Cool Khalid battles fire to climb up to 10th

Dubai: Shaikh Khalid Al Qasimi revealed a lot of guts and character as he battled his way to 10th place in the Jordan Rally despite his car catching fire twice and some clutch problems earlier.

The Abu Dhabi Team driver gradually climbed to tenth at the end of eight stages after being placed 14th after the first stage. "This has not been a good day for me, I have had so many problems - engine, launch control, brake issues and the back of my car even caught fire at the end of stage six!" said Shaikh Khalid. "The fire brigade had to put it out and although stage seven went okay, the flames were back at the end of stage eight. It's loose and slippery and as soon as I push for more pace I'm losing traction and it's difficult to control the car," he said.