Qatar - 21-23 Jan 10

AL-ATTIYAH/BERNACCHINI TAKE DRAMATIC VICTORY IN THRILLING QTEL QATAR INTERNATIONAL RALLY

Posted: January 24, 2010 9:17 PM

Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah and Italian co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini overcame a potentially costly puncture on the ninth special stage to clinch an eighth successive victory in the Qtel Qatar International Rally and take the early season initiative in the FIA Middle East Rally Championship.

Al-Attiyah pedalled the new Ford Fiesta S2000 to an impressive debut victory over 14 demanding gravel stages in the Qatar desert, but the crew were pressed all the way by the UAE’s Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi and Ulster co-driver Michael Orr in a similar car.

Both teams overcame niggling pre-rally teething problems to usher in a new era of S2000 rallying in the Middle East, but a series of punctures cost Al-Qassimi his deserved finish on the penultimate stage and duly confirmed Al-Attiyah’s 35th MERC win by the flattering margin of 6m 26s.

“It has been three weeks of highs and lows with the second place on the Dakar and now this fantastic victory in Qatar,” said Al-Attiyah. “I knew it would not be easy today. It was impossible to push hard. It was a matter of making no mistakes and hoping you did not lose too much time with tyre problems. I have a busy programme this year and will not be able to take part in all the Middle East rallies, so it was important that I got the 10 points here.”

The UAE’s Rashid Al-Ketbi and Khaled Kendi held third position for long periods in their Skoda Fabia S2000, but a serious gearbox oil leak sidelined the Czech-built car on SS12 and the Qatar Rally Team’s Misfer Al-Marri and Nicola Arena were able to benefit and ultimately claim second position in a Subaru Impreza. They had also lost over five minutes with a puncture on the last stage of day one.

A jubilant Sheikh Hamed Bin Eid Al-Thani benefited from all the carnage around him to seal a stunning third overall and record his best finish on an MERC rally since the early 1990s. The remainder of the top six had an unlikely look to it: Team Abu Dhabi’s Ahmed Al-Mansoori and Majed Al-Shamsi achieved career-best finishes of fourth and fifth overall, but neither drivers is registered for Middle East championship points. Britain’s David Scialom avoided most of the trouble to claim sixth position in his Subaru Impreza.

Jordanian Amjad Farrah had his own fair share of mechanical problems and punctures. He finished seventh and was the fourth championship-registered finisher. Qatar’s Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari and French co-driver Denis Giraudet claimed eighth, while Kuwait’s Mufeed Mubarak and Essam Al-Nejadi completed the top 10.

Day one – as it happened
Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and Khalid Al-Qassimi made the start by the skin of their teeth. Al-Attiyah had been able to cross the ceremonial start podium in his car on Thursday afternoon in Doha, but both of the new Ford Fiesta S2000s had been plagued with a niggling engine sensor problem. A Ford engineer flew into Qatar from the Monte Carlo Rally in the early hours of Friday morning and joined an M-Sport technician from the UK. They worked until just before dawn to ensure that both Fords were repaired and capable of reaching Al-Wakra.

The outcome of the first Nabat Lusail stage was critical and Al-Attiyah struck the first psychological blow - but only just. He beat Al-Qassimi by a mere 1.9s, as the pair crushed Al-Marri by over 40 seconds and Al-Ketbi by half a minute. Al-Rajhi punctured, lost 47s and slipped to fifth, but the Jordanian ladies’ team of Amanai Abu Al-Huda and Mirvay Bustami retired near the start start with mechanical issues.

This was a superb statement of intent for the new Fiestas and the duo were again quickest through SS2, with Al-Attiyah edging into a 6.5s lead over Al-Qassimi, with Al-Ketbi and Al-Marri in third and fourth. “It has been a good start, but I am still getting used to the gear shift and being in the best gear,” said Al-Qassimi. “In the softer stuff you feel the car crying out for another gear and that is costing me time. I just need to get used to everything.”

