Hamad and Nooh in commanding lead

Dubai: Shaikh Hamad Bin Eid Al Thani and Nooh Bu Humaid drove their Nissan Patrol in a commanding lead at the end of the first leg of the gruelling 1000 Dunes Rally yesterday.

Starting behind overnight leader and defending UAE champion Shaikh Suhail Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, Shaikh Hamad and Bu Humaid got lucky early in the rally after Shaikh Suhail was forced out with a jammed brake.

By the end of the first leg, Shaikh Hamad was leading by nearly four minutes from second placed Raed Baker and Nabeel Ahmadi in their Range Rover.

Sadiq Fadhel and Imad Nabhan, who had started in joint fifth with Baker and Ahmadi overnight, had powered their Toyota Land Cruiser into third.

"We've done well to climb our way into first place," Shaikh Hamad told Gulf News after ending Leg One at the Scouts Camp in Sharjah last night.

Drive safe

The top position did not come easy for the leaders as they struggled through the day with a defective differential. "We are going to attend to the differential first thing now so that we do not give away this early advantage," Shaikh Hamad stated.

"I think we are comfortable at this moment with the lead. Now we need to just drive safe and not take too many risks so that we can consolidate our position by the end of tomorrow," added co-driver Bu Humaid.

Imad Nabhan, co-driver for Fadhel was thrilled at being in second position. "We had a problem with the suspension set-up, but once we got that sorted out there was no stopping us," Nabhan said.

Nabhan is aware that 2003 winner Raed Baker and Nabeel Ahmadi are a mere nine seconds adrift in third. "The strategy now will be to try and increase the gap between us and Raed Baker and see if we can finish in second or in a better position," Nabhan added.

Baker was happy chasing the top two. "We had our fair share of problems, and now it is time to go all out and see how we end," Baker said. Defending UAE champion Shaikh Suhail was disappointed with his performance.

"I am disappointed that we are going to end the year without any success," Shaikh Suhail said. Co-driven by Wael Marjan, Shaikh Suhail was leading by the first stage till the Land Rover brakes got jammed. "I cannot explain how this happened. But this is rallying. We've not had any luck this year," Shaikh Suhail lamented.