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| Nasser al-Attiyah (R) celebrates with co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini after winning the FIA Middle East Rally Championship in Dubai yesterday |
Qatar’s Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah stamped his authority on the 33rd Dubai International Rally yesterday with a stunning second leg display which saw him win the event, and the FIA Middle East Rally Championship, for the seventh time.
A breathtaking surge by the dashing Qatari in his Ford Fiesta S2000 saw him set the fastest times on each of the day’s six special stages to end Rashid al- Ketbi’s brave bid for a home victory over UAE National Day weekend.
Overnight leader al- Ketbi produced another immaculate drive in his Skoda Fabia S2000, but was ultimately powerless to prevent al- Attiyah from successfully defending his Dubai Rally title as he fought back from a difficult first leg which he had finished in fourth spot, 46.9 seconds off the lead.
He reached the finish holding a winning margin of 37.7 seconds from al- Ketbi, with another UAE driver, Sheikh Abdullah al- Qassimi, just nine seconds further away in third place. Driving another Ford Fiesta S2000, al-Qassimi had also given everything in an effort to produce an Emirati winner to mark his country’s 40th Anniversary celebrations.
Completing a wonderful international rallying comeback, six years after retiring from the sport, Oman’s Hamed al- Wahaibi took his Group N Mitsubishi Evo X to fourth place ahead of five-times Turkish ladies rally champion, Burcu Cetinkaya, who was competing in her first Dubai Rally.
Partnered by Cicek Guney, the nine-times Turkish snowboard champion, Cetinkaya now plans to contest next year’s FIA Middle East series, and this is certainly a combination worth watching.
The top six was completed by Kuwait’s Mshari al-Thefiri in another Mitisubishi Evo X.
Celebrating with his Italian co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini, at the finish, against a stunning backdrop provided by the Burj Khalifa, al- Attiyah said: “It’s a really great feeling to win the rally, and the championship, and I’m very happy. Rashid and Abdullah did a good job and the pace was very high. Now I start planning for next year.”
Saying at the start of the second leg that he had “only one aim”, al- Attiyah underlined that point in the most emphatic style, winning each of the day’s first three stages to close to within 0.7 seconds of al- Ketbi by the time the cars reached the service regrouping.
He took the lead on the next stage and gradually pulled away to complete a perfect year, which had begun so impressively with his brilliant victory in the Dakar Rally back in January, after a series of agonising setbacks in the event.