Proximity, Racing line, Clipping points, Chase, Lead. These are some of the important factors that make a Tandem drift competition, and that’s what went down in Madaba, Jordan last weekend at the first round of the Ultimate Drift Championship.
Jordan’s first ever tandem drift competition happened earlier on the 28th of March, started by the Drift King Ahmad Daham, and Khalid Faddah, who have been competing in Tandem across the GCC, but have always wanted to do it in their home turf.
Drifting is a huge thing in Jordan, but the only kind that was introduced was done in a gymkhana style drift, where Red Bull’s Car Park Drift being the biggest influence, with judging going to crowd, looks, clipping points, and challenges around the track which was built for one car only. So picture it as a qualification run, and the person who wins is either the one who doesn’t mess up, or really puts on an amazing show.
As soon as I arrived to the track, the first thing I noticed was the drivers’ excitement for finally being able to advance to the next level in the world of drifting, one step closer to what they see on YouTube and such. Seeing competitor drivers having friendly in depth discussions on techniques, and giving each other their inputs and advices on how to beat each other was just great. They just wanted to do this right.
It was a total of 18 cars competing, with drivers coming from Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. It’s a very small number, and unfortunately some of the big names couldn’t be there, but the race still kept its word in delivering the most challenging drift event in the levant region.
Qualifications:
Just before the qualifications started, three cars dropped out due to technical problems, so that left it to only 15 cars total on the start line. The eyes were mostly at Haitham Al Hadidi, who showed proper skills through videos going around the internet of his practice runs just one day earlier. At qualifications, he did a perfect run, but, local drifter Raafat Haroun in his 2JZ GT86 who has years of experience on that track put on a great run, putting him on 1st place, and Haitham on 2nd, while Abdulla Abu Hussein in the 2JZ E46 drifted his way to 3rd place.
So the drifters has made it clear to each other that they’re not only here to have fun, but also to compete and find out who can grab the first ever win for a tandem drift championship in the levant region. Now, it’s serious business.
Ahmad Daham
The mad man Daham was not only organizing the event, but he was also on the 00 car – his Red Bull 2JZ Silvia S13.5. He took some raffle-winning passengers for some drift runs, which I think is a great idea, and also showing his inhuman skills around the track, finishing off with 360 drift bombs by the crowds.