Jordan’s miserable day continued: Ammar Hijazi withdrew at the service point with engine problems and Amjad Farrah struggled with a misfiring engine, as Al-Attiyah extended his lead to 10.6s through the third Al-Waker stage and reached the second service after four stages with a 32s advantage over Al-Qassimi.

The main challenge to the leading Fords was coming off the rails: Yazeed Al-Rajhi crash-landed out of contention 400 metres from the end of the fourth stage and the Qatar Rally Team duo of Khalid Al-Suwaidi and Mubarak Al-Hajri stopped in the same special with mechanical issues. Front end and oil cooler damage to Al-Rajhi’s Peugeot prevented his Kronos Racing Team from repairing the car in time for SupeRally on Saturday. Eight of the 32 starters had already fallen by the wayside.

Al-Qassimi suffered a flat tyre and Attiyah added three seconds to his lead on the second run through Naber Lusail. Both Fords continued to pull away from the rest of the field and Al-Qassimi was quickest through SS6 to reduce the defending champion’s overall lead to 33.5s.

The Emirati was getting used to his Fiesta and beat Al-Attiyah by 6.4s through SS7 and headed to the last stage of the day a mere 27.1s behind the Qatari. But Al-Attiyah upped his pace a little in SS8 and reached the overnight halt with a 32.6-second overall lead. Turbocharger problems cost Lebanon’s Michel Saleh his eighth place on the last stage and Jordanian Ajmad Farrah was also badly delayed.

Day two – as it happened
Twenty-five of the original 32 starters were granted permission to start day two, including seven cars running under SupeRally. Of those, Michel Saleh and Amjad Farrah were reinstated in the top 12 after their eighth stage problems and Qatar’s Jaber Al-Marri moved back into his rightful sixth position once a timing error has been corrected on Friday evening.

Al-Attiyah set out into the 25km Al-Wakrah stage with a 32.6s advantage over Al-Qassimi. Al-Ketbi was a distant third and an eighth stage puncture had pushed Al-Marri behind Abdullah Al-Qassimi into fifth position. But the battle for the overall lead was thrown upside down through the treacherous Al-Wakrah stage when Al-Attiyah stopped for over three minutes with a puncture and Al-Qassimi coasted though to take the stage win and an outright lead of 2m 49.1s.

Jaralla Al-Marri’s brave run also ended with mechanical problems, Al-Ketbi lost his chance to overtake Al-Attiyah for second position when he punctured and Jaber Al-Marri also suffered a flat tyre and damaged his rear bumper on the rocky surface.

Al-Attiyah could not afford to hold back through the 10th stage and ran the risk of punctures trying to reduce Al-Qassimi’s overall lead. But Al-Qassimi also sustained a flat tyre on SS10 and the flailing tyre and damage broke the caliper and the disc. He finished the stage with three brakes and had to survive the 11th stage with limited stopping power before returning to service.

Team Abu Dhabi’s rally manager Ron Cremen confirmed that neither his team nor Ken Skidmore’s operation, who are running Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah, had the spare parts needed in Qatar to fully repair the Ford Fiesta S2000 and Al-Qassimi was running on a wing and a prayer through SS11.

Somehow the Emirati managed to keep going and recorded the fastest time in the Al-Negian stage when Al-Attiyah dropped 15.6s. Al-Qassimi headed into service at Al-Wakra with a 59.8s overall lead. Al-Ketbi held third and Al-Marri moved up to fourth when Abdullah Al-Qassimi hit trouble. Saudi Arabia’s Ahmed Al-Sabban and Qatar’s Jaber Al-Marri and Abdullah Al-Rabban all retired before the end of the first loop and Sheikh Hamed Bin Eid Al-Thani found himself up in fifth position of the 19 surviving cars.

The final runs through the three deteriorating stages promised to be fascinating and lady luck was shining on Al-Attiyah after last week’s Dakar Rally disappointment. Al-Qassimi’s mechanics had blocked off his offending brake line in service, but he was forced to stop and change a puncture that took just over four minutes and the Qatari regained a 3m 05s lead heading into the final two stages. Al-Ketbi stopped on the road section after the stage with oil leaking from the gearbox and Al-Marri was promoted to third.

