Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah cruised through the final six gravel special stages of the Manateq Qatar International Rally to seal a convincing victory by the margin of 3min 29.6sec yesterday.
A record-breaking 14th victory in his home event also marked a remarkable 70th MERC victory in the 211-event history of the FIA Middle East Rally Championships since 1984. Al-Attiyah’s French co-driver Matthieu Baumel duly claimed his third win in Qatar and a career 18th in the MERC.
The success also marked the first outright FIA championship rally win for Volkswagen’s Polo GTI R5 that made its debut at the WRC in Spain last October and claimed WRC 2 success in Sweden in February with Norwegian driver Ole Christian Veiby. Customer Polos have already won national events in Belgium, Norway, Sweden and Latvia this year.
Al-Attiyah won each of the 11 special stages. He said: “The first win for the Polo in history in the Middle East. The car and the team were working very well. We learn a lot from this race. It was fun to drive. I get the feeling quickly, like I know the car very well. Now we prepare for Jordan. It’s important that we stay in the Middle East Championship.”
Baumel added: “I have 18 wins but I am not at the level of Nasser (70). The last two years we had problems and we retired here in Qatar. This year, with the new car, we were a little bit scared, but the car was perfect. No punctures also. A small scare with a sensor set-up last night but, I guess, this was because it was a new car. It was a good week.”
Abdulaziz al-Kuwari got to grips with his Skoda Fabia R5 as the event progressed and he and British co-driver Marshall Clarke finished in a comfortable second place.
Al-Kuwari said: “Good rally and we enjoyed a lot. We were safe and clean. This is a good sign that I am driving safe. We need more time in the car in the desert to improve the set-up. Nothing better than second place behind Nasser to help me to continue. I congratulate him for the win.”
Sheikh Hamed bin Eid al-Thani, the 1993 regional champion, claimed his first podium finish at the event since 2010 to give the host nation a first 1-2-3 finish since al-Attiyah’s last home win in 2016.
“I am so happy about the third position. I also thank Dale (Moscatt), my-co-driver. He taught me so much inside the car. This car is like a new toy. It is beautiful. It is fantastic to drive. I just need a little more experience. I also drive a little safe to go to the finish.”
Veteran Nasser Khalifa al-Attiyah managed to stave off a late challenge from Khalid al-Suwaidi to conserve fourth overall in the battle of the two Ford Fiesta R5s.
Kuwait’s Meshari al-Thefiri mixed it with the R5 cars for much of the rally before slipping back to sixth overall after the penultimate stage. The Mitsubishi driver’s consolation was a massive winning margin of 18min 34.1sec in MERC 2.
Italy’s Stefano Marrini was the leading non-Arab driver in seventh overall and a distant second in MERC 2. Qatar’s Rashid al-Mohannadi and Abdulla al-Kuwari were eighth and ninth and Oman’s Abdullah al-Ruwahi rounded off the top 10.
Defending MERC 3 champion Henry Kahy got the defence of his title off to the perfect start with 11th overall and first in the two-wheel drive category. Jordan’s Asem Aref closed off the FIA finishers in 12th.
Jarah al-Touqi began the last day with a 17min 26.1sec lead in the Manateq Qatar National Rally and finished with a winning margin of 20min 03.4sec. Hamid al-Qasimi was on a charge over the final day and managed to pass Zakariyah al-Amri to take second place before retiring on the last stage.
Oman-based Briton Shaun McGonigal failed to restart from third after his Subaru sustained suspension bush damage after a puncture on the fifth stage.
Action resumes in the regional series in Jordan at the end of April.
Manateq Qatar
International Rally
positions after SS11
1. Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah (QAT)/Matthieu Baumel (FRA) Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 1hr 56min 18.8sec
2. Abdulaziz al-Kuwari (QAT)/Marshall Clarke (GBR) Skoda Fabia R5 1hr 59min 48.4sec
3. Hamed bin Eid al-Thani (QAT)/Dale Moscatt (AUS) Ford Fiesta R5 2hrs 07min 22.4sec
4. Nasser Khalifa al-Attiyah (QAT)/Nicola Arena (ITA) Ford Fiesta R5 2hrs 08min 58.5sec
5. Khalid al-Suwaidi (QAT)/Adel Abdulla (QAT) Ford Fiesta R5 2hrs 09min 48.6sec
6. Meshari al-Thefiri (KWT)/Nasser al-Kuwari (QAT) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X (MERC 2) 2hrs 10min 47.5sec
7. Stefano Marrini (ITA)/Nicolas Garcia (ARG) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X (MERC 2) 2hrs 29min 21.6sec
8. Rashid al-Mohannadi (QAT)/Yousef Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X (MERC 2) 2hrs 34min 12.6sec
9. Abdulla al-Kuwari (QAT)/Hugo Magalhaes (POR) Subaru Impreza (MERC 2) 2hrs 35min 25.0sec
10. Abdullah al-Ruwahi (OMN)/Ata Hmoud (JOR) Subaru Impreza (MERC 2) 2hrs 51min 04.1sec
11. Henry Kahy (LEB)/Musa Djiyerian (JOR) Skoda Fabia (MERC 3) 2hrs 53min 19.2sec
12. Asem Aref (JOR)/Faris al-Tal (JOR) Renault Clio (MERC 3) 3hrs 35min 07.6sec
Manateq Qatar
National Rally
positions after SS11
1. Jarah al-Touqi (OMN)/Issa al-Wardi (OMN) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII 2hrs 38min 22.3sec
2. Zakariyah al-Amri (OMN)/Abdullah al-Amri (OMN) Subaru Impreza 2hrs 58min 25.7sec
2019 FIA Middle East Rally Championship standings
1. Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah (QAT) 39pts
2. Abdulaziz al-Kuwari (QAT) 30
3. Sheikh Hamed bin Eid al-Thani (QAT) 24
4. Nasser Khalifa al-Attiyah (QAT) 19
5. Khalid al-Suwaidi (QAT) 16
6. Meshari al-Thefiri (KWT) 14
7. Stefano Marrini (ITA) 7
8. Rashid al-Mohannadi (QAT) 4
9. Abdulla al-Kuwari (QAT) 3
10. Abdullah al-Ruwahi (OMN) 1
Qatar’s Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah and his French co-driver Matthieu Baumel celebrate with their trophies on the podium after winning the Manateq Qatar International Rally yesterday.
