The 43rd Qatar International Rally was officially launched at the Losail International Circuit on Thursday evening, ahead of two days and 12 graded gravel special stages in the northern Qatar deserts.
Several top drivers joined QMMF President Abdulrahman Al-Mannai and Executive Director Amro Al-Hamed at the pre-event press conference. The ceremonial start followed on the start line of the circuit, which hosted its first Formula One race in November 2021 and is preparing for a MotoGP race in early March.
Østberg tops Shakedown
Crews in round two of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship fine-tuned their set-ups with repeated runs on a seven-kilometre Shakedown stage, introduced by the organisers for the first time on Thursday afternoon. It gave media a good opportunity and let drivers judge their pace before Friday’s competition.
Mads Østberg set the fastest run of 3min 26.5sec, beating Kris Meeke by just 0.4 seconds on the second of his three runs. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and Hamed Al-Wahaibi did not take part, while Abdullah Al-Rawahi and Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari tied for third despite a transmission issue for the Qatari.
With scrutineering done in the morning and recce complete, teams focused on strategy and set-up before the ceremonial start. Local hero Al-Attiyah is chasing a 16th home win, while WRC rivals Meeke and Østberg know the size of the task.
A good number of drivers here and there will be big competition. It’s home land for me and I know it very well. I will do my best to win this race. Some of the stages are run the opposite way to last time and some stages are new. It’s better than last time. I think everybody will enjoy. I am sure that Mads and Kris will push from the start. My strategy has to be to push, because Kris is very fast and Mads is also very fast. It will not be easy. It’s perfect to have them here. We need to push the championship.
Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah
Co-driver Mathieu Baumel missed last month’s Oman Rally but is fully fit for Qatar.
Like every year, a lot of stone everywhere. That’s what makes this race challenging. It will be interesting, especially with Kris and Mads here. We made some good pace notes and we prepared well. We need to make the first loop on Friday to see where we are and what we need to do and to see whether we need to push more. Let’s see if we have some problems or not. It’s nice to see so many quality cars here.
Mathieu Baumel
It’s actually going to be quite a challenge. The stages have been graded and, in some ways, that helps us because it prevents you sliding into a corner and reduces the risk of picking up a puncture. When you slid wide before there was also the chance of picking up the wrong track with three or four tracks heading in similar directions.
Kris Meeke
It’s totally new for me, obviously, and it’s going be a big challenge. The first two stages are quite like WRC in their character, so let’s see what we can do.
Mads Østberg
Al-Atya and Al-Wahaibi
Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya drives a Motortune-prepared Ford Fiesta R5, with Lebanese co-driver Ziad Chehab replacing Giovanni Bernacchini for this event. He is a former MERC runner-up and won the 1993 Qatar Rally.
The recce went very well. The most important thing was the set-up of the stages. The organisers did a great job with the grader and were able to close off the chance to take lines into the corners. I congratulate the organisers on this effort. Everything is clear now for the drivers. I did good pace notes, so it will be good fun. I am second in the points in the championship and will try and keep the same pace. My car is not as strong as the Volkswagen and the Škodas and, with my age, I will try and keep to my pace.
Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya
Oman’s Hamed Al-Wahaibi returned to top-level rallying in 2021 after a long break and set several fastest times at last month’s season opener. He last contested the Qatar Rally in 1997, finishing third overall and first in Group N in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III with legendary co-driver Terry Harryman. That year’s winner was Mohammed Ben Sulayem, now President of the FIA.
The event is very well organised. I like the set-up at Losail. It’s fantastic. They have done a good job working on the desert stages. I had a bit of experience of desert rallies in ’97 and also 2010 when I did Dubai. I have experience, so I know how it goes. Tony (Sircombe) was really shocked. You come into areas and you cannot see if there is a track. Getting your eyes used to is the key. I guess he might suffer a bit getting used to it.
Hamed Al-Wahaibi
It’s fantastic to be here and able to compare ourselves with the top guys, Nasser, Kris and Mads. Trying to be close to them would be great. We are going to fight a bit but we will see how it goes after the first few stages. I am really excited. The speeds are so high. It is fast, fast, fast. I think it is going to be a puncture rally, with some sharp rocks. Let’s hope we survive the punctures.
Hamed Al-Wahaibi
Friday
Crews face two loops of three gravel stages. The action opens with the short Eraida stage (8.89km) from 09.58hrs, followed by Al-Thakira (20.15km) and Al-Khor (16.17km) in the northern deserts from 10.26hrs and 10.57hrs. The three stages are then repeated from 13.13hrs, 13.41hrs and 14.12hrs.