But the broken stage surface eventually claimed Michel Saleh and Al-Qassimi and ended the fight for the overall win. The Emirati was carrying two spare tyres after the service, but he punctured again on two occasions in unlucky SS13 and was unable to continue without a third spare wheel. His demise handed second position to Al-Marri and ensured that Al-Attiyah began the final stage with an overall lead of 10m 21s. “There was no way that stage should have been run again,” reflected a disappointed Al-Qassimi.

There were no late dramas for Al-Attiyah and he held on to take a convincing victory, with Al-Marri and Al-Thani completing unlikely Qatar 1-2-3 finishes on the sun-drenched Corniche in Doha. Team Abu Dhabi’s Bader Al-Jabri was not so fortunate and a drive shaft failed on his Fiesta through the 13th stage and he hobbled out of the rally within sight of the finish.

RESULTS

Posted: January 24, 2010 9:15 PM

1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QA)/Giovanni Bernacchini (I) Ford Fiesta S2000              1h 12m 21.8s
2. Khalid Al-Qassimi (UAE)/Michael Orr (GB) Ford Fiesta S2000                                       1h 12m 54.4s
3. Rashid Al-Ketbi (UAE)/Khalid Al-Kendi (UAE) Skoda Fabia S2000                            1h 15m 33.0s
4. Abdullah Al-Qassimi (UAE)/Steve Lancaster (GB) Subaru Impreza                                   1h 19m 48.9s
5. Misfer Al-Marri (QA)/Nicola Arena (I) Subaru Impreza                                                           1h 21m 59.7s
6. Jaralla Al-Marri (QA/Jamal Fakhroo (QR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX                 1h 24m 53.5s
7. Sheikh Hamed bin Eid Al-Thani (QA)/Yousef Mohammed (QA) Subaru Impreza            1h 25m 59.2s
8. Mufeed Mubarak (KT)/Meshal Al-Nejadi (KT) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X                  1h 27m 54.1s
9. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QA)/Denis Giraudet (F) Subaru Impreza                                               1h 28m 23.6s
10. Ahmed Al-Mansoori (UAE)/Killian Duffy (IRL) Subaru Impreza                                               1h 29m 01.9s

Full Results Middle East Rally Championship (FIA)

Posted: January 22, 2010 4:56 PM

Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah’s new Ford Fiesta S2000, pictured during scrutineering checks at the QMMF on Thursday morning.

Opening Ceremony
Technical problems mar new Ford Fiesta S2000 pre-rally preparations

Posted: January 21, 2010 2:50 PM

Thirty-two of the Middle East’s top rally drivers are competing in the Qtel Qatar International Rally and were flagged away from the Doha Corniche start ramp on Thursday afternoon by Mohammed Ben Sulayem, FIA Vice-President for Sport and a nine-time former winner of the Qatar International Rally.  

The Emirati was joined by Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah, President of the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF), as the opening ceremony for the first round of the 2010 FIA Middle East Rally Championship kick-started a new season of rallying in the Middle East.  

Ben Sulayem later chaired a meeting of senior Middle Eastern officials and organisers in Doha, with a view to strengthening the region’s foothold in world motor sport.  

With the exception of Qatar’s Khalifa Saleh Al-Attiyah and Jordan’s Faris Bustami, every driver on the original entry list reached the official start, but there were a series of late scares for Ford factory driver Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi and Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah in the new Ford Fiesta S2000s.  

The situation was far from ideal for the 2004 regional champion’s preparations for the new season. The UAE driver’s Ford Fiesta S2000 had only been finished in the UK days before Thursday’s scrutineering slot at the QMMF and it developed a serious problem at the beginning of an unofficial shakedown in the Qatar desert on Wednesday afternoon. The cause of the fault took team mechanics and engineers around two hours to discover and a niggling minor sensor problem was discovered. A new part was duly sourced from Dubai.

  The team later discovered a wiring fault on the new car and faced a race against time to get Khalid up and running before the ceremonial start. “I suppose these things happen with new cars,” said Al-Qassimi. “Better to have the problem before the rally than on the first stage.”  

