LUSAIL, QATAR – Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and Candido Carrera stopped the clocks in 4min 46.9sec to take a 4.1-second lead after the opening 4.36km super special stage of the Qatar International Rally on Thursday evening.
The timed test at the LCSC Karting Academy followed the ceremonial start of round two of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) at Lusail Boulevard, north of Doha.
Legends honoured for 50 years
After a pre-event press conference with 10 leading drivers, chaired by QMMF Executive Director Amro Al-Hamad, QMMF President Abdulrahman Al-Mannai was joined on the podium by legends of the event to mark 50 years since its inauguration in 1975.
Framed photographs were presented to six-time winner Saeed Al-Hajri, former driver and organiser Sadoon Al-Kuwari (father of Abdulaziz and Nasser Al-Kuwari), regular former competitor Jaber Al-Marri, 1993 winner and former QMMF President Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya, and Prodrive chairman David Richards, the man behind the Rothmans Rally Team of the early 1980s, the first Gulf Championship and the birth of the MERC.
Østberg fastest but penalised
Abdullah Al-Rawahi and Ata Al-Hmoud were second, with Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari and Lorcan Moore third. Mads Østberg and Sergiu Itu set the quickest time but were given a 10-second penalty for clipping cones and dropped to fourth.
The stages are the same as last year with just a few kilometres changed and the same starts and same finishes. The team have done a good job. There have been big steps forward. There are some rough places, of course, this is Qatar. The rally is always like this. That is part of the challenge. The weekend will be very interesting. It is nice we have the 50th anniversary of the event. I did the rally in 1990, 1991 and 1993 and then every time since 2003. This is my 25th Qatar Rally!
Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah
I really enjoy coming here. This is my fourth time and I’ve actually started to make friends here. I was even invited to a special dinner last night. One retirement and two second places, so I suppose it’s time I went one better this year!
Mads Østberg
Saudi driver Rakan Al-Rashed, in Qatar for the first time with 2017-winning co-driver Hugo Magalhães, was fifth in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2. Lebanon’s Ahmad Khaled, chasing MERC2 honours after retiring in Oman, was ninth.
The first day is much better than the second day. The second day will be tough for the cars. The stages are also so fast. Hopefully we do a good result at the end. The plan is to finish and progress towards the Group N title.
Ahmad Khaled
Qatar Motorsport Academy Stars winners Mohammed Al-Marri and Saad Al-Harqan both safely completed their first competitive stage in their Peugeot 208 Rally4s.
Friday’s stages
Crews head north of Lusail for two loops of three stages: Waab Al-Mashrab (08:53), Al-Waab (09:20) and Al-Khor (10:00), followed by a regroup and service at Lusail. The loop is repeated from 12:43, 13:10 and 13:50.
Top 10 after SS1 (unofficial)
- Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah / Candido Carrera – Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 – 4min 46.9sec
- Abdullah Al-Rawahi / Ata Al-Hmoud – Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 – 4min 51.0sec
- Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari / Lorcan Moore – Citroën C3 Rally2 – 4min 51.7sec
- Mads Østberg / Sergiu Itu – Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 – 4min 51.8sec (not registered for MERC)
- Rakan Al-Rashed / Hugo Magalhães – Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – 5min 03.7sec
- Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya / Ziad Chehab – Ford Fiesta Mk II Rally2 – 5min 04.7sec
- Christiano Gabbarrini / Alessandro Forni – Subaru Impreza WRX STi – 5min 07.7sec (not registered for MERC)
- Simone Temeroli / Davide Simoncini – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX – 5min 07.7sec (not registered for MERC)
- Ahmad Khaled / Samer Sfeir – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X – 5min 09.3sec
- Zakariya Al-Aamri / Mohammed Al-Mazroui – Subaru Impreza N14 – 5min 13.7sec