Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah was at his clinical, devastating best on day two of the Jordan Rally. Starting the day 9.5 seconds ahead, the Qatari won all 10 stages in the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley areas to take an 11min 16.4sec lead into Saturday’s final eight tests.
His partnership with French co-driver Matthieu Baumel in a Skoda Fabia R5 keeps going from strength to strength, and he is firmly on course for a 10th Jordan win.
To be honest, I pushed hard on the super special on Thursday night to make a show for the spectators, but then I managed to control the rally and my pace. I know from experience that these stages need to be respected and I was able to drive quickly without making mistakes.
Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah
Jordanian one-two in MERC 2
The eagerly awaited MERC 2 battle became a duel between Jordanians Khaled Juma and Husam Salem after Khalifa Al-Attiyah rolled out on the first stage of the morning and Rashid Al-Nuami crashed and lost a wheel.
Defending national champion Juma took advantage of his rival’s brake problems and caution to lead by 1min 23.4sec at the night halt in a fine second overall, with Salem a solid third to give the hosts two provisional podium places.
A resigned Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari and Irish navigator Killian Duffy held second in their Skoda Fabia R5 until stage 10, when the Qatari went off the road and out. He and Al-Attiyah had been the class of the field. A three-minute delay on SS7 dropped Khalid Al-Suwaidi further back, and he failed to start stage eight and retired.
With Khalifa Al-Attiyah and Al-Nuami in trouble, Abdullah Al-Kuwari eased off to protect his championship points, ending the day third in MERC 2 and fourth overall. Kuwait’s Meshari Al-Thefiri recovered from early delays to fifth, Ihab Al-Shorafa was sixth, and Lebanon’s Rodolphe Asmar and Jordan’s Asem Aref completed the eight survivors. Local driver Lina Hadadi lost seventh after stopping on the last stage of a gruelling day.
How Friday unfolded
Al-Attiyah stunned his rivals with his speed and finesse on Thursday’s tricky Abdali super special, and not even he expected to start the first 16.85km gravel stage 9.5 seconds clear. He set the target of 12min 03.3sec to stretch his lead over Al-Kuwari to 19.4 seconds.
Behind them, drama unfolded. Rashid Al-Nuami broke a wheel and damaged the bodywork, Meshari Al-Thefiri lost over five minutes after hitting a rock that broke the gear stick and incurred extra penalties, and Khalifa Al-Attiyah rolled his Subaru, though neither crew member was hurt.
Husam Salem lost time with brake trouble, and Rodolphe Asmar rolled, righted the car and finished nearly 20 minutes down.
This stage was not ‘Panorama’ it was paranoia. I saw cars all over the place.
Ihab Al-Shorafa
On the short 9.6km Syagha stage the leading pair pulled clear, Al-Attiyah stretching his lead to 21.5 seconds and adding 5.8 more in Rama. Juma and Salem were 2.7 seconds apart in MERC 2 after SS4. Al-Attiyah came safely through Bahath and Suwayma to reach midday service at the Dead Sea 41.1 seconds ahead of Al-Kuwari, while Salem’s delays left Juma fourth with a 1min 12.9sec MERC 2 lead.
I wasn’t really pushing in there. No problems, but I guess I was doing a bit of road sweeping and losing a bit of time. This afternoon the stage surfaces will be cleaner and we can maybe push a little bit more.
Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah
The gap is a lot, honestly. We lost 10 seconds yesterday, but 31 today is still a lot in five stages. The super special was not a stage to drive. I know the gaps are not really big – two seconds and then five seconds on each stage. But, I was not risking. I will try my best. It is not easy.
Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari
No problem. I finish the first stage leading Group N. When I see that the two cars I am fighting with in the Middle East went down (Al-Nuami and Al-Attiyah), I slowed down because I need to finish and get the points. Now we have two cars from Jordan in front of us. They are not going for the whole championship, so I must make sure that I finish.
Abdullah Al-Kuwari
In the first stage this morning I locked the brake and lost some time and I was very cautious. No brakes at the end of that stage and I was worried about losing them completely. I hit a rock in the next one and I broke the skid pan under the car, so I drove carefully. I drove slowly in the water splash. The last five stages were the worst ones in my life.
Husam Salem
The five stages were repeated in the afternoon heat. Al-Attiyah stretched his lead to 53.4 seconds on SS7 and 1min 00.8sec in Syagha. Al-Suwaidi lost three minutes on the opener and then failed to reach the start of SS8, Juma extended his MERC 2 lead to 1min 15.8sec, and Al-Rashed collected three minutes of penalties for leaving service late.
Al-Attiyah was relentless to the end of the leg, finishing with a massive 11min 16.4sec lead after Al-Kuwari launched his Fabia off the road in Bahath, coming to rest on its wheels far from the track. Juma kept his composure to control the MERC 2 fight.
Saturday
The final day features eight stages, two runs each through Rawda, Shuna, Karamah and Baptism Site, split by midday service and regroup at the Dead Sea, before the podium finish at Samarah Mall at 17.24hrs.
Positions after SS11 (unofficial)
- 1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Matthieu Baumel (FRA) Skoda Fabia R5 1hr 24min 41.4sec
- 2. Khaled Juma (JOR)/Faris Al-Tal (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII 1hr 35min 57.8sec
- 3. Husam Salem (JOR)/Nancy Al-Majali (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 1hr 37min 21.2sec
- 4. Abdullah Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Adel Hussein (QAT) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 1hr 38min 12.4sec
- 5. Meshari Al-Thafiri (KWT)/Emad Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 1hr 45min 03.5sec