New Ford Fiestas had been plagued with minor homologation and technical issues in Monte Carlo earlier this week, where they are also competing in a round of the IRC, and team management looking after both Al-Qassimi’s and Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah’s cars were forced to heed new technical advice in advance of scrutineering for the Qtel Qatar International Rally on Thursday.  

“I managed to spend half an hour or so behind the wheel of the new car yesterday and I was impressed,” said Al-Attiyah. “We have had a couple of teething problems today but that is to be expected with a new project. I wanted to use the Ford in the Middle East, because this is the car I will be using in the WRC and I wanted to unify the programmes. This rally will not be easy, but I will try my best.”  

Earlier in the day, several leading drivers had joined Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah for the official pre-event press conference at the QMMF. “We are proud to host the first round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship and look forward to running what we hope will be a safe and successful rally,” said Al-Attiyah.  

The QMMF President also took the opportunity to present Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah with a laurel wreath for his fine second place finish on last week’s Dakar Rally in South America and he too was presented with an award by Abou Obeda Mubarak El-Haj, general director of the visiting Sudan Automobile & Touring Club, for his support for the up-and-coming African federation.  

Tomorrow (Friday) crews will tackle eight brand new desert special stages to the south of Doha. The service and administrative action will shift to the Al-Wakra stadium, which will host the service park and regroupings during the course of the two-day rally.  

Top seed Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah, who will be chasing his 35th MERC victory, will give the new Ford Fiesta S2000 its first competitive through the 19.22km Nabat Lusail stage at 09.03hrs and then tackle a special at Umm Al-Hal. Crews will then return to Al-Wakra for service before running through the Al-Waker and QMMF-backed third and fourth stages from 10.51hrs and 11.09hrs.  

Nabat Lusail and Umm Al-Hal are repeated at 13.02hrs and 13.35hrs and day one draws to a close with second passes through Al-Waker and the QMMF stage at 14.50hrs and 15.08hrs. The first car is due into parc fermé at 17.00hrs.  

Preview

Posted: January 20, 2010 1:13 PM

Defending FIA Middle East rally champion Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and Italian co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini will lead a 33-car field over the start podium of the Qtel Qatar International Rally on Doha’s picturesque Corniche on Thursday afternoon at 3.30pm.

  The revised two-day, all-desert, special stage rally will kick-start another season of FIA Middle East Rally Championship action, with competitors from the GCC and as far afield as Australia, the UK, Ireland, Italy and France blazing a dusty and rocky trail between the opening Qatar round and the final event in the UAE in December. Other rallies will take place in Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria and Cyprus.  

Al-Attiyah is chasing an eighth Qatar Rally win in as many years, having equalled Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s seven successive wins in Jordan (1996 to 2002) last year, although the Emirati still holds the record after his unrivalled record in the Dubai Rally.  

The UAE’s Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi and Rashid Al-Ketbi and Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Al-Rajhi line-up against the Qatari in a trio of potent S2000 cars, but the more established Group N entry is strong as well and co-drivers from Australia, Italy, Ireland, the UK and France add that extra international flavour to the entry.

  The Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) is supporting a trio of Subaru Imprezas under the Qatar Rally Team banner for last year’s championship runner-up Misfer Al-Marri, Khalid Al-Suwaidi and Mubarak Al-Hajri. All three are more than capable of achieving a podium finish and Al-Marri will make his first appearance alongside new Italian co-driver Nicola Arena. “I really want to start the year with a good finish and points in the championship,” insisted Al-Marri. “I want to go one better this year!”  

But the main competition is not restricted merely to Qatari drivers. The UAE’s Sheikh Abdullah Al-Qassimi is a former showroom class champion and MERC runner-up and he and British co-driver Steve Lancaster will be hoping to get the new season off to a useful start in their Subaru.  

Veteran Michel Saleh has more experience of rallying in the Qatari deserts than anyone on the entry list and the redoubtable Lebanese has lost none of his enthusiasm for the sport over the last 30 years. Jordan’s Amjad Farrah endured a miserable regional campaign last season and his switch to a Subaru Impreza could well bring a change in fortune for the only Jordanian driver ever to win a round of the MERC. Farrah teams up with Nancy Al-Majali for a second term.  

