Motoring: A star has come of age

Khalifa Al Mutawei has added another feather to his cap by winning second place in the recent 2002 Rally Optic 2000 and has joined the ranks of Mohammed Bin Sulayem and Saeed Al Hajri

And in second place, overall, driving a Ralliart Mitsubishi Pajero and in his first-ever 4x4 FIA World Cup Cross Country rally, from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, is Khalifa Al Mutawei, with co-driver Andreas Schwarz!"

The young man from Dubai stepped proudly up to the podium to receive well-deserved applause from the audience at the prize-giving ceremony of the 2002 Rally Optic 2000 – a round of the FIA's World Cup for cross-country rallies.

Never mind the falling rain which dampened the organisers' spectacular evening cultural show, never mind the atrocious weather that had cancelled Leg 5, never mind the tough driving and exhausting schedules – the moment Khalifa had been waiting for had finally arrived.

The small band of Middle East rally drivers who have won world acclaim now have a new member to join Dubai's own Mohammed Bin Sulayem and Qatar's Saeed Al Hajri. Khalifa Al Mutawei is a name to command respect and admiration in the world of cross country rallies and among rallying fans world-wide.

The OPTIC 2000 rally, organised by Cyril Neveu and Jean-Christophe Pelletier's NPO, is among the favourite events of the competitors (both those driving automobiles and those riding motorcycles) in the FIA and FIM World Cups because it is always very well organised. This year was no exception.

The rally started with a spectator Prologue stage just outside Nice in southern France. Then over 800 people associated with the rally – competitors, service crews, organisational staff, officials, media and TV crews, medical personnel and representatives from the sponsors – boarded the overnight ferry for Tunisia.

Special Stage 1 of Leg 1 of the rally in Tunisia was just over 292 kilometres along fast gravel tracks through the mountains and on sand tracks skirting the famous salt lake of Chott (Sabkha) el Djerid.

All the world's leading exponents of cross country rallying were present, including current world champion Jean-Louis Schlesser; Jutta Kleinschmidt (the first lady ever to win the famous Dakar Rally in 2001); Jean-Pierre Fontenay; Stephan Peterhansel; Bruno Saby; Jose-Maria Servia; Thierry Delavergne and Jean-Pierre Strugo. The rally entry of 105 cars and trucks also included several 'showbiz' people including the veteran French rocker Johnny Hallyday.

A formidable array of talent to test Khalifa Al Mutawei in his Victory Team-entered Pajero. Peterhansel started first on this stage by virtue of having won the Prologue stage in Nice.

Khalifa started in 13th place due to FIA seeding requirements despite having finished with the fifth fastest time on the Prologue.

Khalifa clocked the fastest time on that first stage of the OPTIC 2000 rally with a time of 2 hours, 44 minutes and 55 seconds and beat Peterhansel into second place by 9 seconds and Jean-Louis Schlesser into eighth place by 16 minutes!

An amazing start to the rally and a great delight to the Victory Team and Mitsubishi Ralliart. At the end of that first stage Khalifa said: 'Now I understand better. At home in Dubai I thought I did not have the slightest chance with this car. Today I was driving carefully at about 80 per cent of the car's potential. This Pajero is definitely the fastest and best handling rally car I have ever driven. We will now see what the rest of the rally will bring!'

Khalifa is well known in the Middle East for his participation in the Middle East rally championship for several years past and he has earned a reputation as being a fast driver but kind to his vehicle.

That characteristic served him well on the OPTIC 2000 rally in Tunisia. Every day the special stages were long – usually between 300 and 400 kilometres – and tough.

Leg 1 was only the start for Khalifa as each day he finished high up in the results and by the end of Leg 4 he was lying in second place overall behind the rally leader, Stephan Peterhansel. By this time Jean-Louis Schlesser had retired from the rally as had several other top drivers.

The special stage on Leg 4 started and finished in El Borma and was in the shape of a large loop.

It was on this stage that Khalifa's unselfish actions cost him any chance of winning the rally. Jose Maria Servia, driving a Schlesser Buggy, crashed badly and completely wrecked the vehicle which finished on its roof. Servia's co-driver was badly injured.

The next car on the scene was the Pajero of Khalifa and Andy and they immediately stopped to offer first aid and assistance to the injured man, until the medical helicopter arrived.

This delay of nearly 45 minutes certainly cost Khalifa any chance of finishing the rally in first place as Peterhansel was now over an hour ahead of the Dubai driver with only two Legs left to complete.

Every evening in the bivouac, the organisers play video recordings of the day's stage. When the incident of Servia's Buggy was shown and the commentator mentioned how Khalifa and Andy had stayed with the wrecked car for over 40 minutes, there was a huge round of applause from everyone present.

Khalifa's second place overall in the Dubai Victory Team's entry confirmed his future potential in World Cup events and placed him in that small but unique brotherhood of Arab rally drivers with world-wide recognition and success.

After the rally finished, Khalifa was quick to praise his team : 'It's fantastic! This is my first drive in a round of the FIA World Cup and I am the first driver from Dubai to take
part in an overseas event like this and I have finished in the second place! I am really very happy and want to continue in this sort of motorsport.

"I want to thank my team manager, Dominic Serieys and all the mechanics of Ralliart. Thanks too to Andy for his excellent navigation work and to all the media people who have been with us every day.

"A big thank you to my sponsors, the Victory Team of Dubai, and to all the people in Dubai who have wished me well. Finally, I would like to thank my team mates Stephan Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret for their sporting gestures during the event."

To say a Star came of Age during the OPTIC 2000 of 2002 is not an exaggeration. The rally was one of the toughest in recent years of the FIA World Cup due partly to the worst spring weather in Tunisia in living memory and Khalifa's performance was little short of amazing.

Khalifa Al Mutawei has a rare talent and I was privileged to witness it first-hand.