Qatar's Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah and Ulster co-driver Chris Patterson clinched victory in Rally of Oman 2005 to extend their FIA Middle East Rally Championship lead to six points after 14 timed special stages in Oman yesterday.
Shaikh Suhail Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum of the UAE began the second leg in third position in his Subaru Impreza WRX STi and set the fastest time in the eighth stage.
He repeated the feat in SS9 to move ahead of defending champion Shaikh Khalid Al Qasimi in his Power Horse-supported Subaru Impreza WRX STi. Al Maktoum took an 18-second chunk out of Al Attiyah's advantage in one stage alone.
Against the odds and with an engine running on three cylinders, Al Attiyah managed to take the fastest time in the 10th stage, when Al Maktoum damaged his steering, seven kilometres from the finish, and Al Qasimi erred on the side of caution.
Al Qasimi powered back into outright second place in the 11th stage with, reducing Al Attiyah's lead to 1m 59s. Al Attiyah then dramatically beat his rival by four seconds in the penultimate stage to ensure victory.
Top five overall
1. Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah (QA)/Chris Patterson (GB) Subaru Impreza WRX STi 2h 31m 45s
2. Shaikh Khalid Al Qasimi (UAE)/Craig Parry (GB) Subaru Impreza WRX STi 2h 33m 14s
3. Shaikh Suhail Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum (UAE)/Ahmad Al-Ghaziri (UAE) Subaru Impreza WRX STi 2h 33m 15s
4. Shaikh Abdullah Al Qasimi (UAE)/Steve Lancaster (GB) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 8 2h 41m 05s
5. Amjad Farrah (HKJ)/Khalid Zakaria (HKJ) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 7 2h 43m 22s.
