Salou, Spain: The UAE's Shaikh Khalid Al Qasimi produced his most accomplished FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) performance of the season, BP Ford Abu Dhabi's Emirati driver finishing an impressive seventh in Rally de Espana — the penultimate round of the 2010 season.
Having begun the final leg in 9th, the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) backed Shaikh Khalid held off Ford veteran Henning Solberg to double his season's points haul and jump to 12th in the drivers' standings.
"This rally has gone a long way to building my confidence," Shaikh Khalid beamed at the Salou finish. "After crashing in Finland and Japan, we deserved a good result and this one is right up there with my sixth place finish in Greece last year."
His safety-first approach rewarded, a jubilant Shaikh Khalid added: "We started off cautiously on the alternating surfaces, but our persistence has paid off and we are really pleased to have claimed six drivers' points."
Shaikh Khalid edged Solberg to leapfrog the Norwegian by a mere 0.8 seconds.
Final WRC positions
- 1. S Loeb/D Elena FRA Citroen C4 3hr 32min 59.7sec
- 2. P Solberg/C Patterson NOR Citroen C4 3hr 33min 35.0sec
- 3. D Sordo/D Vallejo ESP Citroen C4 3hr 33min 40.8sec
- 4. J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN Ford Focus RS 3hr 34min 19.2sec
- 5. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus RS 3hr 39min 32.6sec
- 6. M Wilson/S Martin GBR Ford Focus RS 3hr 41min 17.3sec
- 7. K Al Qassimi/M Orr UAE Ford Focus RS 3hr 46min 05.4sec
- 8. H Solberg/S Prévot NOR Ford Fiesta S2000 3hr 46min 10.9sec
- 9. K Block/A Gelsomino USA Ford Focus RS 3hr 49min 00.9sec
- 10 S Ogier/J Ingrassia FRA Citroen C4 3hr 50min 23.8sec
