Fresh from a remarkable run of international successes, Qatar’s Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah will headline this weekend’s Qatar International Rally, the second round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship organised by the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF).
Eight drivers, including championship leader and home hero al-Attiyah and former champion Abdullah al-Rawahi, joined QMMF’s Executive Director Amro al-Hamad at the pre-event press conference at the Lusail International Circuit Tuesday.
Qatar’s veteran racer Nasser Khalifa al-Atya, Mohammed al-Marri and Rashid al-Mohannadi, Jordan’s current FIA MERC2 leader Shaker Jweihan, his Kuwaiti rival Jassim al-Muqahwi and Saudi Arabia’s young Hamza Bakhashab were also in attendance.
QMMF President Abdulrahman al-Mannai was then called forward at the conclusion of the press conference to present a cake to al-Attiyah on behalf of the QMMF to celebrate the Qatari’s recent sixth success in the Dakar Rally.
Should the multiple regional champion achieve glory this weekend, it will be his fourth international win in as many weeks to follow on from the Dakar success, victory in the opening round of this championship in Oman and a triumph at last weekend’s Saudi Baja, round one of the FIA World Baja Cup.
Al-Attiyah spent much of the morning in the service park at Lusail with his Autotek team discussing the car set-up, a new livery for his Skoda and in-car camera fitment. Upbeat after winning last weekend’s Saudi Baja, the Qatari said: “It has been a fantastic start to the year. We’ve had three very good performances - Dakar, Oman and Saudi Baja - and we are leading three different championships. Now it’s my home event in Qatar.
“We will miss some top European drivers coming here this year, but we need to focus and manage with the drivers from the Middle East. We will try to win this race. We will check out the new stages on Wednesday. It’s really good this year that we have a compact rally. Sometimes we lost a lot of time travelling to Lusail or the Corniche for the start or the finish. Now, at Lusail, we have the start here, the podium, the service park and a Qualifying Stage and no super special. We really pushed for the Qualifying Stage from a long time. It will be really nice. Now you can choose your start position to an extent. The Shakedown is also very important now.”
Oman’s al-Rawahi finished second at the opening round in his home nation less than two weeks ago and is upbeat about his chances this weekend. He said: “I am happy to be here. I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it. We are trying our best to do all the championship. With the budget it is quite tough. I think we are better prepared this time with the set-up. It’s going to be fast but we are getting closer and closer to Nasser every year. We are always aiming to get the podium. We are going to push from the beginning and see what we can do.”
Young Qatari Mohammed al-Marri has made the transition to a Rally2 car this weekend after engine issues put a damper on his progress in Oman last month. Al-Marri said: “We had a disappointment in Oman after a strong start. We lost the engine but now we want to come back stronger and here I will drive a Citroen in Rally2. It’s a new beginning. I will be trying to compete with the guys at the same time as learning the car. We tested already and are getting better and better every time. It’s one of the best cars in Rally2. Hopefully, we can achieve a good result.”
Wednesday the crews will carry their reconnaissance of the special stages in the north of Qatar, while scrutineering checks are carried out on the race vehicles at the Lusail International Circuit.
