After a break of more than six weeks, drifting competitions returned to the spotlight with the second round of the Qatar Drift Championship for the 2025/2026 season.
The round was held under the patronage Qatar Racing Club Chairman HE Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad al-Thani and witnessed a large crowd that filled the club’s grandstands, alongside the participation of an elite group of drift champions from the Gulf countries and the wider region.
In the local category, Abdullah al-Mouhtasib topped the qualifying standings, ahead of Yasser al-Shater and Mohammed al-Jaber in second and third respectively, while last season’s local category champion Yazan Jabshah finished fourth.
The tandem battles also featured strong and intense matchups. Qualifying leader Ali Makhseed advanced to the second round after defeating Meysiar Abu Shaiba. The second matchup was an all-local duel between Yasser al-Shater and Mohammed al-Jaber, which ended in favor of al-Shater, who progressed to the next round.
Last round’s runner-up Riyadh al-Mabsali continued his campaign by overcoming Mohammed Al-Azmi, while Salem al-Sarraf secured his place in the second round after defeating Mazen Nasser.
On the other side of the elimination bracket, Mohammed Khourshid, who finished second in qualifying, defeated Saleh al-Rumaihi, making his first appearance in the championship, to advance to the second round. Meanwhile, last season’s local category champion Yazan Jabshah moved on after overcoming Bakheet al-Hajri. The matchup between opening round champion Ahmed al-Amri and Saoud al-Abdulhadi produced no surprises, with al-Amri advancing. The final first-round duel brought together Abdullah al-Mouhtasib and Saoud al-Attiya in an all-local contest that ended in favor of al-Mouhtasib.
In the second round, Ali Makhseed and Salem al-Sarraf qualified for the first semifinal, with Makhseed defeating Yasser al-Shater and al-Sarraf overcoming Riyadh al-Mabsali. On the other side, Mohammed Khourshid advanced to the second semifinal after defeating Yazan Jabsha, while Ahmed al-Amri completed the semifinal lineup by beating Abdullah al-Mouhtasib.
The semifinal battles were extremely tense and evenly matched, with both encounters initially ending in draws, forcing the judges to order reruns to determine the winners. In the first semifinal, last season’s champion Ali Makhseed faced his former runner-up Salem al-Sarraf. Makhseed managed to edge ahead with difficulty to become the first finalist of the second round.
In the second semifinal, Mohammed Khourshid defeated last round’s champion Ahmed al-Amri, who later finished fourth overall after losing the third-place playoff to al-Sarraf, allowing the latter to climb onto the podium in third place for the second consecutive round.
Attention then turned to the final showdown between qualifying leader Ali Makhseed and qualifying runner-up Mohammed Khourshid. The duel delivered the highest level of excitement seen in the round, but victory ultimately went to Makhseed, who secured his first win of the season, while Khourshid settled for second place and his first podium appearance of the season.
QRC Director General Sheikh Jabor bin Khalid al-Thani crowned the top three finishers on the podium. Third round will take place in two weeks’ time.