James Deane was unstoppable in round 1 of the Oman International Drift Championship – the Irishman won the qualification and tandem runs last Friday. Read more about it.
Discover the latest analysis of the opening round of the Oman championship on Drift.news. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to stay up-to-date with the newest developments in the world of motorsports.
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Up’s
Edgars Krogers
| Qualification standing | Qualification score | Tandems |
|---|---|---|
| 23 | 74.3 | 3rd |
The Latvian driver came to Oman for the second time and was happy with himself during the first practice. Qualification didn’t go well, and Edgars was only 23rd.
Latvian probably had the toughest tandem bracket: NikNak was in the Top 32, and Chris Brady was in the Top 16. We saw two WOW battles with Sebastian Fontijn (Top 8) and Juha Rintanen (Top 4), and he beat Clint van Oort in the final place at the podium.
James Deane
| Qualification standing | Qualification score | Tandems |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 96.7 | 1st |
Looks like that Irishman is unstoppable with his S14.9 – average qualification score was 95.5! The biggest battle for James was in the Top 16, where he met Benediktas Čirba. Lithuanian showed his two best runs in round 1, but James’ transition without a handbrake on the lead run was something to remember.
Juha Rintanen
| Qualification standing | Qualification score | Tandems |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 93 | 2nd |
Juha advanced to the final in round 1, and he is only 22 points behind the championship leader, so the fight for the title is still open.
Clint van Oort
| Qualification standing | Qualification score | Tandems |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | 92 | 4th |
One year ago, van Oort finished 12th in the championship with the best result of the Top 8 in round 2. Last week, Clint qualified 4th and had probably the best tandem bracket from round 1 till the Top 4, where he met James Deane. The Dutch driver is only 1 point behind the 3rd place.
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Down’s
Nikolass Bertans
| Qualification standing | Qualification score | Tandems |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 90.3 | Top 32 |
NikNak didn’t arrive in Muscat to lose in the Top 32. In the last round, he spun twice – during the second qualification run and in the battle with Edgars Krogers. Latvian is 17th in the standings and needs a miracle to win the championship.
Ali Maksheed
| Qualification standing | Qualification score | Tandems |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | 87.7 | Top 32 |
Driver from Kuwait was victorious last year, beating Benediktas Čirba for the title. Ali was too Makspeedy this time on his Top 32 lead run with Denis Migal and lost that battle and (most likely) chances to defend the title.
Damir Idiyatulin
| Qualification standing | Qualification score | Tandems |
|---|---|---|
| 38 | 1 | Didn’t qualify |
Damir was the only man in the Russian Drift Series last year to score 100 in qualification and was 5th overall. He didn’t feel comfortable switching his A80 Supra to GT86 in Oman. During his first qualification run, he suffered from technical problems, and in the second, he went off the track.
Can do better
Benediktas Čirba
| Qualification standing | Qualification score | Tandems |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | 83.3 | Top 16 |
At the start of the first free practice, Benediktas suffered 2JZ damage – the engine block cracked, and the mechanics found coolant in the 5th cylinder. Luckily for Čirba, the team managed to swap an engine in time, and Lithuanian continued. The luck didn’t last long as he qualified only 16th and met James Deane in the Top 16.
Benediktas did all he could, but James was unstoppable that evening.
Ahmad Daham
| Qualification standing | Qualification score | Tandems |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | 91 | Top 16 |
Last year, Ahmad qualified 2nd two times, and his lowest position was 6th. In round 1, he lost to N. Al Harbali is in the Top 16 and sits 10th in the standings. The top 5, his last year result in the championship, are 23 points away.
