Ammon News - By Alex Ellefson/ Jordan Times

AMMAN — The smell of petrol and the crackling noise of flaming exhaust pipes were carried from the SOFEX track in Marka on Friday, where hundreds of spectators watched two of Jordan’s best drifters compete against elite drivers from all over the Middle East during the “We Drift” competition.

Drifting is an increasingly popular sport in Jordan, said We Drift emcee Atef Aqrabawi.

“People get excited when they see the driver is doing good. It is the crowd who make this sport fun to watch,” Aqrabawi added.

A drift requires a driver to intentionally oversteer, which causes the car’s rear tyres to lose traction. Competitors at We Drift were judged by their speed as well as the angle and line taken around corners.

“[Tonight] we are facing very good competition from Saudi and Egyptian champions,” said Mohammad Kukhun, who was the Middle East Drift King in 2012 when he won the Red Bull Car Park Drift Finals, near the eastern shores of the Dead Sea.

At Friday’s We Drift competition, Kukhun tied for second place with Qais Tuffaha and Saudi Arabian Saeed Al Mouri, the 2011 Drift King.

Omar Kukhun, Mohammad’s brother, placed first in the event.

He told The Jordan Times that he and his brother are currently ranked as the number one and two drifters in Jordan, adding that they practiced their driving skills on the streets of Amman’s western neighbourhood of Abdoun for many years before turning into professionals.

“Drifting is about experience and training every day,” he said. “If you have the experience, then you don’t make mistakes during the competition.”

Othman Al Takriti, 18, was hanging out with other car enthusiasts in Abdoun last week.

Takriti, who surprised the Middle East drifting community when he came in 2nd place at Red Bull Car Park Drift Jordan Finals last month, will join the Kukhun brothers’ Hamada drift team in 2014.

Yazan Kakish, 22, was another motorist to participate in Friday’s competition.

Kakish said that he had been practicing his driving techniques on the streets of Amman before joining the competition to exhibit his speed and car control skills.

“You have to control [the drift] while working the clutch, hand brake, brakes, and the gas as well. That’s why it’s so hard,” he said.