Abu Dhabi: Emirati rally drivers Majid Al Shamsi, Badr Al Jaberi and Sultan Al Ameri recorded a respective one, two, three finish in their class for Team Abu Dhabi at the Moscato Rally in Italy, last weekend.
The graduates of the Abu Dhabi Junior Driver Development Programme, a grass roots initiative created by Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) now head into the upcoming 2010 Fiesta sport Trophy International (FSTi) asphalt rounds in Germany, Spain and France with boosted confidence.
It is the second double podium finish for Al Shamsi and Al Jaberi since a sterling effort at the Rally de Portugal in June.
Of his most recent success Al Shamsi, who finished 40th overall at Moscato said: "We were able to make the switch from gravel to asphalt whilst still maintaining speed. It was a good result this weekend and it has done us all a lot of good ahead of the tougher European races after the summer."
With this result the winning trio has now laid down the gauntlet to their BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Championship (WRC) seniors, Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala, who travel to the inaugural Rally Bulgaria this weekend.
The Flying Finns, who sit third and fourth in the drivers' table on 76 and 72 points respectively, are currently trying to chase Citroen's WRC leader Sebastien Loeb on 126 points. As a team, BP Ford Abu Dhabi has a 26 point deficit to overturn with seven stages left from a total thirteen, if they are to claim the manufacturer's title.
