UAE drifting king Ahmed Al Ameri announced ‘Toyota 86’ ambassador

Following the successful launch of the new Toyota 86, the latest sports car introduced to the Toyota line-up, Al-Futtaim Motors, exclusive distributors of Toyota in the UAE, announced the launch of the Toyota Emirates Drifting Team.

Led by Ahmed Al Ameri, the UAE drift king who last week was crowned the 2011/2012 Drift UAE champion for the first time, Emirates Drifting Team is the UAE's most accomplished drifting team and the first to get the official support of a local auto distributor.

The announcement was made at the Drift UAE 2012 Award Ceremony organised by Motorsports Solutions, where Ahmed Al Ameri was crowned the title of the Drift UAE champion for the 2011/2012 season.

Since making his professional drifting debut in 2010, Ahmed Al Ameri was always loyal to the Toyota brand. As part of the plan, the 27 year-old Abu Dhabi-born driver will be modifying the Toyota 86 in the summer to race it during the remaining 2012 and 2013 championship seasons.

"We're very excited to be supporting the increasingly popular drifting sports in the UAE through the formation of the Toyota Emirates Drifting Team and our endorsement of Ahmed Al Ameri," said Simon Frith, Managing Director Al-Futtaim Motors.

He continued, "With his passion for the Toyota 86, Al Ameri has joined our team at the launch of this fascinating car last month and has demonstrated a deep and genuine appreciation for this car's capabilities. We were impressed with his excitement about the Toyota 86 which generated a lot of positive vibes in the media and social sites visited and led by motorsports and automotive enthusiasts."

Al-Futtaim Motors Toyota will offer Al Ameri a brand new manual Toyota 86 to be modified according to his expertise, to make it fit for the upcoming drifting seasons in the UAE and the region. A highly experienced driver, Al Ameri has several podium results on his record, in Red Bull Car Park Drift well as Drift UAE championship.

The all-new Toyota 86 fits perfectly with Ahmed Al Ameri's passion for motorsports. With style, performance, authenticity and originality it is a light, nimble, sleek and sporty vehicle that offers a pure driving experience on track. It is also practical, with a 2+2 seating configuration and fold-flat cargo area that's large enough to transport a full set of race tires for a day at the track.

Ahmed Al Ameri expressed his excitement about the announcement saying: "Having Toyota as a sponsor for my young team is something I was wishful for since I started my drifting journey. My team will be very busy in the coming months preparing the car for the next challenges which will kick-off in September 2012."

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank Al-Futtaim Motors Toyota for recognizing drifting as an official motorsport. Drifting is one of the fastest growing motorsports in the UAE and the Arab world, and I am sure with the support of the world's largest car manufacturer this sport will now be taken seriously by the rest of the automotive players in the UAE" he concluded.

Ahmed Al Ameri, originally from Abu Dhabi, grew up with a steaming passion for cars. In 2002, after completing high school, Ahmed moved to Japan to pursuit his economy and business management studies in the Asian birthplace capital of the drifting sports.

Throughout his 7 years in Japan, Ahmed developed his instinctive passion for cars into a true a professional drifting skill, by learning and practicing drifting under the direction and supervision of the most skilled drifting masters in Japan.

In 2010, after acquiring the necessary skills, Ahmed returned back to his homeland, the UAE, with full determination to conquer the drifting scene. As a result, Ahmed participated in the 2011 SSK Challenge, achieved the 1st place in the 2011 and 2012UAE Red Bull Car Park Drift and is the 2011/2012 DriftUAE Champion. Ahmed also had the honor of participating in the 2011 Formula Drift Yas Marina round, where he competed with some of the best drifters in the world. Ahmed's accomplishments are the main motive behind the formation of the Emirates Drifting Team in collaboration with MBC Driven veteran presenter, Hassan Al Mulla.

Frith concluded: "Through the launch of the new Toyota 86, we promised to be more emotionally engaging. We see the Toyota Emirates Drifting Team delivering on that promise".
One of Toyota Emirates Drifting Team's main missions is to raise awareness about road safety and ethics among drifting amateurs and young drivers through a series of planned activities across the UAE.