Crowds cheer as competitors burn rubber at Red Bull drift (photos)

Hundreds of eager motorheads queued for hours and fought crowds to get a front-row view of this year’s Red Bull Car Park Drift at the Losail International Circuit last night.

There, amateur drivers competed to become the country’s best drifter by showing off their abilities to maneuver their cars.

The event was first introduced to the region in 2008 when Lebanon hosted the first car park drift, and the first regional competition series was held in 2010. Qatar has also seen other drifting competitions in recent years.

Last night saw high-octane, fast-paced and smoke-infused action, as local drifters were judged on their speed, angle, showmanship and agility, in front of a raucous crowd that cheered on competitors.

Burning rubber

A few verbal scuffles took place as avid fans from the public tried to enter a special, invitation-only Red Bull “friends” area, lamenting that more people should have been given access to the elevated platform.

Elsewhere, people stood on backs of cars, and even clamored on tops of stacked chairs and van roofs to catch a better view of the action on the track.

Phones held aloft, spectators gathered around the periphery, ooh-ing and aah-ing as drifters drew closer, often missing slamming into the track’s barricades by a few centimeters.

The air grew heavy with the smell of burning rubber, and torn pieces of tires lay peppered around the course as last night’s lineup of 10 riders from Qatar, Sudan, Jordan and Lebanon entertained the crowd.

Qatari Mohammed Al Khayat, driving a souped-up version of a BMW 325, bagged last night’s “King of Drift” title, and will represent Qatar at the regional finals scheduled to take place on Nov. 20 in Dubai.

Ladies & Gentlemen: Meet the best #drifter in #Qatar: Mohammad Al Khayat! He's a true beast! Congratz! #CPDrift pic.twitter.com/kp3lT4q4qs

— Red Bull Qatar (@RedBullQatar) November 6, 2015