Following a series of exceptional drift shows that proved the superior skills of Omani drivers, Mohammed Al Asmi snatched the local title of Red Bull Car Park Drift again the thunder cheers of a huge audience coming to witness the crowning of the Omani “King of Drift” and representative of the country in the Beirut finals.

This event was organized by the Oman Automobile Association, and sponsored by Chevrolet with the collaboration of “Shababiah” by Nawras. The competition itself took place on a specially designed track that would bring out the best drifting techniques, which resulted in a wonderful exhibition of outstanding drift shows by the elite drivers selected after the preliminary qualifiers on the night before.

With their specially modified cars, drivers managed to take on the twists and turns of the track with exceptional precision, while drawing the admiration of the 10,000 cheering spectators. The competition reached its peak towards the final rounds before the judging panel selected Mohammed Al Asmi as the local champion for the Red Bull Car Park Drift in Oman. Ali Al Bulushi and Raif Al Yahyai came in second and third respectively.
Mohammed Al Asmi was thrilled to have accomplished this win and proud to represent the Sultanate of Oman in Beirut again where he hopes to snatch a podium position. Mohammed Al Asmi also assured that the preparations for the regional title will start immediately.

The panel of judges evaluated the drivers’ performances based of specific criteria. Abdo Feghali, Middle East’s Rally Champion and Red Bull Driver, explained the technical standards on which the judges relied to make their final decision, saying that “the final score is based on four factors; 70 percent allocated to the art of drift while the remaining score is equally divided between the engine’s roar and tires’ smoke, crowd’s reaction and the appearance of the car”. Red Bull driver added: “This season, we are also stressing on a number of factors that might give penalty points to the drivers such as hitting the separators on the track, or getting away from the track”. However, Feghali was undeniably impressed with the drivers’ performance and the high level of the competition, which “clearly reflects the awareness drifting arts have gained in the region”.

Besides Oman, the Red Bull Car Park Drift 2012 visited Kuwait and the UAE, and will also land in KSA, Jordan, Egypt, Iran, Bahrain and Lebanon before reaching the final round for the battle of the regional title hosted in Beirut on July 6th 2012.
Saudi driver Saeed al Mouri won the regional championship title last year in Beirut, following exceptional performances amidst the cheers of thousands of people gathered specifically for this event. Lebanese Firas Khadaj and Garo Haroutian clinched second and third place consecutively.

Event’s gallery:

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The event started at around 5 PM with the Lebanese rally driver Abdo Feghali’s beautiful drift show with the sponsor’s Chevrolet Camaro 2011 V6 and his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI.

Among 21 participants, the referees that included the Omani rally driver Hamad Al-Wuhaibi and Abdo Feghali chose the best 10 after a first drift round based on many factors like the audience interaction with the show, the car’s look, engine sound, smoke coming off the tyres and the drift abilities.

After that Abdo Feghali gave another show, then the challenge was resumed after Al Maghrib prayer, some of them were amazingly good that made the choice easier for the referees.

The Event’s Picture Gallery:

Photos taken by Ali Al Maimani.