Fast And Furious: Amateur Motorheads in Iraq

The motorcades often happen on Fridays and Saturdays and another recent event involved the owners of BMWs driving the streets.

“The idea for the BMW parade started on a Facebook page that is run by fans and owners of BMWS,” Majid Kari, 33, one of the participants in that particular motorcade, told NIQASH. “We regularly post news on the latest models and maintenance and design, as well as how to customise the cars so that you can race them. The idea of organizing a parade for both old and new BMWs was suggested on this page and then we made it happen.”

The parade then became so popular that it's become a regular activity with more drivers coming every time, Kari continues. “But security conditions don't allow us to make it too regular.”

The BMW owners also wanted to run a race but could not because of the large numbers that wanted to race and to watch.

“The Jadiriyah track isn’t big enough to accommodate everyone,” Kari says.

Similar races and motorcades are held in other parts of Iraq – Babel, Kirkuk and Basra have seen such events fairly regularly.