Defending regional champion Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah took full advantage of late trouble for Ulsterman Kris Meeke to stretch his lead after four absorbing gravel stages of the Qatar International Rally on Saturday.
The two rivals shared the stage wins two apiece through the northern deserts and were 10.3 seconds apart before the day’s final test. There, Meeke and English navigator Sebastian Marshall damaged the underside of their Škoda Fabia R5 on a heavy landing over a jump and had to stop after the stage.
The time lost on the stage was only 46.9 seconds, but the impact had broken the radiator and damaged the intercooler. Rather than risk serious engine damage, Meeke stopped on the road section and was towed back to Losail. Hefty time penalties under Rally2 rules would drop him to sixth for Sunday’s restart.
That handed Al-Attiyah and French co-driver Matthieu Baumel a 1min 40.6sec overnight lead in their Autotek Volkswagen over Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari and new Irish co-driver James Fulton in their Škoda Fabia R5.
It was a good day for us. It was not easy. Kris Meeke was pushing really hard. The level was really high so I am very happy.
Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah
Al-Kuwari, the 2012 Qatar International Rally winner, lacked the leaders’ pace on the last two stages after a puncture and dust problems, but finished the day comfortably ahead of third-placed Khalid Al-Suwaidi and navigator Hugo Magalhães.
We started well on the first two stages, where the gap was not too big to Nasser and Kris. The second loop we had some problems with dust. I stopped on one hairpin, where I could not see the road at all. On the last stage we had a flat tyre, front-left. Second place is not bad though and tomorrow is longer and tougher than today. The car was good, the team did well and so did my new co-driver. It is not easy to read the roads here.
Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari
Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya also profited from Meeke’s problems to move up to fourth, with Kuwait’s Meshari Al-Thefiri driving impressively to fifth and a comfortable MERC 2 lead.
Sheikh Suhaim Al-Thani made an impressive debut in the Motorsport Italia Škoda, holding sixth despite his lack of rally experience. Oman’s Zakariya Al-Ofi was seventh and second in MERC 2, and Saudi Arabia’s Saleh Al-Saif led FIA T4 in eighth in his Can-Am. Qatar’s Rashid Al-Mohannadi and Lebanon’s Ahmad Khaled completed the top 10, with Shadi El-Fakih and MERC 3 leader Henry Kahy 11th and 12th.
Ahmed Al-Mohannadi led the Qatar National Rally overnight by 53.2 seconds in his Can-Am from Khalid Al-Mohannadi, with Qatar-based Ahmed Allouh and Lebanon’s Jad Aawar third and fourth.
How Saturday unfolded
Several penalties were handed out after Friday evening’s super special for jump-starts and hitting cones on the tight asphalt test. Meeke received 10 seconds for a jump-start and 15 for hitting cones, dropping to fourth, while Al-Attiyah was given 10 seconds for a jump-start.
Even so, the defending champion started the 20.13km Eraida stage 2.7 seconds ahead of Al-Kuwari, with Al-Suwaidi third and Al-Thefiri fifth behind Meeke.
Al-Attiyah set the tone by beating Meeke by 6.5 seconds on the first run through Eraida to lead by 14.9 seconds. Al-Kuwari moved to third, 30 seconds clear of Al-Suwaidi in fourth. Abdullah Al-Rawahi (broken steering arm) and Jassim Al-Muqahwi (mechanical) retired, while Al-Thefiri edged clear in MERC 2 despite dust and poor visibility.
Meeke took his first MERC desert stage win on Al-Thakira (20.34km), cutting the lead to 13 seconds before the midday regroup and service at Losail. Mohamed Al-Attiyah stopped at the start of the stage. Al-Kuwari lost some seconds after taking a wrong slot in Meeke’s dust, and Oman’s Zakariya Al-Amri was excluded for taking a short cut.
Meeke was fastest again on the second run through Eraida, cutting the gap to 10.3 seconds, before his heavy landing on the final stage handed the Qatari a comfortable lead.
Sunday
The final leg features two loops of three northern desert stages: Al-Khor (18.30km) at 08.35hrs, then the QMMF stage (22.02km) and Ras Laffan (21.39km) at 09.55hrs and 10.45hrs. After regroup and service at the Losail Sports Arena, the stages are repeated at 12.05hrs, 12.45hrs and 13.25hrs, followed by the press conference (19.15hrs) and ceremonial finish (19.45hrs) at Katara.
The rally is held under the chairmanship of QMMF President Abdulrahman Al-Mannai, senior committee member Abdulrazaq Al-Kuwari and QMMF Executive Director Amro Al-Hamad.