Kuwaiti Meshari Al-Thefiri and Qatari co-driver Nasser Al-Kuwari surprised their rivals by leading the 26th Kuwait International Rally after Friday’s six desert special stages.
On his first outing in an SRT-run Škoda Fabia R2 evo, Al-Thefiri won stages two and three, led at midday service and took the overnight lead back when Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah punctured on stage six. The Kuwaiti starts the final day 15.7 seconds ahead.
Al-Attiyah and French co-driver Mathieu Baumel looked set to end the day narrowly in front until they had to stop and change a front tyre on the afternoon’s last stage, losing well over two minutes.
The Autotek Volkswagen Polo GTI driver won two of the three stages on the second loop south of Kuwait City, having driven cautiously in the morning after two slow punctures. He is fourth, 2min 13.4sec off the lead, ahead of a gripping fightback on Saturday.
Qatar’s Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari and Irish co-driver James Fulton were fastest on the opening stage, but a puncture cost them time and they ended the day third, 13.1 seconds behind Qatar’s Khaled Al-Suwaidi and Portuguese co-driver Hugo Magalhães. The 2012 winner was fastest on stage six and is well placed to fight for a second MERC win.
MERC2 front-runner Mohammed Al-Thefiri and co-driver Mubarak Al-Dhafiri are fifth overall in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X with a 4min 56.7sec lead in the showroom class. Former MERC runner-up Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya, partnered by Italy’s Giovanni Bernacchini, is sixth in a Motortune-run Ford Fiesta. Kuwait’s Jassim Al-Muqahwi and Jordanians Shadi Shaban and Issa Abu Jamous completed the day’s finishers in seventh, eighth and ninth.
Engine trouble stopped MERC2 series leader Ihab Al-Shorafa of Jordan, Oman’s Zakariya Al-Aamri had gearbox problems, and a heavy landing after a high-speed jump cost Abdullah Al-Rawahi fifth place, with front damage and a broken radiator on his Škoda Fabia R2 evo.
Friday as it happened
Al-Kuwari led Al-Attiyah by 1.6 seconds after the opening 17.70km stage, where MERC2 leader Al-Shorafa (engine) and Yousef Al-Dhafeeri failed to finish. Al-Rawahi and Al-Thefiri were third and fourth, and Mohammed Al-Thefiri topped the MERC2 times.
The 20.65km second stage was named in memory of Kuwaiti rally driver Saleh bin Eidan, and his countryman Meshari Al-Thefiri set fastest time on his RC2 Škoda debut, two-tenths of a second quicker than Al-Attiyah. The Qatari still took a 3.2-second lead. Al-Aamri retired with gearbox trouble, and Al-Kuwari punctured after 14km and lost 14.5 seconds to the stage winner.
Stage three (20.73km), named in memory of local rally driver Gazi Al-Thefiri, went to Al-Thefiri again. Despite his limited RC2 experience he beat Al-Attiyah by 4.6 seconds to lead by 1.4 seconds at the Kuwait Motor Town service. Al-Attiyah had two slow punctures and, with only one spare, drove cautiously.
Al-Suwaidi, Al-Kuwari and Al-Rawahi completed the top five, but the Omani could not continue after radiator and front panel damage from a heavy landing, lifting Mohammed Al-Thefiri to fifth.
Al-Attiyah was nine seconds faster on his second run through the KT stage and retook the lead by 6.9 seconds from Al-Thefiri. Al-Suwaidi’s second-fastest time kept him third, 11.9 seconds behind the Kuwaiti. Jordan’s Khaled Juma, ninth in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII, stopped in SS4 with electrical problems.
Al-Attiyah was seven seconds quicker on the repeat of the next stage, stretching his lead to 9.2 seconds. On the last stage, however, the defending champion stopped to change a front puncture, lost 2min 24sec to stage winner Al-Suwaidi and fell to fourth, leaving Al-Thefiri 15.7 seconds clear on his home rally.
Saturday
Crews face two passes through two stages: the 18.60km Al-Zour stage from 11.05hrs and a 12.66km special from 11.58hrs, repeated at 14.23hrs and 15.16hrs.
Positions after SS6 (unofficial)
- 1. Meshari Al-Thefiri (KWT)/Nasser Al-Kuwari (QAT) Škoda Fabia R2 evo 55min 48.5sec
- 2. Khaled Al-Suwaidi (QAT)/Hugo Magalhães (PRT) Škoda Fabia R2 evo 56min 04.2sec
- 3. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)/James Fulton (IRL) Škoda Fabia R2 evo 56min 17.3sec
- 4. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Mathieu Baumel (FRA) Volkswagen Polo GTI 58min 01.9sec
- 5. Mohammed Al-Thefiri (KWT)/Mubarak Al-Dhafiri (KWT) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 1hr 03min 02.3sec
- 6. Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya (QAT)/Giovanni Bernacchini (ITA) Ford Fiesta 1hr 04min 20.0sec
- 7. Jassim Al-Muqahwi (KWT)/Thamer Al-Mutairi (KWT) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 1hr 07min 59.0sec
- 8. Shadi Shaban (JOR)/Suleiman Al-Helal (KWT) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 1hr 12min 35.5sec
- 9. Issa Abu Jamous (JOR)/Emad Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 1hr 14min 00.3sec