DEAD SEA, JORDAN – Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and Giovanni Bernacchini won four of Friday’s six stages to lead the Jordan Rally comfortably at the end of day one.
Driving a new Autotek Motorsport-prepared Škoda Fabia RS for the first time, the Qatari recovered from a spin on stage two, tried various settings as he got to grips with the car, and holds a 1min 05.7sec overnight lead.
Defending champion Abdullah Al-Rawahi, with local co-driver Ata Al-Hmoud, led after two stages, but suffered radiator and possible engine damage after an accident on the first pass through the Baptism Site stage and retired.
That left Al-Attiyah to manage his pace ahead of fellow Qatari Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari and British co-driver Marshall Clarke in their QMMF-backed Škoda Fabia. Al-Kuwari, quickest on stage three, is also the best-placed Jordan National Championship driver.
After Qatar Rally, we retired and we knew we needed to be clever here. We knew Jordan is a very tough race. I tried to manage stage-by-stage. On the first loop this morning we had one big spin and we decided to change a little bit the clicks (suspension). I am quite happy to finish day one with a good lead and we try to learn the new car for tomorrow. We need to feel the pressure but we need to be smart here. The stages are rebuilt with loose gravel – an amazing job by the organisation. No risks now tomorrow.
Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah
Very difficult day. There is no time to close your eyes during the stages. The moment you lose your concentration it is very difficult. The speed is coming and the gap is not very big in each stage. I know where I am losing time and that is a good sign. Tomorrow is a longer day and that will not be easy.
Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari
The first two stages were quite good. We struggled a bit with the grip but that was for all. In the third, we retired from the rally after the finish. I think I have a problem with the engine. We will check it when the car comes back. Overall, I am happy and sad at the same time. The pace was there but we had to retire. Let’s see if we can continue tomorrow to get some points for the championship.
Abdullah Al-Rawahi
This is rallying. We reached a corner where it was tightening and it was quite narrow. I misjudged it and went a bit too fast and went sideways and had to turn the other way so I didn’t end up flipping. We got the damage and we tried to make the finish but we had to stop. We had an alarm.
Abdullah Al-Rawahi
Jordan’s Shaker Jweihan and Lebanese co-driver Carlos Hanna led MERC2 comfortably in third overall, 1min 52.5sec ahead of fourth-placed Denis Krotov and Yury Kulikov and more than 3min 20sec clear of MERC2 rivals Shadi Shaban and Samer Issa.
Today was amazing and according to plan. We said we would push on the first stage and see where we stood. We didn’t risk anything. The stages were quite rough. There were a lot of rocks, no issues. The guys in front are too fast and we have nothing to gain by pushing. All is well.
Shaker Jweihan
Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez, on his MERC debut in his new Škoda with Lebanese co-driver Joseph Matar, held fifth. Issa Abu Jamous and Husam Salem were seventh and eighth, Qatar’s Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya ninth and Ameer Nassif 10th. Qatar’s Khalid Al-Suwaidi crashed out on the opening stage, and Palestine’s Hamada Odeh rolled near the start of stage three.
Friday as it happened
Running first on the road, Al-Attiyah set 11min 44.5sec on Panorama to beat Al-Rawahi by 4.6 seconds, while Al-Suwaidi tore a wheel off his SRT-run Škoda. Al-Rawahi then beat Al-Attiyah by 15.8 seconds on Bahath, after the Qatari spun, to lead by 11.2 seconds. Al-Attiyah’s 6min 12.5sec on Baptism Site put him 16.1 seconds ahead at midday service, before Al-Rawahi retired with damage and co-driver Al-Hmoud complaining of back pain.
In the afternoon Al-Attiyah extended his lead to 36.8 seconds on the Panorama re-run and 53.6 seconds on Bahath. The second Baptism Site run was cancelled for time reasons after the course-opening car caught fire, and Al-Attiyah closed the day fastest on the 3.3km Dead Sea super special in 2min 54.4sec.