September 27, 2025 – I booked a dyno session for two of my cars. A Black Nissan 350z and the only Pro-car in Pakistan (Nissan 350z LS swapped). Now, in case you were curious, ‘What is a dyno?’ It is a session where a car is tested on a machine to measure the power and torque its engine produces. As per tradition, Umair Bhai, Aman, and I arrived at Lifestyle Performance at around 2 pm and immediately got things moving. We started things off with the black Z and worked on it for a good few hours until word reached us that the engine had given out. Then we began operating the pro-car, and after hours on end, it turned out that the dyno session was unsuccessful.
To put it simply, things started getting hectic before the event even started. ‘What event? Again?’ Oh, Yeah! On today’s episode, you guys are coming with me to Race Wars. The promised event was set to take place on October 10, 2025, at Parade Ground, Islamabad. The team and I were prepping everything to the nth degree for what was supposed to be the biggest event in motorsport history. Umair Bhai and Nasir worked around the clock; we had a good number of dyno sessions in Karachi, yet none worked out. But just like that, the organizers blessed us with the first delay of the event. ‘First delay?’ ‘Yea.. FIRST DELAY..’ Our hopes soared again: we changed our flight tickets, comforted the sponsors, rescheduled a few more dyno sessions, and lastly booked a new place to stay.
After a few more failed dyno sessions, we had zero tolerance left for any bad news. However, the second delay soon struck us. We lost the flight tickets, and with that, the remnants of our excitement and hope also vanished. But as they say, one should never give up, and hope is what keeps us going. So, we booked new flights, but this time to Lahore. Umair bhai departed from Karachi on October 15, followed by Aman and me on the 16th. We locked in one final session in Lahore, and then planned to travel by road to Islamabad. The dyno session was once again delayed; what should have wrapped up on the night of the 16th dragged on until the 17th, and just like that, we missed the first day of the event.
We reached Islamabad on the 17th, just as the day was coming to an end. Checked in to our rooms, headed out again to put food in our systems, and then came back to call it a day. October 18, 2025 – Everyone was up bright and early, the team reunited, and we headed out for the event (finally).
For starters, when we reached the venue, security would not let my team in, reportedly due to strict security measures. Eventually, the team made it to the pit area, and everyone got down to business. The paddock came together: cameras mounted, cars prepped, sponsor placement done, merch set out front, and all the while, I was meeting people from the community. It felt surreal; motorsport being loved by so many people, the passion of the youth, the energy of the scene. Every driver I met, and every build I saw, lit something in me. This is why I love my country.
Soon after began the real scene; drivers started, slowly building into the raw brutality of the sport. Next came the tandem runs, followed by a few passenger rides, quick switch-ups between both my cars, and hours of burning rubber. Between meeting people, giving interviews, and selling out the merch – basically doing what I was born for, we made it to the end of the day. The boys got the cars boxed again, wrapped up the final details, and sent them on their journey back home.
The team and I linked up with fellow drifters for dinner at a local burger spot in Islamabad. Made it to Brim Burgers, fueled up on some truly delectable food, and right on cue, got a call from a tow guy, ‘Gaari agay nhi jaanay de rhy ha yh.’ (The car isn’t being allowed to move ahead.) And you know exactly what that meant. The next minute, we were on the road, racing to see who’d hit D Chowk first. ‘D Chowk or T Chowk?’ ‘Guess we’ll find out.’ Breaking news: the cars were actually stuck at T Chowk. ‘Yeah?’ ‘yea..’
To say we were tired would be an understatement; we were completely spent. We checked into the Sindh House once again and called it a night. Then came the last day of the event; it was head-to-head racing, which was not our scene, so we skipped it, rested some more, packed our bags, and boarded a plane back home.
