February 6, 2015 – Sheikh Khalid bin Faisal Al Qassimi and veteran co-driver Chris Patterson got off to a strong start, in their Abu Dhabi Racing Citroën DS 3 RRC, at the Qatar International Rally – the opening round of the 2015 Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) – but a puncture during Special Stage 3 on day one cost them valuable time, dropping the pair from third down to eighth.
Al Qassimi refused the bad luck to deter him, and went straight into damage limitation mode by mounting a concerted and impressive comeback drive as he sought to reduce the four minutes of lost time, and make up as many places as possible during the remainder of the rally.
After the service stop, Al Qassimi and Patterson proceeded to post some of the fastest times seen on the subsequent stages to end the day third overall, with rivals ahead firmly in their sights.
Speaking at the end of a challenging opening day, Al Qassimi said, “The Qatar International Rally is very rough as everyone knows and punctures can be expected at any time due to the rough terrain. We had a good start, but after the puncture we will focus on doing our best to recover as many places as possible.”
The 2015 Qatar International Rally officially got underway with the ceremonial start outside the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation’s headquarters in Doha on Thursday afternoon.
On Friday, a dozen cars and competitors from 11 nations took on the challenge of 12 rugged and often punishing desert special stages which comprise the 263.27 km route of the 2015 edition of the MERC season opening rally. But only Five cars finished day 1!
The first day of the Qatar International Rally on Friday consisted of six special stages with a total length of 135.69 km, and now another six special stages over 127.58 km of demanding terrain await competitors on the second and final day tomorrow (Saturday).
