In the presence of an enthusiastic, loud-cheering and excitement loving crowd, Mohamed Al Asmi won the local championship title of the “Red Bull Car Park Drift” competition, becoming the “King of Drift” of Omani drivers and the one to represent his country in the finals in Beirut.
Oman Automobile Association organized the event Thursday night on Al Hail beach, next to “The Waves” development. The track was specifically designed to bring out the best in drifting skills among the athletes, while the elite of Omani drivers competed to show spectacular driving, speed and drift shows entering turns in their special cars, using hand brakes and their individual style in drifting.
The fierce competition continued to the final round, until the judges decided upon Al Asmi to be the local champion of “Red Bull Car Park Drift”.
“I am very glad to be crowned local champion”, said Al Asmi. “I am proud to represent the Sultanate of Oman at the regional finals in Beirut, where the competition will definitely heat up with all the talents that we have in the region. However, I promise to do my best to ensure my position on the podium after heating up the Lebanese crowd with some amazing shows”.
Commenting on the success of the event, Alberto Chahoud, Regional Communications Manager at Red Bull paid tribute to the great support offered by the local authorities and thanked Chevrolet for sponsoring the Red Bull Car Park Drift 2011, adding as such a special flavour to the championship.
Lebanese Rally Champion, Abdo Feghali couldn’t but agree with the champion, namely on “the high level of competition in the Middle East this year with improved levels of performance among the athletes due to the increased awareness around the arts of drifting”. Feghali, a member of the judging panel in the regional finals expects to have “incredible and unprecedented shows during the finals held in the Lebanese capital Beirut on July 22nd”.
In addition to Feghali, the judging panel consisted of Anwar Soumar, Deputy General Manager of the Oman Automobile Association[singlepic id=1371 w=320 h=240 float=right] and Hamad Alwahebi, ex Rally Champion. Honouring the prize giving ceremony was Mr. Ayman Bin Hamoud Al Bousaidi, who handed the first prize over to the winner.
During the event sponsored by Chevrolet and Al Wesal radio station, drifting skills accounted for 70 percent of the final score given by the judging panel. The remaining score was equally allocated to engine sound, tyres’ smoke and crowd’s cheer, in addition to the overall look of the car.
Last year’s “Red Bull Car Park Drift”, held at the Forum de Beirut, saw the crowing of Lebanese athlete Firas Khadaj in a BMW M3 as the Middle East King of Drift, following a series of action packed and entertaining shows and competition, as thousands of spectators cheered with enthusiasm. Lebanese Rafi Kevork in BMW came second, while Saudi Arabian Saeed al Moori in “Mitsubishi Evo 10” came in third.
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