Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah and Candido Carrera carded a time of 4min 46.9sec to edge into a 4.1-second lead after the opening 4.36km super special stage of the Qatar International Rally last night.
The timed test at the LCSC Karting Academy followed the official start ceremony for the second round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) at Lusail Boulevard, north of Doha.
Shortly after the pre-event press conference for 10 of the leading drivers that was chaired by Amro al-Hamed, Executive Director of the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF), the QMMF’s President Abdulrahman al-Mannai was joined on the podium by several legends of former Qatar rallies.
To mark the 50-year history since its inauguration in 1975, al-Mannai presented a framed photograph to six-time winner and Qatari rallying legend Saeed al-Hajri, Sadoon al-Kuwari (a former local driver, organiser and father of Abdulaziz and Nasser al-Kuwari) and regular former competitor Jaber al-Marri.
The 1993 winner, current competitor and former QMMF president Nasser Khalifa al-Atya and Prodrive’s Chairman David Richards – the brainchild behind the formation of the Rothmans Rally Team in the early 1980s, the first Gulf Championship and the very start of the MERC – also received framed photographs on the start podium.
Twenty-eight teams and competitors from 19 countries then took the start and headed to Lusail for the opening stage. Abdullah al-Rawahi and Ata al-Hmoud finished second and Abdulaziz al-Kuwari and Lorcan Moore were third. Mads Østberg and Sergiu Itu were the quickest crew in the stage but were docked 10 seconds for clipping a couple of cones and slipped to fourth.
Speaking about the two days of desert action ahead, al-Attiyah said: “The stages are the same as last year with just a few kilometres changed and the same starts and same finishes. The team have done a good job. There have been big steps forward. There are some rough places, of course, this is Qatar. The rally is always like this. That is part of the challenge. The weekend will be very interesting. It is nice we have the 50th anniversary of the event. I did the rally in 1990, 1991 and 1993 and then every time since 2003. This is my 25th Qatar Rally!”
Saudi driver Rakan al-Rashed is competing in Qatar for the first time with the 2017 event-winning co-driver Hugo Magalhaes.
He finished fifth on the opening test in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2. Ahmad Khaled is chasing MERC2 honours this season and is keen to bounce back after retiring his Mitsubishi in Oman two weeks ago. The Lebanese finished ninth on the opening stage.
Qatar Motorsport Academy Stars Programme winners, Mohammed al-Marri and Saad al-Harqan, both safely negotiated their first ever competitive stage in their Peugeot 208 Rally4s. Today crews head north of Lusail to tackle two loops of three special stages. Action begins at 8.53km with a run through the Waab Al-Mashrab stage and passes through Al Waab (9.20am) and Al Khor (10am) complete a rapid-fire morning loop before the return to Lusail for a late morning regroup and service.
The re-run of Waab Al-Mashrab gets the afternoon action underway at 12:43pm and the other two stages are repeated at 13:10pm and 13:50pm.

Top 10 Positions after SS1
1. Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah (QAT)/Candido Carrera (ESP) Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2; Time: 4min 46.9sec
2. Abdullah al-Rawahi (OMA)/Ata al-Hmoud (JOR) Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2; 4min 51.0sec
3. Abdulaziz al-Kuwari (QAT)/Lorcan Moore (IRL) Citroen C3 Rally 2; 4min 51.7sec
4. Mads Ostberg (NOR)/Sergiu Itu (ROU) Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2; 4min 51.8sec*
5. Rakan al-Rashed (KSA)/Hugo Magalhaes (POR) Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2; 5min 3.7sec
6. Nasser Khalifa al-Attiyah (QAT)/Ziad Chehab (LBN) Ford Fiesta Mk II Rally 2; 5min 04.7sec
7. Christiano Gabbarrini (ITA)/Alessandro Forni (ITA) Subaru Impreza WRX STi; 5min 07.7sec*
8. Simone Temeroli (SMR)/Davide Simoncini (SMR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX; 5min 07.7sec*
9. Ahmad Khaled (LBN)/Samer Sfeir (LBN) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X; 5min 09.3sec
10. Zakariya al-Aamri (OMA)/Mohammed al-Mazroui (OMA) Subaru Impreza N14; 5min 13.7sec
*denotes not registered for the MERC