Al-Attiyah leads pack after second desert stage

Qatar’s Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah found himself alongside Austrian KTM Red Bull Factory team rider Matthias Walkner at the top of the leader board of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, after the second 289.39km Nissan stage of the event through the Rub Al-Khali yesterday.The Toyota driver claimed the fastest time on the day’s stage, held in punishing heat across the mighty dunes of the UAE. Al-Attiyah’s stage win meant he extended his lead over Abu Dhabi Racing’s Sheikh Khalid al-Qassimi to 23min 03sec heading into the night halt at Qasr al Sarab.“Today was a good day for us. It was not an easy stage. The stage is called Nissan. It is very difficult and hard. We just need to take care. To win by a big gap and have a big lead from al-Qassimi is good,” said al-Attiyah.Sam Sunderland’s starting position meant that the overnight leader was hardly going to win the day’s stage and the Dakar champion ceded time to his rivals in the motorcycle category. Husqvarna’s Pierre Alexandre Renet began the day fifth on the road and pressed on to take the stage win from Monster Energy Honda’s Paolo Gonçalves.New overnight leader Walkner was third quickest. “I did not know that I was leading),” said the Austrian after the finish. “Saying that, tomorrow they take the gap back. Hopefully I can finish on the podium. Tomorrow, the guys will take three or six minutes and the lead is changing again. It has been a good two days and I feel more confident riding in the dunes. I get into it and I enjoyed it.”Sunderland said: “You always lose time when you start in front. I opened all the way for nearly 300km (the stage) and only Pablo (Gonçalves) and Matthias physically caught me. Of all the riders here, that meant it was a good day. This race is strange with the strategy, you know. You kind of swap times each day. Tomorrow I start back and it will be the opposite. You just have to take each day as it comes. It’s been really hot the past few days and it’s really unpredictable out there. The bike is good. I am happy. The team have done a great job.”Stage winner Renet was upbeat: “Yes, really happy. Today I start five, so it’s easier for me because I have the line and the tracks. It’s good to have a win at this rally. The heat is really high and, with the sun, you do not see so easy. I guess it is the same for everyone.”Al-Attiyah began the gruelling loop stage with a cushion of 11in 35.1sec over Abu Dhabi Racing’s Sheikh Khalid al-Qassimi and the Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux driver pressed home his advantage from the front for the second day in the cars. Czech driver Martin Prokop produced another useful performance in the Jipocar Ford F-150 Evo to set the fourth quickest time behind Qatar’s Mohammed Abu Issa and the former WRC star leapt into third place in the overall rankings. Russian Vladimir Vasilyev got stuck in the dunes and slipped to fifth.Poland’s Kamil Wisniewski maintained his lead in the quads from a charging group, even though the day’s stage win went to the Dutchman Kees Koolen on a Barren Racer One 690. Wisniewski now leads the class by 5min 42.8sec from Kuwait’s Fahad al-Musallam.“It’s been another very difficult day at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge with heat and fatigue again taking their toll,” said event founder and ATCUAE President Mohammed Ben Sulayem. “It’s pleasing to see the local drivers showing through and using their experience and knowledge of the dunes to carve their path towards good results.” Qatar’s Mohamed Abu Issa fourth overallThe first three days of the 2017 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge are over. After the short Super Special Stage and the first two desert stages Mohamed Abu Issa (QAT) and Xavier Panseri (FRA) hold fourth position in the overall standings, with their MINI ALL4 Racing. In addition, the German pairing Stephan Schott / Andreas Schulz and their MINI ALL4 Racing currently hold sixth place. And there still are another three stages to go.Having finished fourth in the Super Special Stage, Abu Issa had to settle for coming eighth in the first desert stage and consequently had to start into the second stage from seventh position. And now, everything went fine: he and Panseri finished third and gained enough time for leaping up to fourth in the overall standings. “I made a good start in yesterday’s stage and then I passed the two cars that had started before me. But then I had to act as pathfinder and I made a stupid mistake. I got stuck on a camel-grass hill and therefore lost more than 20 minutes. Today, I encountered problems in the early stages as the dunes were difficult and had sharp edges. In the second part we really went for it to finish third, in the end. The MINI is running really well and I’m looking forward to the coming three days.”Schott also started into the ADDC with a top-10 result by finishing ninth in the SSS. He also finished ninth in the first special stage and moved up to eighth in the overall standings. In the second special stage, the German also worked his way up: he finished sixth and now also holds sixth place in the overall standings.The forthcoming three stages mainly feature sand in dunes. On Thursday, the rally ends with the crossing of the finish podium in Abu Dhabi City.Results  & Standings1. Nasser al-Attiyah (QAT)/ Matthieu Baumel (FRA) Toyota Hilux Overdrive 2. Khalid al-Qassimi (ARE)/Khaled Al-Kendi (ARE) Peugeot 3008 DKR    3. Mohammed Abu Issa (QAT)/Xavier Panseri (FRA) Mini All4 Racing 4. Martin Prokop (CZE)/Jan Tomanek (CZE) Ford F-150 Evo  5. Ahmed al-Maqoodi (ARE)/Obaid al-Kitbi (ARE) Polaris RZR 1000Overall standings1. Al-Attiyah/Baumel 2. Al-Qassimi/Al-Kendi3. Prokop/Tomanek4. Abu Issa/Panseri