Enver Haskasap Won the Drift Championship Final at İstanbul Park

The final rounds of the 2026 Türkiye Drift Championship were run at TOSFED İstanbul Park on Sunday, October 25, with 23 pilots, and the day belonged to Northern Cypriot Enver Haskasap. Çağlar Küçükdumlu finished second and Akay Akbil third; while Küçükdumlu, who had held the lead with 487 points throughout the season, had his fortress overshadowed by Haskasap's climb to the top as the points table closed. In this article, I evaluate how the final day unfolded, how the points standings concluded, and the overall balance of the season.

How did the final day at İstanbul Park unfold?

The day opened with a classic drift final program: practice runs at 10:00 in the morning, followed by a paddock visit and drift taxi experiences. Toward the afternoon, the pace picked up; from 15:00 onward, qualifying runs and final matchups were held. Those who wished did not miss the live broadcast of the races; the final matchups were streamed on HT Spor's YouTube channel, and this is a sign of how visible drifting has become in Türkiye in a way it was not years ago. In the past, you would have had to swallow the dust of the track to follow this final; now it can be done from in front of a screen.

There were 23 names on the entry list, covering pilots from both of the season's series: alongside the Türkiye Drift Championship, the TOSFED Drift Cup side was also a guest at İstanbul Park the same weekend. The organization was undertaken by the Drift Otomobil Spor Kulübü; the final, run with the support of Spor Toto, HT Spor, Power App and Reiss Audio, had its tickets sold through tosfedbilet.com.

For those who know the technical side of drifting, it is worth adding this: in qualifying runs, the judges score speed, angle and line together; in the final matchups, two cars slide at the same time, one chasing and one leading. So on the final day, a single good run is not enough; you need to get through four or five matchups in a row. Haskasap starting at the top as the fastest name in the qualifying rounds showed from the start that he would carry that burden all day.

The podium: Haskasap first, Küçükdumlu second, Akbil third

By the end of the day, the results translated to the podium as follows: Enver Haskasap took first place, Çağlar Küçükdumlu second, and Akay Akbil third. For Haskasap, this is not the first time the podium has treated him to this result at İstanbul Park; in the fourth round of the season, again at this track on September 27, he had reached third place in the Pro category. That day the pilot spun, but this time it was clearly written that he spun for first place, and he climbed to the top step of the podium.

It may take some time for the official results list to be published together with the full classification table; I recommend this to anyone who wants to watch the final picture become clear on the federation results page. However, the top three steps of the podium formed clearly as the main result of the day. Haskasap's Drift NEU Racing Team also arrived with a large entourage: In the Türkiye Drift Championship, alongside Haskasap, Edim Macila and Rüzgar Okman raced, while in the TOSFED Drift Cup, Cemre Günsel Haskasap, Niyazi Çelebi and Salih Çelebi competed.

Küçükdumlu went into the lead with 487 points: how did the points table close out?

Coming into the final, the championship points table was actually in Küçükdumlu's hands. The driver had shown a consistent picture throughout the season, standing at the top with 487 points; Rüzgar Okman, meanwhile, with 411 points from second place, was playing for the summit. The math was simple: For Küçükdumlu to become the name that marked the season in the final, he didn't need to push hard - staying consistent was enough. In drifting, such advantages sometimes evaporate once you hit the track; yet Küçükdumlu closed out the final day with second place, capitalizing on his advantage without putting it at risk.

Looking at mid-season explains how the picture was built: As of June, Küçükdumlu with 237 points, Rüzgar Okman with 213, and Doğuş Can Dursun with 195 occupied the top three positions in a row. In other words, the 76-point pre-final gap at the top partially eroded in the second half of the season but never closed. Considering that Okman raced alongside Haskasap from the same team, it would be no exaggeration to say that NEU Racing Team came out of a highly productive turn at the end of the season, both as a team and individually.

The round 4 table, separated by just four points, is another piece of data showing how tight the season was: Abdullah Bostan had accumulated 127 points, Küçükdumlu 125, Haskasap 103 and Akay Akbil 85. In a championship where gaps of just two or three points at the top were being discussed, it was natural for the final rounds alone to decide the championship equation.

Who is Enver Haskasap, and why is this result significant?

Haskasap's story is one that pushes the boundaries of the Türkiye drifting scene. The driver from Northern Cyprus started in motorsport at age 12; he has podium and runner-up finishes in the Cyprus Championship. What makes him exceptional is the Drift Masters Grand Prix front: in this European organization where the world's 37 best drifters compete across seven rounds, he is recognized as the first and only Turkish driver representing Northern Cyprus and Türkiye. He will also race in this series in the 2026 season.

Referred to as "Dr." in some sources, Haskasap is the flagship of the Drift NEU Racing Team under the umbrella of Near East University. Meanwhile, a note: a rumor of an accident involving the driver circulated on social media during the season; since there was no official confirmation, I did not include it here as a conclusion. Completing the qualifying sessions in first place at Istanbul Park and winning the final is the most concrete proof of his current form.

The overall balance of the season and the TOSFED Drift Cup side

Looking at the 2026 calendar, it is clear how intense the season was: 2. held in Gaziantep on May 24, the 3rd round was run at Istanbul Park on June 21. The fact that the Gaziantep round was held in Anatolia reminds us that drift stepping outside the Istanbul-Izmir axis still matters; this sport, which we could once only watch at a handful of tracks, now has spectators in different provinces.

As for the TOSFED Drift Cup, the picture before the final was as follows: Durali Bostan led with 518 points, Serdar Nartak was second with 440 points, and Mert Gırgırlar was third with 253 points. Bostan's 78-point advantage looked like a gap that would be hard to close in this series, and the final holder of the Cup will become clear once the official classification is published. A one-day surprise like the one in the Türkiye Drift Championship is not enough to erase a season-long gap; the two series being run on the same weekend, meanwhile, is a sensible saving in terms of organization.

One more observation regarding finances and field experience: because drift, unlike circuit racing, involves constantly sliding the car, wear on tires, brakes, and the chassis is very high. 23 vehicles completing practice, qualifying, and final matchups in a single day means serious logistical work on the club's side. The effort of the organizational crew that managed this operation flawlessly deserves special emphasis.

So what was the outcome of the season finale?

The 2026 Türkiye Drift Championship did not close with one driver's overwhelming dominance, but with a battle in which three or four names at the top fought tooth and nail. Küçükdumlu carried the points lead into the final and solidified his championship equation with a second-place finish; Haskasap, as the winner of the final day, bid farewell to the season on the strongest note; Akay Akbil took his place on the third step of the podium. A driver racing for Türkiye in Drift Masters winning the national final is a picture that will bring a smile to your face when looking at next season's calendar. My assessment is this: this championship has now reached a level worth not just watching, but watching and taking note of.

Sources

• Drift's Last Rendezvous at Istanbul Park – TOSFED
• TOSFED – Final races took place with 23 athletes
• Final excitement of the Türkiye Drift Championship at Istanbul Park
• Final of the Türkiye Drift Championship at Istanbul Park
• Drift NEU Racing Team at Istanbul Park with six drivers
• Drift NEU Racing Team takes to the podium battle at Istanbul Park with 6 drivers
• The first Turkish driver representing Northern Cyprus and Türkiye in Drift Masters: Enver Haskasap
• Round 5 Entry List: 23 Drivers in the Season Finale
• Türkiye Drift Championship Round 4 results
• 2026 Türkiye Drift Championship Points Standings (TOSFED)