While engines boomed masterfully, smoke wafted through Port Sultan, Qaboos in Oman on December 9 as for the special event of “National Drift Champions” from across the Middle East inclined their services against one another. Falken Tires was true at the heart of the action, which eventually observed18-year-old Omani Haitham Al Hadidi completed 2016’s ‘King of Drift’.

The thrilling event brought composed representatives from Qatar, Kuwait, Mauritius, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Oman in a difficult and adrenaline-laden finale, which saw Al Hadidi edge out fellow drifter Ali ‘Lalou’ Al Balushi by just four points. Al Hadid’s victory score was 390 while Al Balushi just scored 386 and Tarek Al Shaihani was remain on the 313 points.

This sold-out occasion, which was held under the support of H.H Sayyid Taimur bin Assad Al-Said and in memory with the Oman Automobile Association, not only evidenced a thrill for watching fans, but also for the from top to toe calibre judges. International drifting legends Ken Gushi, Dai Yoshihara, Aleksandr Grinchuk and Khalid Al Manji were assumed the tough task of judging the competitors on criteria including, car look, drifting skills , box, clipping point, pendulum, gate 1 and 2, car smoke and tire smoke.

The complicated track was again intended by Red Bull athlete and drifting star Abdo Feghali, and saw drivers fast-moving around it, skilfully negotiating their way under and around problems, and completing ever more demanding twists and turns around barrels, cones and cranes.

Though, it wasn’t just the official path that saw some impressive skills behind the wheel. At our Falken stand, all the event visitors verified their driving mettle on one of two PS4 gaming consoles set that playing the Project CARS game. Running fans who stayed our stand also walked away with a host of excellent Falken goodies, together with promotional vouchers offering them up to 40% off on their next purchase of Falken tires.

Falken also held a Facebook competition in the development to the show, with four fortunate winners getting two VIP passes each and a additional 5 winners being given two grandstand tickets each. One mainly lucky winner, however, got to knowledge the demands of the course first hand during a co-pilot ride experience with Abdo Feghali.

2016’s Red Bull Car Park Drift certainly delivered everything we expected: thrills, skills and a battle of wills among drivers, and Falken was delighted to have shared in the action throughout the series. So while we might be heading home for a pit stop now, we can’t wait for the drifting to start again in 2017.