The Oman International Drift Championship has become a fine tradition, offering drivers and spectators the chance to experience some serious drift action before the global drift championships such as Drift Masters or Formula Drift are still in their off-season. This year there are fewer participants from Europe, but the entry list still consists of very serious names such as Benediktas Čirba, Ahmad Daham, Clint Van Oort and Ali Maksheed.
Qualifying with 93 points was won by Ahmed Al-Amry in a Samsonas-powered Nissan S15 Drift Car. The battle of the Top32 began on Saturday, February 1, and was already greeted with some big moments. Benediktas Čirba’s engine failed during a practice session and the Lithuanian team, which was testing new drift dampers from Samsonas Motorsport, had to switch to a less powerful engine. During the Top32 battles, a small mistake eliminated OIDC favorite Ahmad Daham in a newly built Toyota GR86. The pack of Samsonas Motorsport-powered cars stormed through the Top32, Top16, Top8 and the semi-finals, taking all the places in the Top4 except the win. Ahmed Al-Amry finished second, losing the final to Ali Maksheed, while two Europeans battled it out for the final podium spot. In this battle, Dutchman Clint Van Oort won ahead of Lithuanian Benediktas Čirba, who was happy to finish so high despite the problems he had during the day.
The next event will take place in Sohar on January 13 and 14
