The 2014 season of Middle East Rally Championship is halfway through, and now sees contenders en route to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, after Qatar & Kuwait Rallies. Lead by Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi and Co-driver Chris Patterson the Citroën Total Abu Dhabi Rally Team make way to participate in the 3rd round of Middle East Rally Championship on board the Citroën DS3 RRC from 1st to 3rd May. Abu Dhabi Racing-Citroën Middle East Trophy Team is also getting prepared to take on a new evolution curve through their participation in this year’s Rally, with Mohamed Al Motawaa, Mohammed Al Sahlawi, Saeed Bintouq, Juma Al Falasi, and Mansoor Belhelei racing their 2WD Citroën DS3 R3 in the battle to claim title of “Abu Dhabi Racing-Citroën Middle East Trophy” for rookie drivers.
Middle East Emirati Champion Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi is getting set to hustle at Jordan Rally this weekend where he takes leash of his Citroën DS3 RRC (Regional Rally Car) with Co-driver Chris Patterson by his side. This year, Jordan Rally will also witness the participation of five “Abu Dhabi Racing-Citroën Middle East Trophy” rookie drivers in the 2WD category on board Citroën DS3 R3, namely: Saeed Bintouq, Juma Al Falasi, and Mansoor Belhelei who face the Rally Jordan challenge for the first time, while Mohammed Al Sahlawi and Mohamed Al Motawaa took the challenge and availed winners with Mohamed Al Motawaa last year.
Regarding preparations of Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi, who currently ranks second in the temporary overall standings of Middle East Rally Championship, he noted that: “Rally Jordan enjoys a unique persona with an international zest and tenacious participants; I look forward to compete with the intention to reap as many points as possible, and vie to battle for the top three ranks, as usual”.
Al Qassimi added: “Many factors have to be taken into account at Jordan Rally, specifically the high temperature which could negatively impact the tyres performance, and although Jordan Rally consists of 20 relatively short stages, it comes packed with challenges. We will perform enough tests prior to the Rally and adjust the cars settings to best commensurate with the Rally’s terrain which sees a mix of gravel and slippery surfaces”.
World Rally Jordan consists of 20 Special Stages (10 Stages Daily). First day stages (Friday 2nd May) stretch over 123.10km, while second day stages (Saturday 3rd May) make an overall length of 148.34km. Jordan Rally commences with a Super Special Stage held at Al Abdali area in the capital Amman on Thursday 1st May, stretching 1.01km at exactly 6pm local Jordan time.