Podium winners celebrate after the third round of Qatar Drift Championship.
Doha, Qatar: Amid a large crowd that filled the stands of the dedicated drift circuit at Qatar Racing Club (QRC), and with the participation of an elite group of drift champions from Qatar, the GCC, and the wider region, the third round of the Qatar Drift Championship came to a close.
The championship is held under the generous patronage of QRC Chairman Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani, Chairman of the Club.
The competitions, which extended over two days, were full of surprises, starting with the first and second qualifying sessions.
Riyadh Al-Mabsali managed to record the best score, topping the standings with 88.67 points, leaving second place to the overall championship leader Ahmed Al-Amri, while Mohammed Al-Jaber delivered a strong performance that placed him third.
This position secured him the top spot in qualifying for the local category, which saw the participation of eight drivers in this round. Yasser Mustafa finished second in the local category qualifying, while Yazan Jabsha took third place.
The action began with the first round, which featured eight races. Qualifying leader Riyadh Al-Mabsali defeated Fahad Al-Jadaie, who was making his first appearance in the championship after missing the previous two rounds.
Last round’s runner-up Mohammed Khurshid overcame his rival Mohammed Al-Azmi. Meanwhile, Mesyar Abu Shaiba advanced to the second round after defeating the two-time local category champion Abdullah Al-Muhtasib.
Yasser Al-Shatir was absent from his scheduled matchup against Yazan Jabsha due to car issues, allowing Jabsha to advance automatically to the second round.
On the other side of the bracket, second-place qualifier Ahmed Al-Amri defeated Ahmed Jaber to move on to the next round.
Last season’s champion Ali Makhseed also advanced after overcoming Mazen Nasser. In an all-local matchup between Mohammed Al-Jaber and Khaled Al-Shafie, victory went to Al-Jaber.
In the final first-round battle, Salem Al-Sarraf defeated Bkhaiet Al-Hajri to secure the last spot in the second round.
Based on these results and what followed in the second round, Mohammed Al-Jaber was crowned local category champion, achieving a perfect score after winning the qualifying sessions.
Last season’s champion Yazan Jabsha finished second.
In the second round, both Ali Riyadh Al-Mabsali and Mesyar Abu Shaiba qualified for the first semifinal. On the other side, Ahmed Al-Amri advanced to the second semifinal following an intense and highly competitive battle against Ali Makhseed.
The first semifinal between Riyadh Al-Mabsali and Mesyar Abu Shaiba ended in favour of Abu Shaiba.
The second semifinal brought together Ahmed Al-Amri and Mohammed Al-Jaber.
The victory ultimately went to Al-Amri, who reached his second final of the season.
Attention turned to the final, where opening-round winner Al-Amri faced Abu Shaiba. Al-Amri claimed his second victory of the season, while Abu Shaiba finished second.
The fourth round of the championship will take place in March 2026.
