By Sports Reporter/Doha
Qatar rally ace Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah made history yesterday when he won the first ever Iranian round of the Middle East Rally Championship.
The Dakar Rally champion thus maintained his 100 per cent record in the series this season and looks set for his 11th MERC title later this year
Driving a Ford Fiesta, the Qatari moved further clear in the MERC standings after winning eight of 11 stages on the Shiraz Rally in Iran. The event wasn’t as straightforward as he would have liked, however, with early problems forcing the defending champion to fight back for a third straight MERC win.
His 57th Middle East win leaves him just three short of Mohamed bin Sulayem’s record of 60 championship wins – although he still trails the UAE star by 14 MERC titles to 10.
Al-Attiyah won by 27 seconds from compatriot Abdulaziz al-Kuwari, also in a Fiesta RRC.
Citroen’s Sheikh Khalid al-Qassimi was third of the seven finishers in his DS 3 RRC.
“It was a tough race and I am glad that I could win the first MERC event in Iran,” al-Attiyah said.
“Abdulaziz pushed me hard. It was a close race,” he added.
UAE’s Sheikh Khalid and co-driver Chris Patterson maintained their overnight third position at the end of the two-day event after pushing hard to try and improve their position in very testing conditions.
However, Sheikh Khalid’s challenge for a better position was curtailed after three stages (SS8, 12 and 14) were cancelled following heavy rains the previous day that rendered the route undriveable and deemed unsafe for racing.
Nevertheless, Sheikh Khalid said: “It is unfortunate, but because of circumstances that were beyond anyone’s control three stages had to be cancelled and an already short rally was cut short further. So, given the circumstances, we are happy with where we finished.”
Sheikh Khalid will next race at the FIA World Rally Championship in Portugal from May 21-24 behind the wheel of Citroen’s updated second phase DS3 WRC car.
