RAMALLAH, June 13 (JMCC) - Palestinians held their first road race in Nablus last week, reports the
Global Post.
“I love racing and I love speed,” said Suna Aweideh, the 39-year-old driver from Jerusalem who has become known as “Queen of the Car Races.” “It’s exciting for our people.”
The racing association has been holding its meets for a year. Last week’s event in Nablus was the second of the new season. The stretch of the city’s main street closed off for the race was packed with youths in jeans and T-shirts, chanting the names of the racers.
In the baking mid-morning sun, the races got underway. A female announcer called in English, “Three-two-one-Go!” Lebanese trance music began to pump at a volume almost as painful as the screeching of the car tires, as the first competitor burned rubber. His plates were, for the duration of the race, changed to “Palestine 1.”
The races are actually time trials. The drivers slalom through traffic cones and, braking and revving all at once, circle other cones in sliding “donuts.”
The course is only about 500 yards long, running between two of the city’s biggest mosques, and is completed in about 90 seconds. The 49 drivers get two shots at it.
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