Kuwait’s challenge is fronted by Mufeed Mubarak in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. The series regular will be under a little more pressure to perform on this occasion as well; his co-driver will be the former F2 champion Meshal Al-Nejadi, making the transition from driving to co-driving for the opening round of the 2010 series. “The stages are excellent, a real surprise,” enthused Al-Nejadi. “There are plenty of fast sections, nice technical corners and tracks that will not wreck the cars.”  

Qatari drivers dominate the entry list: Jaber Al-Marri has registered his intent to tackle the entire championship with Jake Carlin in a Subaru, 1993 MERC winner Sheikh Hamed Bin Eid Al-Thani is seeded at 14 in his Subaru and Mohammed Al-Marri wheels out his Mitsubishi.  

The Qatari contingent is completed by Faisal Al-Attiyah, Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, Mohammed Al-Mannai, Jaralla Al-Marri, Khalifa Saleh Al-Attiyah, Hamad Al-Marri, Abdullah Al-Rabban and the sole Qatari female entrant Nada Zaidan.  

Four Abu Dhabi juniors also feature on the impressive entry list: Sultan Al-Ameri, Bader Al-Jabri, Ahmed Al-Mansoori and Majed Al-Shamsi will drive a pair of Ford Fiestas and two Subarus on their first event of what promises to be an exciting season for Team Abu Dhabi.  

“The stages are so much better for the two-wheel drive cars and much improved all round,” added Ulster co-driver Allan Harryman, who is partnering Al-Shamsi in a Subaru. “No places are really rough. The recce was quite straightforward.”  

The all-female crew of Amanai Abu Alhuda and Mirvat Bustami represent Jordan alongside Hani Al-Beset and Ammar Hijazi and Saudi Arabia’s Ahmed Al-Sabban, Kuwait’s Essam Al-Nejadi and Palestine’s Daoud Jaber Rami complete the Middle East line-up.  

Britain’s David Scialom continues his impressive appearance record in the region with his Subaru Impreza. “I like the stages,” said Scialom. “They are typical of Qatar – a real test. I suppose there is a chance that the top cars will throw some rocks into the track, but that is what you face on any gravel rally when you start at the back of the field.”  

“The new stages will really make this a level playing field,” said Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah, President of the QMMF. “There will be no excuses. The stages are varied and challenging. There are some very fast sections but we have also introduced some areas where drivers will need to stay on line. Losing the line could easily result in a puncture.”  

Select leading drivers will join members of the organising committee at a pre-event press conference at the QMMF from noon tomorrow (Thursday), before crews move to the Doha Corniche for the ceremonial start of the Qtel Qatar International Rally at 15.30hrs.

Top 10

Posted: January 20, 2010 1:12 PM

1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QA)/Giovanni Bernacchini (I)         Ford Fiesta S2000
2. Misfer Al-Marri (QA)/Nicola Arena (I)                                             Subaru Impreza
3. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (KSA)/Matthieu Baumel (F)                               Peugeot 307 S2000
4. Khalid Al-Qassimi (UAE)/Michael Orr (GB)                             Ford Fiesta S2000
5. Abdullah Al-Qassimi (UAE)/Steve Lancaster (GB)                Subaru Impreza
6. Khalid Al-Suwaidi (QA)/Nicky Beech (GB)                            Subaru Impreza
7. Mubarak Al-Hajri (QA)/Adel Abdullah (QA)                            Subaru Impreza
8. Michel Saleh (RL)/Joseph Matar (RL)                                          Subaru Impreza
9. Amjad Farrah (HKJ)/Nancy Al-Majali (HKJ)                          Subaru Impreza
10. Rashid Al-Ketbi (UAE)/Khalid Al-Kendi (UAE)             Skoda Fabia S2000

Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation

QMMF officials make fundamental changes to 2010 Qtel Qatar International Rally

Posted: January 18, 2010 2:22 PM

The Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) has confirmed significant changes to the route format and timetable for the 2010 Qtel Qatar International Rally, which will get the FIA Middle East Rally Championship underway on January 21st-23rd.

Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah, the President of the QMMF, has announced that the event will now be centred around the deserts to the south of Doha and the Al-Wakra stadium will replace the Losail International Circuit as the venue for the service park and rally headquarters once the special stage action has begun.

Our team has devised a completely new route with brand new stages this time, said Al-Attiyah. That means that the facilities we have at Losail are not close enough to the route and we will use the Al-Wakra stadium for the service park and rally control.

Scrutineering and documentation formalities will be carried out on Wednesday and Thursday morning at the QMMF offices in Salwa Road, Doha and the rally will start officially on the Doha Corniche on Thursday (January 21st) at 15.30hrs.

Fridays timed action starts from the Al-Wakra stadium and consists of eight special stages, with the Nabat Lusail and Umm Al Hal specials getting the competitive action underway. There will be a further six special stages on Saturday and the ceremonial finish will take place on the Doha Corniche from 15.09hrs. In a total route of 566.96km, 261.14km will be competitive.

The QMMF have also announced that 35 teams had entered the event when registrations closed last week. The list contains 15 Qatari drivers, seven crews from the United Arab Emirates, six Jordanian teams and other entrants from the UK, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Palestine. Co-drivers from Italy, Ireland and Australia boost the international flavour of the event.

Provisional Entry List

Posted: January 14, 2010 4:44 PM

Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation

Jordanian ladies team set to tackle 2010 Qtel Qatar International Rally

Posted: January 12, 2010 1:20 PM

A Jordanian ladies team is set to tackle the Qtel Qatar International Rally, round one of the 2010 FIA Middle East Rally Championship being hosted by the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF), on January 21st-23rd.  

Amani Abu Al-Huda and Mirvat Bustami will tackle the two-day, all-desert opening round of the regional rally series in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX, which was driven by Faris Bustami for the first time in last autumn’s Jordan Rally.

  It is no coincidence that Faris Bustami is involved in the project either. The multiple Jordan national champion and regular in Middle East rallying for many years is the husband of co-driver Mirvat and will oversee the exciting new programme for Jordan’s all-female crew.  

In fact, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan was one of the first nations in the Middle East region to encourage ladies to take part in international rallying. Nancy Al-Majali was a regular in the championship for several seasons as a driver with co-driver Nadia Shnoudeh, before Al-Majali switched to co-driving and Shnoudeh moved into an organising role. Qatari ladies also achieved some success, with Nada Zaidan taking part in several regional rallies for a couple of seasons, in addition to her archery exploits for the State of Qatar.  

Al-Huda drove on select rallies last season and the Jordanian pair tackled rounds of the Jordanian national series in 2009 and won the ladies’ award.  

Faris Bustami has also registered for the FIA Middle East Rally Championship and entered the opening round in Qatar. He is also planning to take part with co-driver Zeid Abu Zeid in a new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X.  

“Regional motor sport, particularly rallying, is not necessarily the domain just for male drivers,” said Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah, President of the QMMF. “We are delighted that an all-female team is taking part this year and hope that their successes on the special stages will attract more women to take part in rallying.”

NASSER SALEH A-ATTIYAH SET TO RUN NEW FORD FIESTA S2000 IN QTEL QATAR INTERNATIONAL RALLY

Posted: January 7, 2010 11:22 AM

Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah, the defending FIA Middle East Rally Champion, will kick start his challenge for a seventh regional title in eight years at the wheel of a new M-Sport-built Ford Fiesta S2000 in the 2010 Qtel Qatar International Rally.  

The car is currently being built at Cockermouth in England by M-Sport mechanics, in conjunction with staff from Autotek Motorsport. Ken Skidmore’s Autotek team will run the car during the 2010 regional championship season, starting with the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation-run (QMMF) event on January 21st-23rd.  

Doha-based Al-Attiyah is currently challenging for outright victory in the 2010 Dakar Rally in South America with the factory Volkwagen team and will team up with his usual Italian special stage co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini for the Qatar Rally challenge. He will be bidding for an eighth successive victory in his home event.  

