Abu Dhabi: There was to be no fairytale homecoming for the UAE's Khalifa Al Mutaiwe'e as veteran rally driver Jean-Louis Schlesser wrapped up a historic sixth Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge title by winning Friday's final leg.
Schlesser's win means he now holds more Desert Challenge titles than any other driver.
Nevertheless, after more than 20 hours of gruelling competition across the demanding terrain of the Western Region of Al Gharbia, the Frenchman was only able to sew up victory when Al Mutaiwe'e's Mini All4 Racing car experienced problems with its fan on the final day.
Partnered by co-driver Konstantin Zhilstov from Russia in his Sonangol Buggy, Schlesser proved that there is no substitute for experience in the world's ultimate desert rally as he recorded a winning margin of 1h 37m 19s in round two of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies.
"This is such a good win as there are so many big teams and strong competitors taking part this year," said Schlesser, who completed the rally in 21 hours 39 minutes and 16 seconds. "The important thing is not how you start, but how you finish, and today was good. It's always great to get onto the podium."
Despite the final day problems, Al Mutaiwe'e and co-driver Andreas Schulz enjoyed an impressive return to one of the world's toughest rallies. Racing for Team X-Raid, the 2004 FIA World Champion finished 46 minutes ahead of another Frenchman, Patrick Sireyjol, in third place.
There was better news for Al Mutaiwe'e's fellow Emirate Obaid Al Kitbe, however, as he rounded off a superb five days in the quad bike category by clinching the title in emphatic fashion - his second victory in the Middle East's number one rally.
The bike category, meanwhile, was won for a fourth successive year and a sixth time overall by Spaniard Marc Coma. He safely negotiated the final 287km leg to finish 9min 33sec ahead of compatriot Joan Barreda-Bort with an overall time of 20h 33m 35s.
For Umm Al Quwain resident Al Kitbe, the final day wasn't all plain sailing, although he eventually finished just over two hours ahead of his nearest rival with an overall time of 22h 37m 04s. Al Kitbe's achievements included victories in two of the race's five categories, emphasising the quality of his performance up against many of the world's leading quad bikers.
"I am so happy to have won in my home country," he said. "Today was hard. I hit a big rock and suffered a flat tyre just before the first service point. A lot of quads passed me, but I changed it, got going and managed to overtake them again.
"This race really is a challenge - a great challenge, especially when you race on your own. Just finishing this alone has made me so happy," the Team Gecko, Honda TRX 700 rider added.
A careful final leg by Poland's Lukas Laskawiec on his Yamaha Raptor 700 sealed second place overall, while Camelia Liparoti from Italy sealed her second consecutive podium position in the Desert Challenge by finishing third, ahead of another female entrant, Andrea Mayer of Germany.
The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge is held under the under the patronage of HH Shaikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Ruler's Representative in the Western Region. Its supporters include the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority, Nissan, ADNOC and Abu Dhabi Aviation.
