Al Attiyah extends rally championship lead

Abu Dhabi: The UAE’s Shaikh Khalid Al Qasimi believes the battle for the FIA Middle East Rally Championship is far from over, despite Qatar’s Nasser Al Attiyah winning the Kuwait International Rally on Saturday to extend his lead in the 2013 regional series.

Producing an immaculate performance in his Ford Fiesta RRC, Al Attiyah finished the second round of the championship 1min 13.9sec ahead of Shaikh Khalid in his Abu Dhabi Citroen Total World Rally Team DS3 RRC.

Qatar’s Abdul Aziz Al Kuwari and Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Al Rajhi took their Ford Fiesta RRCs to third and fourth places.

After winning the last two special stages, Shaikh Khalid now aims to revive his bid for a second Middle East drivers crown when Jordan hosts the third round in May.

“I’m disappointed with the result, but at least we were moving in the right direction at the end,” said Shaikh Khalid on reaching the finish alongside British co-driver Scott Martin.

“We didn’t have enough traction on the first leg and today the suspension was too soft. The car still needs work and there wasn’t enough time to make a difference today, but there’s a long way to go in the championship yet.”

Making his first appearance in Kuwait and competing in only his second ever rally, Mohammad Al Sahlawi edged out Abu Dhabi Racing teammate Mohammad Al Mutawa to win the new two-wheel drive class, which has been introduced into the championship this season.

Al Sahlawi said: “I wanted to push harder today as I’m getting used to the car, but with the other cars kicking up sand it was very difficult to see, so I was just happy to make it to the finish ramp.”