The Manateq Qatar Cross-Country Rally (MQCCR) gets underway in front of television cameras and hundreds of onlookers at Souq Waqif in downtown Doha on Saturday evening.
The opening round of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies has attracted competitors from an impressive 22 countries, from as far afield as the USA, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Western and Eastern Europe, Jordan and the GCC.
Several leading drivers attended the official pre-event press conference on the start podium before the cars were flagged away from the ceremonial start in the heart of Qatar’s historic capital.
Competitors spent Saturday morning completing technical checks and outstanding paperwork before a mandatory briefing hosted by officials of the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF).
There were two late additions to the Manateq Qatar National Baja: Peruvian co-driver Hector Garcia Chavez joins Ahmed Allouh in a Can-Am Maverick X3, and Maria Angeles Hernandez flies in from Alicante, Spain, for the first time to partner German driver Edith Weiss in a Nissan Patrol.
Sunday’s stage
On Sunday the first car leaves Lusail Sports Arena at 09.30hrs, with a 74.07km liaison to the start of a short opening 171.25km Al-Khararra selective section from 10.55hrs.
Al-Khararra is a desert village in the municipality of Al-Wakrah, west of Mesaieed in south-central Qatar. Its name comes from the Arabic word ‘khar’, meaning ‘the sound of running water’; the area has several hills and noticeable surface rain run-off in winter.
The stage has two passage controls, on the Umm Bab Highway and the Al-Khararra road after 54.07km and 93.61km, before finishing on the Sealine road south of Doha. An 83.80km road section then brings teams back to the bivouac in Lusail.