Katara to host ceremonial start of Qatar cross-country

Katara, Qatar’s cultural village, will be firmly in the spotlight todayevening when it hosts the ceremonial start of the Manateq QatarCross-Country Rally for the first time from 7:30pm.International motor sporting stars from as far afield as Uruguay andSouth Africa and many parts of Europe will line-up against a strongfield of GCC competitors to tackle five days of demanding off-roadaction in the Qatar deserts. The FIA-sanctioned event will be supported by several riders in an FIMcross-country rally and a strong line-up of Middle East competitorstaking part in the Manateq Qatar Baja.Qatar’s Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah has won all but one of the six QatarCross-Country Rallies that have run since it joined the FIA World Cupcalendar in 2012. The last four victories have been earned with Frenchco-driver Matthieu Baumel and the duo are clear favourites to give thetwo-time Dakar Rally winner a sixth victory on home sand. Success at the finish this Sunday would also mark a third successivetriumph for Overdrive Racing and the V8-engined Toyota Hilux, which isrunning under the colours of Toyota GAZOO Racing South Africa on thisoccasion. Missing two rounds of this year’s series in the UAE could come back tohaunt the Qatari, however, and his absence in both Dubai and Abu Dhabiin March opened the door for Czech driver Martin Prokop and Poland’sJakub Przygonski to bag a fistful of championship points apiece. Prokop, driving a Ford F-150 Evo, currently leads his X-raid MINI rivalby nine points heading into their Qatar showdown. Al-Attiyah is 63points adrift of the series leader.Al-Attiyah said: “Of course, we need to win the 60 points here aftermissing two races. I think we need to win here and in Kazakhstan andthen the gap will be closed. We had a shakedown and two days of testing,500km, and we also test some things because we want to improve fromDakar. This is the first race for this new car. We improve thesuspension side a lot and the power side.” “It’s great that the race will start in Katara. There is sure to be anice atmosphere. Then we will do the Prologue the next day and we willtry to have a good position for the first day in the desert.”Russia’s Vladimir Vasilyev has achieved some consistent stageperformances this season and useful points-scoring finishes in the UAEhave moved the MINI One driver into third in the rankings – 24 pointsbehind Prokop. This quartet should continue the FIA World Cup tussle throughout theseason, although Saudi Arabia’s Yasir Seaidan will be hoping to bounceback from his non-finish in Abu Dhabi and 2009 Dakar winner Giniel deVilliers would love to secure a podium finish on his first visit to theevent in a third Overdrive Toyota. Dutchman Erik van Loon and Poland’sAron Domzala complete the five-car line-up for the Belgian team. Overdrive Racing CEO’s Jean-Marc Fortin said: “Qatar Rally is verydemanding. It’s quite similar to Morocco and everyone likes to go toMorocco to test. It’s a combination of hard surfaces and dunes. Dakarwas a good race, but we were in a bit of a rush before. Now we have moretime to think and prepare. The facilities are good here and you exitthe circuit and you are on the test track. “We have been testing dampers, testing brake pads – new makes – and afew items for the drive train. There is still a lot to do. The car is90% good, but there is still 10% for us to improve in terms ofperformance and quality. Nasser is very fast here and it’s a good thingthat he restarts his programme on his home event. I am happy to see(Martin) Prokop and Kuba (Przygonski) here. It will be an interestingrace.”Saudi Arabia’s Ahmed Shegawi leads Qatar’s Adel Abdulla by a mere sixpoints in the FIA T2 Championship for series production cross-countryvehicles. The Toyota Land Cruiser and Nissan Patrol drivers will continue theirdusty duel through the Qatari deserts. Russia’s Yuliya Migunova-Khegayand Romania’s Laurentiu Claudiu Barbu will also be scrapping for pointsin T2.Spain’s Jose Luis Pena Campo currently holds a one-point lead overFrench veteran Claude Fournier in the T3 category and the two PolarisRZR 1000 drivers will renew their rivalry in Qatar. The dusty and rockydeserts are not ideally suited to the lightweight T3 vehicles and thelikes of Spaniard Santiago Navarro, Russian Ravil Maginov and Italy’sMichele Cinotto will need to err on the side of caution if they are toreach the finish of each of the demanding desert stages.The event has also attracted additional T1 entries from Qatar’s Khalidal-Suwaidi, Oman’s Abdullah al-Zubair, Saudi Arabia’s Khalid al-Feraihiand Spaniard Fernando Alvarez.While Poland’s Maciej Giemza aims for motorcycle glory in the absence ofthe KTM and Honda factory teams, Dutchman Kees Koolen and RussianAlexsandr Maxsimov will be aiming to etch a new name on the list of quadwinners. Several additional motorcycles are running behind the main event in theManateq Qatar Baja. Kuwaiti riders Meshari Abou Shibah and Abdullahal-Shatti face the likes of South Africa’s Michael Anderson, whileMohamed al-Khulaifi and Basem Ali Abuswalleh ride a pair of Yamahas inthe quad section. The entry list is further boosted by an impressive number of GCC crews tackling the Manateq Qatar Baja in the car category. Names at the front of the 18-car field include Mohamed al-Mannai, 1993FIA Middle East rally champion Sheikh Hamed bin Eid al-Thani, AbdulahAl-Rabban, Mohamed al-Meer and al-Attiyah’s cousin Mohamed al-Attiyah. The Saudi duo of Ahmed Shegawi and Khaled al-Feraihi, Qatar’s AdelAbdulla and Oman’s Abdullah al-Zubair are eligible for both theinternational and Baja events.  Competitors will pass through theirmandatory administration and scrutineering checks at the LosailInternational Circuit today morning. Competitive action gets underwaywith a timed super special stage at the Losail International Circuitfrom 4:15pm tomorrow, April 18.