Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah claimed a record-breaking ninth successive victory in the 2011 Qatar International Rally, round one of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC), this past weekend.
At the wheel of his new Ford Fiesta S2000, the 2011 Dakar Rally winner overcame a serious propshaft problem on Day Two to overtake the overnight leader Mubarak Al-Hajri and to then stamp his authority on the event to win the event by a dominant margin of 03m 38.8ssec. It was the six-time regional champion’s 39th MERC win and a tenth for his Italian co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini.
“I always felt as though we could do it and I say a special thank you to my team for doing a tremendous job in keeping my car going,” said Al-Attiyah. “Winning in Qatar is always special for me, and it is a great feeling to get the new championship off to a winning start.”
Mubarak Al-Hajri’s dream to become the first individual to win a round of the MERC as a driver and a co-driver was not to be at this event. The talented and quick Qatari drove consistently quick over the closing stages of the event with to claim a convincing second position in the overall standings, and this also meant he claimed overall victory of the Qatar Rally Championship’s round three with his Subaru Impreza.
The UAE’s Sheikh Abdullah Al-Qassimi became faster as the event progressed in his new Ford Fiesta S2000 – he was quickest on the final stage – and third overall was sufficient for him and his English co-driver Steve Lancaster to leap into second position in the MERC standings. Qatar’s Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari lost third on the penultimate stage with gearbox troubles.
The winner’s brother Khalifa Saleh Al-Attiyah lost fourth overall on the final stage with differential failure. Kuwait’s Essam Al Nejadi duly climbed to fourth, while Qatar’s young Sultan Al-Suwaidi, Jordan’s Ammar Hijazi and Qatar’s Jaber and Mohammed Al-Marri completed the top eight.
This event was characterised by a high rate of attrition over the challenging gravel stages south of Doha. Rounding out the top ten were Jordan’s Nancy Al-Majali and Kuwait’s Fahad Ashkanani, who were also the only remaining finishers.
Three of the original 22 cars failed to start Day Two. Six used SupeRally rules to rejoin the 13 crews still in the running, but Qatar’s Jarallah Almei, Khalid Al-Suwaidi and Abdullah Al-Hajri were forced into retirement.
OVERALL CLASSIFICATION
01) N. A-Attiyah/G. Bernacchini
Ford Fiesta S2000 – 02hr 25m 01.1s
02) M. Al-Hajri/Y. Aref
Subaru Impreza N4 + 03m 38.8s
03) S. Al-Qassimi/S. Lancaster
Ford Fiesta S2000 + 04m 18.2s
04) E. Al-Nejadi/A. Al-Shraah
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX + 13m 40.2s
05) S. Al-Suwaidi/B. Ghazzawi
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX + 18m 51.3s
06) A. Hijazi/J. Matar
Skoda Fabia S2000 + 20m 05.1s
07) J. Al-Marri/J. Carlin
Subaru Impreza N4 + 23m 53.2s
08) M. Al-Marri/K. Koder
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX + 32m 03.9s
09) N. Al-Majali/N. Shnoudeh
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX + 48m 36.2s
10) F. Ashknani/H. Gadanfar
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX + 01hr 55m 50.6s