Category: Automotive

Formula One picked up in popularity over the past few years because of the Netflix documentary “Drive to Survive” so a lot of new (and some old) F1 fans in Kuwait will find this tidbit interesting.

Back in 2014, Red Bull brought their junior driver Carlos Sainz along with their F1 car to Kuwait and then had him race up and down the Gulf Road. I managed to get some photos as well as a video from that day which you can check out here.

If you’re an F1 fan then you know that Carlos Sainz is now Ferraris main driver and so you might be kicking yourself for not meeting him back when he came to Kuwait as just a young Red Bull junior racing team driver.

This might come in handy one day, a reader recently lost one of his license plates and decided to share the process of getting a new one in case it happens to anyone else. Here are the steps he had to take:

1. Go to the police station and get a police complaint

2. Go to your traffic department and get an application typed by the typing center there (tell them you need to get a new license plate). You will need your civil ID copy, a copy of the car registration, and the original copy of the police complaint from the first step

3. You’ll need to purchase a stamp, the amount depends on the type of license plate you have

4. You need to go to the department head and get his signature and stamp. He will also ask you to write your name, number and sign the paper.

5. After getting your paper signed you will have to go to one of the computer counters. They will enter your details and then call you and ask you to take photocopies of two papers and go to the license plates room. Make sure you don’t have any fines before giving them your papers or else they’ll give them back to you and ask you to go pay your fines first

6. The license plates person will give you a small sheet of paper with details attached to the photocopies you gave them

7. Take the paper and then head to the Assima traffic department in Shuwaikh and head to the license plate factory there which is on the ride side of the main building (Google Maps)

8. Give the paper to the guy at the reception and he will ask you to get a signature from the manager. When you get that signature give the paper back to him

9. He will ask you to wait and 5-10 minutes later you’ll have your new license plate

Thanks Uzair

Kuwait will be hosting the “Formula 4 UAE” and “Formula Regional Middle East” Championship this weekend for the first time ever. Both these events are governed by FIA, the same sporting federation that governs “Formula One”.

This is the second time that Kuwait Motor Town is hosting an international event this season and because this is a FIA event, it’s pretty big. The way the organizers are handling things behind the scenes is extremely professional and they’re being very strict. I just left the media briefing and safety is being prioritized above everything else with every decision being made, even with simple things like track access for the media which for this event is only being given to media who’ve participated in previous KMT events.

You can watch these races at the track!

These races are open to spectators to come and watch and there will be various activities happening at the track for all ages ranging from food trucks to bouncy castles. This event should be fun to watch.

The ticket price is KD2 for the day or if you want to attend all 4 days including testing and qualifying its KD5. The full detailed schedule is available on the KMT website but here are the race start times:

Friday, January 27
2:30 pm – F4 UAE (Race 1)
3:45 pm – FRME (Race 1)

Saturday, January 28
9:40 am- F4 UAE (Race 2)
10:30 am – FRMEC (Race 2)
2:25 pm – F4 UAE (Race 3)
3:20 pm – FRMEC (Race 3)

For tickets or more information, visit @kmtkw or kmt.kw/events

Tickets can also be purchased at the gate if they aren’t sold out.

The MOI has started the process of replacing the old traffic cameras with the new ones all around Kuwait. Below is a list of most of the violations these new cameras will be able to capture.

The strangest violation for me is the fact they will now fine you for using your phone while stopped at a red light. EVERYONE gets on their phone at red lights, so not sure how that’s going to work.

Anyway, here is the list of violations the new cameras can capture:

• Driving above the speed limit
• Using the phone while driving
• Using the phone at traffic lights
• Driving without the seatbelt on
• Running red lights
• Changing lanes without using the indicator
• Stopping in the yellow box at intersections
• Driving on the wrong side of the road
• Taking illegal u-turns, right or left turns
• Not driving in the designated heavy vehicle lane

Yesterday the Ministry of Interior announced they would be installing new smarter speed cameras around Kuwait. The new cameras are pretty high-tech and can detect things like illegal turns, cars blocking pedestrian walkways, people using their phones while driving, and even spotting if you have a seatbelt on or not.

One of the things I hate the most is driving behind someone going super slow on the fast lane because they’re texting or taking a selfie so I hope they install a ton of these new cameras all around Kuwait.

The cops have started getting their new cars with the updated livery and I’ve already seen a few on the streets and I think they look pretty hot. They’re much nicer than the current cars and I love the new metallic blue they’re using.

But, a lot of people seem to dislike the new livery, no idea why though.

The 12H HANKOOK KUWAIT race started at 12 PM today and will last till midnight. This is the first-ever international circuit racing event to be held in Kuwait so you probably don’t want to miss this important moment.

It’s a 12-hour endurance race which is why it’s going on till midnight, but the benefit of that is you can come by anytime during the day to chill in the grandstands and watch the race. It’s open to the public and tickets are 3KD. There are also food and coffee trucks as well as a kid’s area.

If you’ve never been to the Kuwait Motor Town race track, here is the location on Google Maps.

Although Winter Wonderland is gonna cause traffic chaos in Salmiya, one of the benefits of having them in the neighborhood is that they’ve started fixing all the roads around the area. There are now zero potholes or any broken roads from my apartment to the Gulf Road because they’ve been paving all the roads during the evening. Thank you Winter Wonderland!

