Sharjah: Shaikh Abdullah Al Qasimi and co-driver Gaby Khoury drove themselves into pole position at the end of the Spectator Stage of the Sharjah Rally here on Friday.
Shaikh Abdullah and Khoury were timed at two minutes and 14 seconds in their brand-new Mitsubishi Evo 9 at the specially set up track near Qanat Al Qasba.
At the end of the special stage, the defending champions were a cool ten seconds away from second placed Yahya Al Amri and Ali Mirza in a Subaru Impreza.
In third place, and also in a Subaru Impreza, was the combination of Simon Nutter and Patrick McMurren with a time of 2:26.
David Mabbs and Bryan Lightford were placed fourth in their Mitsubishi Evo with a time of 2:28, while the four Ford Fiseta cars belonging to the Abu Dhabi Tourism-backed Team Abu Dhabi, took the remaining four placings.
The rally was flagged off by Shaikh Marwan Bin Rashid Al Mualla, Chairman of Emirates Motor Sports Federation (EMSF) in the presence of Marwan Al Serkal, CEO of Qanat Al Qasba and Hamad Al Mazrooei, EMSF Vice Chairman.
Coming in as the last contestant in the eight-driver field, Shaikh Abdullah was always in control. "This is a brand new car and I want to see how much we can push it and get the maximum out of it before we go for the Rally of Jordan," Shaikh Abdullah told Gulf News.
Asked about his strategy for the remainder of the rally, Shaikh Abdullah affirmed that he would need to see how much his new vehicle can be pushed.
"We broke the car's drive shaft and it is important for me to see how this car is performing before we turn our attention to tougher battles," he added.
