MUSCAT, OMAN – Ireland’s Tommy Kiely won the 2026 Oman International Drift Championship (OIDC) by a single point, leading an all-Irish podium in one of the strongest fields the Gulf has seen.
- Tommy Kiely (Ireland) – 232 points
- Jack Shanahan (Ireland) – 231 points
- Conor Shanahan (Ireland) – 221 points
Jack Shanahan won the third and final round, ahead of Egypt’s Karim Rashed and Kuwait’s Salim Al Saraf, but Kiely’s run to the Top 8 was enough to secure the title.
Daigo Saito returns to Oman
The season also brought Japanese drift icon Daigo Saito, 37, back to Oman for the first time since 2018. Saito joined TFA Motorsport’s professional team for rounds 2 and 3.
A truly international championship
Organised by the Oman Automobile Association as part of the Muscat Nights winter festival, the OIDC opened on 15–16 January at the Muscat Drift Arena with more than 50 drivers from over 20 countries. The format runs a qualifying day followed by “Twin Drift” head-to-head battles through the Top 32, Top 16 and Top 8 to the final duels.
Oman’s Ahmed Al-Amri finished second in the national category, while 17-year-old Emirati Khalifa Alfalasi was fifth overall and second in the MENA standings.
Source: Oman Observer, Oman Observer, Q92.3