Kuwait International Rally - 28 Feb - 1 Mar 08

SAUDI ARABIA'S YAZEED AL-RAJHI TAKES VICTORY IN KUWAIT'S RALLYING RETURN

Posted: March 20, 2008 3:45 PM

Second place for Qatar's Misfer Al-Marri
Engine failure robs Sheikh Suhail of Kuwait victory

Saudi Arabia's Yazeed Al-Rajhi and British co-driver Steve Lancaster clinched victory in an action-packed 2008 Kuwait International Rally, which was organised by the Kuwait Motor Sports Club and was an official candidate event for inclusion in the 2009 FIA Middle East Rally Championship.

The lead swapped and changed throughout the two days and Sheikh Suhail Bin Khalifa Al-Maktoum, partnered by co-driver Wael Marjan, returned to the driver's seat for the first time in over a year and a half and looked set to clinch a straightforward win until engine problems forced him out on the final desert stage. Qatar's Misfer Al-Marri and Yousef Al-Asmar eventually finished second overall in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.

There were cases of accidental short-cutting and time penalties were imposed on several drivers, including Al-Rajhi and Al-Marri. Both Al-Rajhi and his Qatari rival incurred 10 minutes of penalties, but the Saudi held on to take the win.

The first international rally to be run in Kuwait for 13 years attracted entrants from seven countries, but a fascinating final day tussle developed between Sheikh Suhail and Al-Rajhi. There were a couple of changes to the overnight results when time penalties and time card corrections were established and imposed by rally officials.

Sheikh Suhail Bin Khalifa Al-Maktoum actually began the final day with a two-second lead over Al-Rajhi - initial results had Al-Rajhi ahead by five seconds - and Al-Marri was handed third place, from David Scialom, Eid Falah, Saleh Bin Eidan, Khalid Al-Suwaidi and Mohammed Al-Marri. Bin Eidan dropped eight minutes on the final stage of the leg.

Michel Saleh was unable to repair his Subaru's engine and eight cars started the final seven special stages on Saturday, which consisted of three desert tests repeated twice and a second run through the 3.5km super special stage that had been used on Thursday evening.

Initially it looked as though Al-Rajhi had moved back into the overall lead by setting the pace through the opening 14.07km of the Sulibikhat special, but the Saudi driver was deemed to have taken a short cut and was immediately penalised by 10 minutes, as Al-Marri and Al-Maktoum set the fastest times. The Saudi was legitimately on the pace in the Al Metlaa stage, but the unofficial results showed him to be 6m 47s behind Sheikh Suhail once the penalties had been imposed. Misfer Al-Marri was third and Scialom and Eid Faleh completed the top five, although the Qatari was also given a 10-minute penalty for taking an alleged shortcut.

Kuwait's Saleh Bin Eidan fell by the wayside and was joined by Qatar's Mohammed Al-Marri, who retired with mechanical problems in the 10th stage. Al-Rajhi was comfortably quickest again in this test and reduced Sheikh Suhail's unofficial lead to 6m 33s, as the six surviving cars headed into service.

But drama unfolded after service when Al-Maktoum was forced out with engine problems and the heavily-penalised Misfer Al-Marri found himself in the outright lead. "These long straights are killers for our engines," admitted Sheikh Suhail. Al-Maktoum had been fastest in the Sulibikhat stage to extend his overall lead to 7m 06s and Al-Rajhi had beaten him by 14 seconds in the second run through Al Metlaa, but the engine cried enough in Al Atraff where Al-Marri set the fastest time of the five surviving cars.

Al-Rajhi headed into the final timed super special stage with a 5m 27s overall lead and there were no major dramas, as the Saudi clinched the biggest win of his career.

"I would like to thank everyone who made our return to the international rallying scene possible," said Sheikh Ahmad Al-Dawood Al-Sabah, President of the Kuwait Motor Sports Club (KMSC). "It is now in the hands of the FIA whether we are granted a place in the calendar next season, but our club is delighted to have run this event and put Kuwait back on the international motor sporting calendar."

The candidate event for inclusion in the 2009 FIA Middle East Rally Championship was organised by the Kuwait Motor Sports Club (KMSC) under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, the Prime Minister of the State of Kuwait.

Positions at end of leg 2 (unofficial @ 16.40hrs): 1. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (KSA)/Steve Lancaster (GB) Subaru Impreza WRX 2h 28m 50s
2. Misfer Al-Marri (QA)/Yousef Al-Asmar (UAE) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII 2h 34m 20s
3. David Scialom (GB)/Thomas Matthias (GB) Subaru Impreza WRX 2h 39m 39s
4. Eid Falah (KT)/Khalid Khalifa (KT) Subaru Impreza WRX N10 2h 40m 56s
5. Khalid Al-Suwaidi (QA)/Rashid Al-Sulaiti (QA) Subaru Impreza WRX 2h 55m 45s

Posted: February 26, 2008 7:18 PM

• HOST OF INTERNATIONAL TEAMS SET TO SUPPORT KUWAIT INTERNATIONAL RALLY
• UAE RALLY LEGEND MOHAMMED BEN SULAYEM SET TO DRIVE COURSE OPENING CAR IN KUWAIT RALLY

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26/02/08
HOST OF INTERNATIONAL TEAMS SET TO SUPPORT KUWAIT INTERNATIONAL RALLY
Drivers from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Lebanon, England, Jordan, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have pledged their support for the 2008 Kuwait International Rally, an official FIA sanctioned candidate event for the 2009 FIA Middle East Rally Championship, which takes place between February 28th and March 1st.

