LUSAIL, QATAR – Local hero Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and French navigator Max Delfino managed their tyres carefully to storm into a 6min 15.3sec lead after the gruelling 336.45km opening selective section of the Qatar International Baja on Friday.
Poland’s Konrad Dąbrowski and Emirati Khalifa Al-Bastaki lead the motorcycle and quad categories.
The longest stage of the FIA World Baja Cup season lived up to expectations, with tough navigation, heavy tyre wear and a high rate of attrition in draining desert heat.
Al-Attiyah v Barreto
Al-Attiyah chose to open the road and quickly built a useful lead over Portugal’s Francisco Barreto, one of the FIA World Baja Cup front-runners. Barreto and navigator Paulo Fiúza stayed close for much of the first half and, when Al-Attiyah eased off to save the tyres on his rear-wheel-drive Optimus MD Rallye, Barreto cut the gap to less than 20 seconds in his SVR Toyota Hilux IMT Evo.
But Al-Attiyah attacked again over the final 100km, and the result was decided when the Portuguese made a navigation error and had to retrace his route before the finish.
We needed to manage the tyres for the first 200km. We tried to push for the last 100. The tyres are completely gone. We needed to make a strategy, otherwise you can have a puncture. We did a good job and have a good position for tomorrow.
Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah
We lost a little bit of time on the final part of the stage. We lost two waypoints and we came back to take them. We were near from Nasser all the stage and that’s the reason we lost the time. We are first in the World Cup and that’s where we need to finish. We will push tomorrow to make sure we keep this position.
Francisco Barreto
Al-Kuwari third and top Challenger
While those two were the class of the Middle East and World Cup fields, the QMMF’s Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari and Oriol Mena produced a stunning drive in their Can-Am to lead the Challenger class in third overall.
Aliyyah Koloc was also on form with navigator Marcin Pasek, fourth in her Red-Lined Revo GTR. The UAE-based youngster finished 1min 36.6sec ahead of Khalifa Saleh Al-Attiyah and Stéphane Duplé in the second QMMF Challenger.
French father and daughter Lionel and Lucie Baud were not troubled by their low starting position and stayed in the hunt for valuable FIA World Baja Cup points in sixth in their X-Raid Mini JCW Rally.
Aliyyah’s father Martin Koloc and navigator Hugo Magalhães were seventh, with Ahmed El-Shamy and Leonard Cremer eighth in their Century CR6. Hamed Al-Wahaibi and François Cazalet were ninth in a new Can-Am Challenger, and South Racing Can-Am’s Fernando Alvarez and Xavier Panseri completed the top 10 and led the SSVs.
Trouble for van den Brink and Variawa
Al-Wahaibi’s title rival Mitchel van den Brink stopped with technical problems and lost a lot of time.
Qatar’s Ahmed Al-Kuwari, Ghanim Al-Attiyah, Nouef Al-Sowaidi and Mohammed Al-Marri were just outside the top 10 in 11th, 13th, 14th and 15th. Three punctures dropped Saood Variawa to 16th. Qatar’s Abdulla Al-Rabban led the Stock class from Saudi rival Majed Al-Thunayyan.
Italy’s Christiano Gabbarrini did not start. David Mabbs‘s regional title bid suffered a blow when he stopped with gearbox problems after 58.69km, and Fahad Al-Fahad’s strong run in the second Optimus MD Rallye ended with mechanical issues after 70.83km.
Dąbrowski breaks clear of McInnes
Konrad Dąbrowski started his bid for a record fourth motorcycle win in Qatar from 10th on the road and was quickly on the pace. The Duust Rally Team rider caught the leading group and set the pace for the rest of the stage, winning by 5min 17sec from FIM Bajas World Cup leader Alex McInnes to lead the Motozone Racing Briton by 5min 18sec overnight.
It was a tough day. I caught Alex around km 13, couldn’t drop him and we caught the lead group. Then I was leading for most of the time. I didn’t know what to do to lose the guys. I tried to see if anyone wanted to open. They did but never Alex. He was keeping me in front. At the end he told me his road book device had broken.
Konrad Dąbrowski
The safest option for him was to follow me. I understand. I had no idea what to do because the gap between us was only one second and that would be really tight on Saturday. I decided to take a small break about 45km from the finish. For 15km, I drank water and took a few breaths and, for the last 20km, I did a full gas sprint, with 110% of effort and I managed to drop him and get some time for tomorrow.
Konrad Dąbrowski
My road book was actually broken for the last 80km. I was just chasing Konrad’s dust. In the end, it got a little bit too dangerous so I backed off a little. I have a decent gap behind. The championship is the main thing.
Alex McInnes
Dakar experience counted on the tricky navigation and tough terrain, and Frenchman Romain Dumontier moved into third overall ahead of Slovenian rival Toni Mulec. Young British talent Ethan Lane was fifth, ahead of Michael Anderson.