The start of the new programme with the Ford Fiesta marks the eighth season that Al-Attiyah has worked with Autotek Motorsport – a tie-up that has already netted six regional rally titles and the FIA Production World Rally Championship title on one occasion. “We started with Nasser in 2003 with the Subaru WRC car and ran Subaru Group N programmes between 2004 and 2009,” said Skidmore.  

The British team will also run three Qatar Rally Team Subaru Imprezas on behalf of the QMMF. These three cars will be driven by last year’s championship runner-up, Misfer Al-Marri, Khalid Al-Suwaidi and Mubarak Al-Hajri. Al-Suwaidi again teams up with British co-driver Nicky Beech and Adel Hussein partners Al-Hajri.  

But Al-Marri will team up with Italian co-driver Nicola Arena for the first time following British co-driver Chris Patterson’s move to another motor sport programme. Arena has been a regular competitor on the regional scene for several years and achieved much success alongside Jordan’s Amjad Farrah in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. He also finished second overall in last year’s Jordan Rally, alongside the Lebanese driver Roger Feghali.  

The QMMF is hopeful of attracting the strongest entry for several years to the traditional opening round of the Middle East’s premier motor sport series, which was unanimously voted the ‘best rally of the season’ by competitors and members of the media in 2009.  

“Our team is putting the finishing touches to the route and the format now,” enthused Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah, President of the QMMF. “We are hoping to attract several new names to the championship this year and the increased popularity of the S2000 category is sure to boost the interest factor. Rallying in the Middle East is no longer just the domain of the four-wheel drive Group N cars.”  

The QMMF is offering generous concessions and an assistance package to international entrants. Teams will be offered six nights’ free accommodation (room and breakfast) in one twin-bedded room for driver and co-driver. Crews will be able to check in on January 18th at noon and leave at noon on January 23rd.

QTEL Qatar International Rally set to start 2010 FIAMiddle East Rally Championship
Generous incentives available to overseas rally teams

Posted: December 14, 2009 10:00 AM

The Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) has confirmed that the QTEL Qatar International Rally will get the 2010 FIA Middle East Rally Championship underway on January 21st-23rd, 2010.

The event has been the traditional opening round of the series for several years and slick organisation by the Doha-based QMMF have given the event the reputation as the leading round of the prestigious regional rally series.

Under the Presidency of Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah, race officials have devised a challenging, yet compact, route consisting of gravel special stages in the Qatar deserts and the fact that the entire event is centred around the world-class facilities at the Losail International Circuit, north of Doha, adds to its international appeal.

Next years eight-round championship will also feature rallies in Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria, Cyprus and Dubai and championship officials hope that the 2010 series will feature new drivers and new teams.

Elie Semaan will work as clerk of the course for a fifth consecutive season. The experienced motor sport consultant is confident that he has again devised a challenging route format for the two-day, all-desert rally, which will start on Thursday, January 21st with scrutineering and documentation and feature two days of competitive action on January 22nd and 23rd.

We are looking forward to getting the new rallying championship calendar underway in 2010, enthused Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah. Qatar is a strong supporter of rallying in the Middle East region and I was delighted that two Qatari drivers (Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and Misfer Al-Marri) finished first and second in the 2009 championship, which finished in Dubai recently.

At the QMMF we are always on the look out for ways of improving our rally and we are confident that the event will be well received by drivers from across the GCC and beyond.

The QMMF is offering generous concessions and an assistance package to international entrants. Teams will be offered six nights free accommodation (room and breakfast) in one twin-bedded room for driver and co-driver. Crews will be able to check in on January 18th at noon and leave at noon on January 23rd. Entries have now opened and will close in early January 2010.

Competitors will be permitted to carry out a reconnaissance of the special stages on Tuesday, January 19th and Wednesday, January 20th, before leg one of the all-desert special stage event gets underway in the Qatar deserts on Friday, January 22nd.

More Details on the Club website:

Club Website

Posted: December 14, 2009 9:58 AM

Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation