Refaat Al Yahyai crowned Oman’s ‘King of Drift’

Energy Saturday 27/January/2018 22:35 PM
By: Times News Service
Refaat Al Yahyai crowned Oman’s ‘King of Drift’

Muscat: Refaat Al Yahyai was crowned the Sultanate’s ‘King of Drift’ at Oman’s Red Bull Car Park Drift Qualifier held at the Oman Automobile Association.
After three gruelling rounds, Refaat dominated the field in front of second place Tariq Al Shaihani and third place Younis Al Abri.
Oman’s drifters have dominated the regional scene in the past couple of years.
In 2016, then 18-year-old Haitham Al Hadidi took home the regional title in front of a home crowd, leading an all-Omani podium finish.
In the series final in Kuwait last year, Oman drifted to victory once again as Omani Refaat Al Yahyai roared past the competition and snatched the crown after a high-octane performance.
So all eyes will be on Refaat, as he strives to keep the King of Drift Title in Oman, battling with contestants from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Kuwait, Tunisia, Morocco, Turkey, Algeria, Jordan, Mauritius and Lebanon, at the series final to be held later this year.
“Today I was able to take home first place and qualify for the Final. I can’t wait for Lebanon and the chance to once more bring back the ‘King of Drift’ Title to Oman,” said Refaat.
Champion rally driver and Red Bull Athlete Abdo Feghali who designed a challenging track for the drifter said: “The track was designed in a way to determine who the professional drifter is amongst all drifters”.