars all stickered up. Its going to be hectic to deal with this many cars, I’m going to try to get there as early as possible.
I have just recieved my car from BMW service and I have to say they did an AMAZING job. The amount of technical expertise these mechanics have is amazing, and they installed all the parts perfectly. I’m extremely happy that everything was worked out. I don’t want to go into the details but the difference in looks and performance is very apparent. I want to eat up the competition in GulfRun, I am going to put my best foot forward, to be exact my lead foot.
I literally only have a few days left until the wheel starts for GulfRun and my car has been in the shop for three weeks and counting now. At first it went in for some repair and they replaced the parts, then I brought some parts to be installed and my ECU had to be sent out to the states, and I got it barely on Thursday and the garage only operates as a half day on Thursday. There are two things left and I have to get it done literally in 24 hours or I will be missing the carwash event which is a bummer! But still going to push for it and hopefully it will get done.
Items Left:
- Road Test with all new items installed and newly programmed ECU from the states.
- Weld work for the exhaust pipe to install the new pipe which eliminates the resonator.
- New body parts which will make the care lighter (ultimately cooler).
This honestly has been a hell of a lot of fun, I want to hear how the engine sounds like and how its going to move but I’m really cutting it close at this point and I have ordered the parts over months ago. I have learned a lot from this experience and now that I know I won’t repeat those mistakes. I especially want to try out the new big brake kit, they are huge so I’m hoping to able to stop on a dime at this point.
Link: GulfRun
A beautiful truck crafted for an amazing motorcycle, Toyota collaborated with Ducati to create the perfect transporter to handle all the tools and gear needed for any racer. And this Toyota Tundra was created for the Ducati Desmosedici RR, with its custom extended 6.5inch it can do that and more. A motorized loading ramp is incorporated into the bed as well as integrated tool and spares storage. Modifications to the car such a supercharger bump it up to 500 bhp and 500-lbs/ft of torque with the Ducati paint job and white stripes. I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on this vehicle! What a beautiful machine!
Link: CarScoop
Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association or SEMA is one of the best aftermarket car shows that showcases the best of the best parts and modifications on the newest cars which may not even be released to the public yet. Another aspect of SEMA are the booth babes and the women are as abundant as the cars in the expo! A lot more pics at the link.
Link: Jalopnik