Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah claimed a 17th career win on home soil in one of the most exciting finishes in the history of the Qatar International Rally on Saturday.
The Qatari could not shake off Mads Østberg throughout two pulsating days of high-speed action in the windswept deserts of northern Qatar. Just as in 2022, the pair traded blows in shifting sand and swirling dust to produce a thrilling contest.
A storming final stage in his Autotek Volkswagen Polo GTI, combined with a minor error by the Norwegian, sealed victory for Al-Attiyah by 12.2 seconds. His Andorra-based co-driver Mathieu Baumel took a sixth Qatar win and a 31st in his MERC career. The pair won seven of the 13 special stages and now lead the FIA Middle East Rally Championship.
I am quite happy to win. This was an amazing weekend. To win 17 times is not easy. I am really quite proud of this. It was a big fight with Mads Østberg this week. I had nothing to lose at the start of the last stage. Just we go flat out everywhere.
Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah, who also recorded his 83rd career MERC win
Østberg had pushed the Qatari hard in 2022 and his challenge was even stronger this time with Swedish co-driver Patrik Barth reading the notes. The pair led twice in an SRT Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo and won four stages before falling just short on the final test. Østberg could have become the first Scandinavian to win in Qatar since the late Björn Waldegård won with Fred Gallagher in 1986.
It was a great fight, no doubt. We enjoyed the rally a lot. I am starting to wonder if Nasser was just keeping it all under control all the way and did everything when he had to. I think we were able to stress Nasser and that was the only thing we could do. He knows his way around the desert. We are lacking still a bit of experience. I wanted to push on the last stage. I knew that this is Nasser’s best stage in the whole of Qatar. I knew that from last year. I did one big mistake on the stage where I mixed up the crests and the road disappeared to the left but this was not nine seconds. It was less than that. I have huge respect for Nasser. He is a very good driver and he knows what he is doing here. I am also very happy to be able to fight with him. We have led the rally two times and it’s been a very good weekend. I have a few extra notes now and I know what I need to do. I hope to get another shot.
Mads Østberg
Norwegians Andreas Mikkelsen and Torstein Eriksen were competing in Qatar for the first time and could not consistently match the leading pair. The 2021 FIA WRC2 champion won the opening asphalt stage and one desert special on his way to third in a second SRT Škoda.
I think third place is the most we could have asked for, having never been here before. I have to say I was very happy with the performance. We expected everyone to follow a little bit more the road. What we heard from the new FIA regulations, but there was still a lot of cutting going on. We just need to adjust our driving but, when we are done with the recce, it’s too late. We have the notes following the road. Two stage wins and the one was basically where you could not cut and had to follow the road. That’s where we felt more at home.
Andreas Mikkelsen
Finland’s Emil Lindholm and co-driver Reeta Hämäläinen improved steadily as they adapted to the high-speed stages to secure fourth, while the QMMF-backed Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari and Lorcan Moore recovered from a first-day misfire to complete the top five.
Qatar’s Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya and Italy’s Giovanni Bernacchini finished sixth in his new Motortune Ford Fiesta R5.
Al-Thefiri dominates MERC2
Meshari Al-Thefiri and his Qatari co-driver Nasser Al-Kuwari dominated MERC2, finishing seventh overall and winning the category by 5min 12.5sec in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X. Al-Thefiri won all but one of the gravel stages in his class to extend his championship lead.
Fellow Kuwaiti Yousef Al-Dhafeeri, partnered by Lebanon’s Carlos Hanna, won one MERC2 stage and finished second in the category, ahead of Qatar’s Abdullah Al-Rabban and Emirati co-driver Hassan Ali Obaid. Local crew Rashid Al-Mohannadi and Fares Allouh completed the overall top 10 and were fourth in MERC2.
Saturday as it happened
Before the restart, Khalid Al-Suwaidi and Rashid Al-Mohannadi were given extra time penalties for route deviations. Al-Suwaidi dropped to seventh, out of contention for fifth, with 4min 30sec of penalties, while Al-Mohannadi kept his position but received one minute.
Shaker Jweihan was deemed to have retired from leg one after being caught driving a road section on the rim of his rear right wheel. He rejoined under Rally2, while Oman’s Abdullah Al-Rawahi and Zakariya Al-Aamri were permanent retirements after the opening stages.
Al-Attiyah opened the road through the blustery 15.28km Waab Al-Mashrab stage and set the target time of 8min 35.5sec, but a determined Østberg went quicker to cut the lead to 6.6 seconds. Mikkelsen, in inspired form, posted his first fastest time on gravel in Qatar to strengthen his hold on third.
Lindholm and Al-Kuwari held fourth and fifth, and Al-Suwaidi passed Al-Atya for sixth. Lebanon’s Jad Al-Aawar retired his Mitsubishi with mechanical problems, as did Jordan’s Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez.
Østberg kept up the pressure on the southerly 14.91km Al-Waab sprint, using his position behind the Qatari to study his lines. He beat the defending champion by 3.1 seconds to close to within 3.5 seconds, and when Al-Attiyah was hit with a five-second penalty for a gate infringement, the Norwegian moved 1.5 seconds ahead.
Mikkelsen, Lindholm, Al-Kuwari and Al-Suwaidi held their places in the top six and Al-Thefiri continued to dominate MERC2. MERC2 title contender Shaker Jweihan stopped in the stage with gearbox trouble, and Ahmad Khaled retired after two punctures and damage to a rear suspension arm.
After a remote refuel, the loop ended with Umm Birka, the longest stage of the rally at 24.45km. A flying Al-Attiyah set the target time of 10min 58.2sec at an average of 133.7km/h, beating Østberg by 7.2 seconds to regain a 5.7-second lead before the midday regroup and service at Lusail.
The first loop was really not easy. You cannot see anything (wind and blowing dust). We missed one barrier and we have been a little bit wide. We took a five-second penalty but we tried to push again. It is not easy with this wind. At least in the afternoon we can push and there is a line. It is a good pace. I try to not lose time. We will see in the afternoon…
Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah
I am disappointed to be honest. My tyre choice was not a good one and I couldn’t really find a good rhythm this morning. I know what I have to do this afternoon, so let’s see.
Mads Østberg
Khalid Al-Suwaidi officially retired at Lusail after Irish co-driver Niall Burns reported a minor injury and could not continue, lifting Al-Atya back to sixth of the 14 cars still running in the MERC event.
The second pass through a windswept Waab Al-Mashrab was an early test of afternoon tyre choices. Al-Attiyah improved on his morning time, but Østberg was quicker again and cut the lead to just 2.7 seconds, with Mikkelsen second fastest exactly one second behind his compatriot.
The repeat run through Al-Waab set up a thrilling finale. Al-Attiyah stormed through in 6min 35.8sec, exactly 10 seconds faster than in the morning, but beat Østberg by only 0.4 seconds, leaving the pair 3.1 seconds apart heading into the last stage.
Al-Attiyah had comfortably beaten his rival through Umm Birka in the morning, when the Norwegian chose the wrong tyres, and he did it again, beating Østberg by 9.1 seconds to seal his 17th Qatar victory by 12.2 seconds.
The 2023 FIA Middle East Rally Championship continues in Jordan on May 18th-20th.