Qatar’s Nasser al-Attiyah regained his lead at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge on Friday, after two his title rivals pulled out of the penultimate stage.While Juan Cruz Yacopini retired before the start of the Stage 4, possible podium finisher Guerlain Chicherit had to halt his campaign due to a medical issue with co-driver Alex Winocq.Chicherit has been battling with Yazeed al-Rajhi for a place in the top 3, while up ahead al-Attiyah won the special by an incredible eight minutes and 21 seconds ahead of al-Rajhi.Seth Quintero had begun the day with a 1:10 secs lead, but he finished the stage in second place, 9:21 secs adrift. Al-Rajhi remained third overall.Martin Prokop, who started in 10th position on Friday morning after getting stuck in the dunes with Denis Krotov on Thursday, has been blasting up the field during the Stage 4, which started in Madinat Zayed and ended in Liwa City after covering a total distance of 457 kilometres, including 308km of specials. The Czech’s stunning drive helped him finish the stage on the podium.Ahead of today’s final stage, al-Attiyah has made a massive stride towards his fourth Desert Challenge victory, his first of the season after retiring in Dakar. Title holder al-Rajhi, another non-finisher in Dakar, will be looking for redemption with a podium.Results (Stage 4)1. Nasser al-Attiyah (QAT) 03:12:212. Yazeed al-Rajhi (SAU) +08:213. Martin Prokop (CZE). +09:53Overall results1. Nasser al-Attiyah (QAT) 13.57.322. Seth Quintero (USA) +09.213. Yazeed al-Rajhi (SAU) +12.07
March 02, 2024 | 01:04 AM