The 2013 Qatar International Rally, round 1 of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship, will use new stages, a brand new service park and a revised route, when it gets underway on January 24th-26th.
Officials at the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) have been piecing together a new format and route for the event under the presidency of Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah.
Rally headquarters and operations will continue to be based at the QMMF, but the event will now use a brand new service area in Qatar’s Aqua Park at Abu Nakhla on the Salwa Road.
Elie Semaan, clerk of the course, has confirmed that three stages will be completely new and other sections of the desert route have been modified.
“This year we have three completely new stages with undulating, twisty and challenging terrain,” said Semaan. “The other three stages feature changes. Two have been modified up to 70% of their total distance and the approximate total length of the stages is 260km. The whole rally is concentrated off the Salwa Road to the north of Doha.”
Last year, the QMMF used the Al-Wakra sports complex for the headquarters and service park and ran special stages to the south of the capital.