Speed sister: Palestinian champions drift racing for women

Noor Daoud is trying to encourage other Arab women to get involved in drifting. Picture: Instagram.

Noor Daoud is trying to encourage other Arab women to get involved in drifting. Picture: Instagram.

Published Oct 10, 2018

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Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt - 

Noor Daoud was the only woman to take to the track in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh recently, where the Palestinian racer impressed the crowds with her drifting skills.

Daoud has mastered the art of car drifting, and had travelled to Sharm el-Sheikh for a regional competition.

"Since I was little I've become used to meeting up with the guys to play football or tennis," said the 27-year-old on the sidelines of the competition.

Racing now dominates her life, evident from Instagram where she often poses with her thick wavy hair falling over driving leathers.

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The Dream is free,The hustle is sold separately Be positive thinker always❤thanks to @naimchidiac 📸 Have a blessed friday everyone! #noordaoud #thenooreffect #tires #bmwperformance #e46 #beast #mydubai #Palestinian🇵🇸

A post shared by Noor Daoud 🚗💨(@noordaoudofficial) on Jan 26, 2018 at 5:26am PST

"When I was little, I loved cars and I had a collection of them to play with," said Daoud, a polyglot who was born in the US state of Texas and went to a French school in Jerusalem.

In Sharm el-Sheikh, she zigzagged around the tarmac track and dodged obstacles as thick white smoke and sparks came off her car.

"There's only one girl!" said a young enthusiast of drift, which emerged in Japan in the 1970s.

Competitors were judged by a professional panel on their style and their driving skills, which count as much as their speed.

Daoud had to abandon the second round of the competition due to engine failure, but nonetheless picked up a trophy for her participation as the sole woman.

She wishes other Arab women would take part in professional competitions. "Let Arab girls show the world that we also follow our dreams," she said.

There are however more women racing cars in the region, including four other Palestinians who featured alongside Daoud in a "Speed Sisters" documentary.

Driving 'to feel free'

It has been more than a decade since Daoud first raced, borrowing a car from her mother who she credits as being the sole supporter of her ambitions.

She learnt drifting "on the streets of Palestine" in 2010, before moving to Dubai where she now lives.

"At first, in Palestine, people would say to me: 'But what are you doing? The sport is for the guys!'" she said.

"I went for what I want I didn't listen to anyone... When I got successful people started to respect me (and say) 'wow, she did it!'" added Daoud, who regularly takes part in international competitions.

But drifting is more than just sport and spectacle for Daoud.

"We are under occupation so this helps us, it helps me to drive to feel free," she said.

East Jerusalem, seen by Palestinians as the capital of their future state, and the West Bank have been occupied by Israel since 1967.

"I want to show the world that just because we are under occupation, it doesn't mean we will stay holed up in our homes," Daoud said.

Agence France-Presse

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