Kuwait Motor Town will be hosting the final round of the 2022 24H Series endurance race early next month and tickets just went on sale for it.

The ‘Hankook 12H Kuwait’ is a 12-hour uninterrupted race that starts at 12 PM and goes on until midnight to ensure competitors experience racing during the day and night. The race takes place on Friday, December 2nd, but there are qualifications and practice sessions the day before. Tickets start at KD3 for a one-day pass, and KD5 for both days. They also have VIP tickets.

If you’re interested to find out more or buy tickets, visit the KMT website kmt.kw

Last December, @classic_rides_q8 started posting pictures of his 1994 Landcruiser FZJ with Kuwaiti plates but all the photos were in Arizona. I’ve never met the guy but we’ve been in contact for a few years now through Instagram and it was because of his account I was able to find my first Datsun. So I sent him a message asking how he got the car to the States and he told me it was was a simple process using a RORO service and it cost him only $3,500 including taxes.

I think his plan was to use the car while he was there and then sell it before coming back to Kuwait. That plan changed when the car was accepted at the Barrett Jackson auction, the worlds great car collector auction. The car went on the chopping block and quickly sold for $38,500. You can watch the whole thing unfold in the video above which was originally posted on his Instagram account. It’s a pretty good-looking Landcruiser.

Next weekend there is a new racing event taking place at KMT called Kuwait Track Challenge. What sets this race apart from other local races is the fact that they’re offering fairly large sums of cash for the winners totaling KD65,000.

When they first announced the event I was pretty impressed by the prizes but I didn’t really realize how much more exciting it would be making the competition until this week. For those of you not into cars or racing, there are different classes for the cars during races to make it fair. The classes for Kuwait Track Challenge are divided by tire size because usually, the more powerful and larger the car, the larger the tire sizes. So for KTC, they’ve split it up into the following three classes:

Pocket Rocket – 245 tires and below
Sleeper – 285 tires and below
Outlaw – All tire sizes

Every category will have 5 winners who will each win:
1st – $32,000
2nd – $13,000
3rd – $9,700
4th – $6,500
5th – $3,250

Because of the large cash prizes, what I realized this week is a lot of people are taking this competition very seriously by actually investing money into their cars with hopes the upgrades they make will pay for themselves if they win. It’s actually gotten me excited to watch the races because I now want to see what everyone has done to their cars.

The event will be taking place next week over two days, November 4th and 5th at Kuwait Motor Town. There will be food trucks and music as well for people who want to come by and watch the event. If you’re interested in participating in the races registration as of now is still open. Here is the link to register, and they’re on Instagram @challengethetrack

Aston Martin have opened up their new showroom in place of where Hermes used to be located in Al Hamra Tower. But, that’s not why I’m posting about it. The reason I’m posting this is that they have the stunning DBR22 CC100 on display right now inside their showroom and you can walk up to it and have a good close look at it. I doubt you’ll ever come across one in person so if you’re into cars you’ll appreciate this. Next on my to-see list is the Valkyrie, so hopefully they get that eventually on display.

I was picking up breakfast from Mcdonald’s next to the Kuwait Towers when I spotted this large military-like truck parked across from Mcdonald’s. I knew it wasn’t military because it had German plates on it and the words tourist printed in large near the front along with a German flag, I snapped a few photos and then later once back home decided to google it.

Turns out the truck is a MAN KAT 8×8 and is being driven around the world by a German lady called Petra. She started her journey on June 2020 and is currently in Kuwait having come from Iran.

I found a video on YouTube where she gives a tour of her truck and you can check that out below although it’s in German (inside tour starts at 19:30).

If you want to follow Petra on her journey or want to check out photos from her previous trips, her Instagram is @katweltreise

The 24H Series sports car and touring car international racing series is coming to Kuwait. Kuwait Motor Town is set to host the final round of the 2022 24H SERIES, marking the first time a venue in Kuwait has hosted an international circuit racing event.

The inaugural Hankook 12H KUWAIT will take place from 30 November to 2 December, just over two months after the final European round of the 24H SERIES at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on 9-10-11 September and just six weeks before the 2023 season opener at the Dubai Autodrome on 13-14-15 January, with a format and a date for the event also confirmed.

To summarize, this is a pretty big deal. KMT opened in 2018 with the aim to eventually host international racing events and this will be the first of eventually many more racing to come. We have a pretty great track layout (video above) so I’m really interested to see how it works for races. To stay posted on this event and other, Kuwait Motor Town is on Instagram @kmtkw

As I mentioned in my road trip to Dubai post, I drove there to get some things installed on my Hilux truck at a place called Arctic Trucks. They’re actually an Icelandic company that build trucks for the arctic but what works for snow also works for sand. While I was at their shop I saw the new Landcruiser above modified with their AT35 kit and it looked hot!

They have kits for all the different Toyotas including the LC200, LC300, the FJ, Prado, and the Hilux. I have the Arctic Truck brochures for the LC200, LC300, and Hilux trucks which include the modifications they make and their prices. If you’re interested in modifying your Toyota then here are the brochures:

Toyota Hilux AT35 Brochure
Toyota Hilux AT37 Brochure
Toyota Lancruiser LC200 AT35 Brochure
Toyota Lancruiser LC300 AT35 Brochure

They also do Nissan Patrols but I don’t have the brochure for that. You can check out more photos on their Instagram page @arctictrucksme