Al-Attiyah takes 11 of event’s 12 stages to top MERC leaderboard
Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah swept to an emphatic victory today at the inaugural Pafos International Rally – round 4 of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC). The win, which marks Al-Attiyah’s 9th Cyprus MERC victory, also pushes the star Qatari driver to the top of the MERC leaderboard with a healthy 75 points.
Al-Attiyah arrived in Cyprus with 50 points, just one point behind then Championship leader Sheikh Abdullah Al Qassimi of the UAE. A tough battle was expected between the two drivers, each of whom fielded S2000 Ford Fiestas, but Al Qassimi and his British co-driver Steve Lancaster, struggled to find pace on Day 1 and were further slowed by steering problems on Day 2.
Al-Attiyah and his Italian co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini led the event from the off, storming through the event’s opening asphalt special stage yesterday and going on to take five of the day’s remaining stages under the hot Mediterranean sun. Cypriot Constantinos Tingirides was the only other driver to take a special stage (SS2), hoping to boost his position in the local Championship through the event’s coefficient 1.5 status. Tingirides’ good fortune seemed to run out yesterday afternoon, however, with gearbox problems forcing him out of the running in SS6. Something he made up for today, when he restarted under SupeRally.
Al-Attiyah’s blistering pace yesterday was enough to give him a 4m 18.6s overnight lead over his closest rival, Cypriot driver Simos Galatariotis (fielding a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X). After struggling to make good times on Day 1, Al Qassimi found himself starting today chasing the Skoda Fabia S2000 of Rashid Al Ketbi, also of the UAE, for valuable MERC points.
Once this morning’s action got underway from the Service Park, located at the heart of Pafos’ tourist area and just metres from the Mediterranean, Al-Attiyah left no doubt about his dominance of the event, taking the 32.84km Anadiou stage 21.9s faster than Tingirides, his closest rival. Galatariotis was out of the event before the end of SS7 with mechanical failure.
Tingirides upped his pace further in SS8 (Galataria) but Al-Attiyah still took the stage 8.8 seconds faster than his Cypriot rival. With Al Qassimi struggling with steering problems, Lebanon’s Nicolas Amiouni set the 4th fastest time through the stage, ahead of Al Ketbi. Attrition rates continued to be high this morning, with Kuwait’s Essam Al Nejadi among those failing to reach lunchtime service. Amiouni would exit the event in the afternoon.
Al-Attiyah continuing to show scintillating pace in the last stage of the morning, SS9 Agios Nikolaos, to seal an emphatic lunchtime lead of 8m 24.8s over the Cypriot crew of Petros Panteli and Chrysostomos Panteli in their Evo IX.
Lunchtime service proved disastrous for Al Qassimi where replacement of his steering rack and power steering pump proved problematic and resulted in him leaving service 21m late. Meanwhile, Al-Attiyah continued to take no prisoners, flying through SS10 a full 30.2s faster than 2nd fastest Tingirides, and SS11 10.1 seconds faster.
Al-Attiyah went on to seal the deal in style by charging through the final stage of the day – and the rally – with a clear 28.3 second lead over Tingirides and a 46.2s lead over Panteli.
In the Middle East Championship, Al-Attiyah leaves the island as the frontrunner with 75 points, Al Qassimi drops to 2nd place with 63 points, Al Ketbi is close behind with 61 points, and Mufeed Mubarak retains 4th place with 42 points. The MERC battle now moves to Lebanon in September (16th-18th).
In terms of the local Championship, former leader Michalis Posidias and 2nd-placed Marinos Patroclou exited the event on Day 1, with only Posidias restarting this morning under SupeRally. His luck didn’t hold, however, and he exited the event early today with mechanical failure. As a result, Posidias retains his overall championship lead, with Patroclou 2nd, while Tingirides moves up to 3rd.
International rallying will return to Cyprus later this year with the Cyprus Rally, one of the best known rallies on the international stage. Set for 3rd – 5th November, it will serve as the 12th – and final – round of the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) calendar.
Sponsored by CYTA and OPAP, the 2011 Pafos International Rally was organized by the Cyprus Automobile Association (CAA). For more about the event, visit the organizers’ official website www.caa.com.cy
Final results for 2011 Pafos International Rally (Provisional)
1 N Al-Attiyah / G Bernacchini Ford Fiesta S2000 3:58’42.2
2 P Panteli / C Panteli Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 4:09’25.8
3 C Tingirides / P Shialos Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 4:10’20.5
4 C Zenonos / S Laos Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 4:15’44.3
5 E Velissariou / V Xenophontos Subaru Impreza 4:17’40.9
6 R Al Ketbi / K Al Kendi Skoda Fabia S2000 4:18’26.2
7 M Mubarak / S Al Melaifi Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 4:21’15.6
8 A Al Qassimi / S Lancaster Ford Fiesta S2000 4:23’22.2
9 G Paphitis / C Constantinou Subaru Impreza 4:25’17.3
10 Y Yiangou / S Avgousti Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 4:32’45.7