Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi’s brave bid to give the UAE victory in the 35th Dubai International Rally was frustrated today as Qatar’s Nasser Al Attiyah survived a powerful second leg charge by the Emirati driver to win the final round of the FIA Middle East Championship.
Trailing Al Attiyah by 29.7 seconds overnight, Al Qassimi produced a brilliant surge to win the first four of the day’s six special stages in his Abu Dhabi Citroën Total DS3 and pile the pressure on the nine-times Middle East champion.
But with his advantage reduced to 15.4 seconds, Al Attiyah fought back to take the next two stages, and Al Qassimi suffered a frustrating anti-climax when he was forced out of the event by a double puncture shortly after completing the final stage.
His departure meant that Al Attiyah, partnered by Giovanni Bernacchini in a Ford Fiesta RRC, won by 5 mins 33.6 secsfrom Qatar’s 2010 Middle East champion, Misfer Almarri. “I had a good strategy,” said Al Attiyah. “I was careful because I didn’t want to get any punctures. Khalid took the risks and I’m happy to win. It was a good fight and this is what we need for the championship to improve.”
Finishing third in another Ford Fiesta was the UAE’s Sheikh Abdullah Al Qassimi, brother of Sheikh Khalid and runner-up in Dubai last year. With Jordanian driver Alaa Rasheed finishing fourth, Majed Al Shamsi produced a mature drive to take fifth place overall and win the Group N production class in partnership with John Higgins. The UAE’s Rashid Al Ketbi completed the top six.