The 2008 Kuwait International Rally is being organised by the Kuwait Motor Sports Club (KMSC) and will run under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, the Prime Minister of the State of Kuwait.

As officials at the KMSC put the finishing touches to the route for Kuwait's three-day return to international rallying, entrants are preparing to travel to Kuwait. The event has attracted some of the most popular names in the FIA Middle East Rally Championship, with Qatar sending four of its top drivers to support the rally.

Leading the way will be the recent Qatar Rally runner-up Misfer Al-Marri in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX. The Doha driver will be joined in Kuwait by Khalifa Saleh Al-Attiyah and his French co-driver Matthieu Baumel, who finished third in Qatar last month. Mohammed and Ali Al-Marri will drive a Mitsubishi and Khalid Al-Suwaidi and Rashid Al-Suwaidi complete the four-car Qatari line-up.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be represented by the up and coming Yazeed Al-Rahji and his British co-driver Steve Lancaster. The Saudi could be one of the closest challengers for victory. Lebanon's Michel Saleh intends to use the event to debut his new Subaru Impreza N14, but one of the biggest names on the entry list is Sheikh Suhail Bin Khalifa Al-Maktoum, the championship regular returning to the regional rallying scene after injury and a year-long lay-off.

Sheikh Suhail looks set to drive a Subaru Impreza WRX STi. He has been one of the fastest drivers in the region for many years and enjoyed a fascinating tussle with Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi a couple of years ago.

The international contingent is completed by British chemist David Scialom, the UAE's Mohammed Tamjeed and Jordanian Ammar Hijazi, with Scialom driving a Subaru and the Emirati and the Jordanian wheeling out a pair of Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions. Kuwait will be represented by rally veteran Eid Falah and his co-driver Khalid Khalifa in a Subaru Impreza N10.

Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah, the President of the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation, will be joined in Kuwait by Mishaal Al-Sudairy, the Chairman of the Saudi Motor Sports Committee. Both officials have offered their support to Kuwait's bid to join the 2009 FIA Middle East Rally Championship.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the Chairman of the ATC of the UAE, will already be in Kuwait on course car duties.

"We are delighted that Nasser and Mishaal are joining us in Kuwait and are pleased that so many overseas drivers have pledged their support to the rally," said Sheikh Ahmad Al-Dawood Al-Sabah, president of the Kuwait Motor Sports Club. "We all want to see the ongoing success of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship and it is important that the rally is a success this year and is granted its place in next year's championship calendar."

The event will be based at the Kuwait Shooting Club and competitive action gets underway with a timed super special stage at the Jaber Al Ahmad International Circuit on Thursday, February 28th.

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17/02/08
UAE RALLY LEGEND MOHAMMED BEN SULAYEM SET TO DRIVE COURSE OPENING CAR IN KUWAIT RALLY
The UAE's Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the Arab world's most successful rally star, will drive the official course opening car in the 2008 Kuwait International Rally, an official FIA sanctioned candidate event for the 2009 FIA Middle East Rally Championship, between February 28th and March 1st.

Sulayem has not driven competitively since winning the 2002 Dubai International rally after dominating the sport in the Middle East for 17 years. In that time he secured an unprecedented 14 FIA Middle East Rally Championship titles (1986-1991, 1994 and 1996-2002), scoring 61 individual international rally wins in the process, including 15 in Dubai, 12 in Jordan, nine in Qatar and six in Oman. His record is unlikely ever to be beaten in the highly-competitive modern discipline of Group N rallying. He secured his first regional title in 1986 and his last in 2002.

Born in November 1961, the UAE driver is now the highly-active President of the Automobile and Touring Club for the UAE, the official representative in the Emirates of the FIA and the FIM. He is also the chairman of the organising committee for the UAE Desert Challenge, the final round of the FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup and the FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship.

Sulayem is no stranger to rallying in Kuwait and was a leading contender for outright success back in the 1980s. He won the rally outright in 1985 and repeated the feat against arch Qatari rival Saeed Al Hajri in 1988 and 1989. When the rally was reinstated into the regional calendar after the first Gulf War, Ben Sulayem returned to winning ways to confirm his fourth Kuwait Rally title in 1996.

"Going back to Kuwait will bring back so many good memories for me, especially from the early part of my career," said Sulayem. "Kuwait helped establish international rallying in this region and I would love to see it return to the Middle East Championship."

The 2008 Kuwait International Rally is being organised by the Kuwait Motor Sports Club (KMSC) and will run under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, the Prime Minister of the State of Kuwait.

"We are delighted to welcome Mohammed Ben Sulayem back to Kuwait to run as course car in our new candidate event," said Sheikh Ahmad Al-Dawood Al-Sabah, president of the Kuwait Motor Sports Club. "He has been an ambassador for rallying in the Middle East for many years and his rally successes across the region speak for themselves."

Kuwait's return to the international calendar will be based at the Kuwait Shooting Club and competitive action gets underway with a timed super special stage at the Jaber Al Ahmad International Circuit on Thursday, February 28th.