Nicholas Barnes at Red Bull Drifting World Final
Red Bull Drifting – Jamaican Champion, Nicholas Barnes
Red Bull Drifting World Final in Saudi Arabia
The time has come! Nicholas Barnes, of Team Tazz Racing, is taking to the track in Saudi Arabia for the Red Bull Car Park Drift 2022 World Final.
The event will be held on December 7 and 8 at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, and will be live streamed on the 876Streets YouTube channel as well as the Red Bull Motorsports YouTube channel.
Here is what Junior Barnes, Team Tazz race manager and father of drifting extraordinaire Nicholas Barnes had to say about the journey to Saudi Arabia.
Image Courtesy of: TeamTazz Racing
Car and Technical Team
“Nick Barnes will drive a BMW i30, it is with a 1 JZ Turbo charge, a fully drift spec car with 630 Wheel Horsepower. This is 3 times the amount of horsepower Nick is used to, but we will be practicing and we will be ready. Our technical team leader is Cleve “Cutta Hype” Ottey, so we will definitely be ready to hit the track when the time comes.” Mr. Barnes said.
Preparation
Nick has been perfecting his craft for the last couple months leading up to the World Final.
“Nicholas still sticks to his regular routine of exercising 3 or 4 times a week. He drives his car every Sunday, he drives “Cutta Hype” car, and we try to make him drive different cars so that he can have a feel, but there isn’t really a car in Jamaica to compare with these big horse power cars. We have been doing our homework of what the competition is, we have been preparing both physically and mentally, and we think we are right where we want to be,” Mr. Barnes said.
Image Courtesy of: TeamTazz Racing
Support in the Lead-Up to the Final
Support is always key to success. Team Tazz has made it very clear that they are grateful for all the support they have been receiving over the past couple months.
“Dealing with corporate Jamaica wasn’t easy, in fact it was difficult to get sponsors, but we are very grateful for the companies that have come on board. We want to thank, the Jamaica Tourist Board, Fuel Depot, Tyre Warehouse, Endless Lighting, Scott Auto, and Morris Hardware as well as the Ministry of Sports and Culture.
We also want to express gratitude to our fans and the support we have been receiving in the media.
“Fan support has been overwhelming, there has been a lot of prayer, a lot of love and got some donations from fans. We want to big up Irie FM, the Western Mirror, Donovan Montague ‘D_Monti_Images’, Rory Daley, and 876Streets which is fully on board,” Mr. Barnes remarked.
He continued, “It’s nice to know that when you are over here, the diaspora in UAE and Saudi will call to offer their support. We feel good about that. The unity is here and it is strong. And to our fans, and our loved ones, Nick’s mom and the family, our travel agent Tamara, we want to thank you for all your support and we are here to make you proud.”
“We have put to together a package and a team, we brought as much people as we could, that we think we are going to need. We are small contingency, but we are very potent, so we looking forward to doing excellent work,” Mr. Barnes said.
Junior Barnes said on behalf of Team Tazz racing that they feel very honoured that Red Bull took the time to come to Jamaica to recognise our talent.
“We want to make Jamaica proud, and ourselves proud, and we now have an opportunity to showcase our talent on the world stage.”
Mr. Barnes said that, “No matter how small you are, you still can make a big impact on the world stage. We do feel very honoured, and we feel that Nicholas has earned his place as drift king of Jamaica and the Western Hemisphere.”
Image Courtesy of: TeamTazz Racing
To conclude, Mr. Barnes sent a personal message of support to his son.
“I want to encourage Nick to be himself, and to do what he did to get here. I want him to be relaxed and to drive his own drive. He is already a winner in our book, and whatever got him here we want to continue doing. He will always have my love and support, he knows what is expected of him and we are here to do that.”
Make sure to tune in and watch our Jamaican star drifter take on Saudi Arabia on the 7th and 8th of December.