It was new for me here. I knew it would be demanding with the navigation. I tried to take it easy and focus on that. Five months I didn’t ride a rally bike with navigation. I needed to start again to get the focus and the capacity with the speed. I made some small mistakes. I needed to manage because I am alone without mechanics or spare parts. We will see. There is no strategy. I will try to ride well and hope they maybe make a mistake…
Romain Dumontier
Poland’s Norbert Swietochowski did not start and Lebanon’s Louis Abou Nader retired after an accident. Simon Marčič was inside the top 10 until he stopped after the second refuelling point with mechanical problems. Australia’s Andrew Houlihan continued after a crash but then skipped the final part of the stage to return to Lusail. Brett Hunt lost time with a broken navigation tower, and Badr Al-Hamdan stopped on the run north along the west coast.
Penalties hand Al-Bastaki the quad lead
FIM quad leader Ahmed Al-Jaber stayed out of trouble on his Yamaha and was 2min 14sec ahead of Emirati Khalifa Al-Bastaki until late time penalties handed the stage win to his rival. Title contender Hani Al-Noumesi was third, ahead of Abdulaziz Ahli and Abdulaziz Al-Atawi. Matteo Lardori lost his way early and became separated from the pack, and Saudi rider Abdulrahman Alabdullatif got lost south of Dukhan.
Saturday: Sealine finale
The final day features a 204.79km selective section across the unique landscapes of southern Qatar, including the demanding dunes of the Sealine region in the south-east. The stage is split into two parts of 88.79km and 115.42km by a neutralisation. The first motorcycle starts at 07.10hrs and the leading car at 09.30hrs.
Positions after SS1: cars (unofficial, top 10)
- 1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT) / Max Delfino (FRA), Optimus MD Rallye – 3hr 39min 15.3sec
- 2. Francisco Barreto (POR) / Paulo Fiúza (POR), Toyota Hilux IMT Evo – 3hr 45min 30.6sec
- 3. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT) / Oriol Mena (ESP), Can-Am Maverick R
- 4. Aliiyah Koloc (UAE) / Marcin Pasek (POL), Red-Lined Revo GTR
- 5. Khalifa Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT) / Stéphane Duplé (FRA), Taurus T3 Max – 3hr 37min 41.7sec
- 6. Lionel Baud (FRA) / Lucie Baud (FRA), X-Raid Mini JCW 3.0d – 3hr 39min 52.0sec
- 7. Martin Koloc (CZE) / Hugo Magalhães (POR), Red-Lined Revo V8 – 3hr 40min 40.7sec
- 8. Ahmed El-Shami (UAE) / Leonard Cremer (RSA), Century CR6 – 3hr 40min 45.2sec
- 9. Hamed Al-Wahaibi (OMA) / François Cazalet (FRA), Can-Am Maverick R – 3hr 41min 13.3sec
- 10. Fernando Alvarez (ARG) / Xavier Panseri (FRA), Can-Am Maverick R – 3hr 44min 45.4sec
Positions after SS1: motorcycles (unofficial, top 10)
- 1. Konrad Dąbrowski (POL), KTM 450 Rally Replica – 3hr 50min 34sec
- 2. Alex McInnes (GBR), KTM 450 RFR – 3hr 52min 52sec
- 3. Romain Dumontier (FRA), KTM 450 Rally Factory – 4hr 03min 10sec
- 4. Toni Mulec (SLO), KTM 450 Rally Replica – 4hr 05min 01sec
- 5. Ethan Lane (GBR), KTM 450 Rally – 4hr 17min 09sec
- 6. Michael Anderson (POR), KTM 450 RFR – 4hr 23min 27sec
- 7. Robert Wallace (GBR), KTM 450 EXC – 4hr 26min 30sec
- 8. Mohammed Al-Balooshi (UAE), KTM 450 RR – 4hr 34min 41sec
- 9. Hans Dovland (NOR), Gas Gas RX 450 F – 4hr 35min 29sec
- 10. Thomas Cross (AUS), Kove MX Rally 450 – 4hr 38min 55sec
Positions after SS1: quads (unofficial)
- 1. Khalifa Al-Bastaki (UAE), Yamaha YFZ 450R – 4hr 52min 32sec
- 2. Ahmed Al-Jaber (KSA), Yamaha Raptor – 4hr 52min 50sec
- 3. Hani Al-Noumesi (KSA), Yamaha 700 – 5hr 00min 20sec
- 4. Abdulaziz Ahli (UAE), Yamaha Raptor 700 – 5hr 13min 19sec
- 5. Abdulaziz Al-Atawi (KSA), Yamaha Raptor 700 – 5hr 58min 23sec