Qatar's Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and Ulster co-driver Chris
Patterson won a thrilling ADNOC Distribution UAE International Rally, the
opening round of the 2006 FIA Middle East Rally Championship, held under
the patronage of His Highness Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed
Al-Nahyan, the Minister of Interior, which finished on Friday afternoon
Posted: January 30, 2006 11:24 AM
After 13 timed desert special stages in the Sweihan and Al-Ain areas of the
Abu Dhabi emirate, Al-Attiyah emerged victorious by a tiny margin of seven
seconds in a nailbiting finish, with the UAE's Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi and
co-driver Nick Beech losing their overnight lead on the final corners of
the last gravel stage of the event.
"Fantastic," said a jubilant Al-Attiyah. "I must credit Khalid on making
this an amazing rally. It was very exciting. I thought that I could do it,
but it was very close and I needed to pull out all the reserves to push
hard on the last stage."
Al-Qassimi began the day with a 53-second lead over the defending champion,
but Al-Attiyah whittled the advantage down to 48s after SS8 and to an
ominous 31s after the 26 kms Dam stage. At the service point in Al-Ain,
after the 10th special stage, the margin was a mere 22s and there was a
genuine cause for concern in Al-Qassimi's service area after a thrilling
morning's competition.
His team mechanics made minor suspension adjustments at the service point
and, over the closing loop of three stages, the drama intensified.
Al-Attiyah shaved two seconds off his morning's time and reduced
Al-Qassimi's advantage to 18s ahead of the final run through the Dam stage.
Al-Qassimi upped his pace and Al-Attiyah arrived at the start of the final
stage 10s behind his rival.
It was a gripping finale to the opening round of the series. The 12.87 kms
of the 13th Border stage settled the contest in Al-Attiyah's favour on the
closest finale to a Middle East rally in many years. The Qatari set a
sensation time of 6m 55s, beating his morning's run of 7m 12s to beat his
Pirelli-backed UAE rival by a mere seven seconds.
"I had no option but to push hard today," said a distraught Al-Qassimi.
"But I also had to make sure that I made no mistakes. It was very exciting.
I cannot remember a rally where I felt so focused and so determined. It was
a great battle and this is fantastic for the rest of the championship."
"I think that was probably the best performance that Khalid has driven in
his career so far," said an impressed Mohammed Ben Sulayem, Chairman of the
Automobile Touring Club of the United Arab Emirates, at the official finish
at the Hilton Hotel in Al-Ain. "It was a great way for us to kick-off the
first round of the championship here in the UAE. I remember many close
finishes during my time in the championship and it was fascinating to see
this battle unfold today."
The UAE's Sheikh Suhail bin Khalifa Al-Maktoum and Sheikh Abdullah
Al-Qassimi played a bit part in the overall action on the second leg, but
finished in solid third and fourth places overall to get their championship
campaigns off to useful starts.
Jordanians Amjad Farrah and Khaled Zakaria became embroiled in a gripping
tussle with Qatar's Misfer Al-Marri and Adel Hussein for much of the
afternoon, with seconds separating the Mitsubishi duo over the closing leg.
The difference was a mere five seconds after the 10th stage and Farrah
moved a further three clear in SS11. But Al-Marri hit back on the closing
two stages to move into fifth place, beating his troubled rival by 20s.
Saudi Arabia's Ahmed Al-Sabban finished seventh overall in his Subaru
Impreza WRX STi, Kuwait's Mufeed Mubarak was eighth, while the UAE's Sadiq
Fadhel and Britain's Simon Nutter completed the top 10, the latter edging
out his friend Ron Oakeley on the closing stages.
Twenty of the original 27 starters began the final six stages on Friday,
but there were several retirements among the backmarkers. Saudi Arabia's
Abdullah Al-Marri and the UAE's Yayha Al-Amri were both forced out of the
running.
Additional support for the 2006 ADNOC Distribution UAE International Rally
came from Finance House, the Abu Dhabi Travel Bureau, Sky Electronic Line,
AMD for computers, Gulf Commercial Group for photocopiers, Emirates
Computers for Nokia telephones and GTS Towing Services.
1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QA)/Chris Patterson (GB) Subaru Impreza WRX STi
2h 18m 46s
2. Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi (UAE)/Nick Beech (GB) Subaru Impreza WRX STi
2h 18m 53s
3. Sheikh Suhail Bin Khalifa Al-Maktoum (UAE)/Wael Marjan (UAE) Subaru
Impreza WRX STi 2h 23m 08s
4. Sheikh Abdullah Al-Qassimi (UAE)/Steve Lancaster (GB) Subaru Impreza WRX
STi 2h 25m 54s
5. Misfer Al-Marri (QA)/Adel Hussein (QA) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9
2h 27m 06s
6. Amjad Farrah (HKJ)/Khaled Zakaria (HKJ) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 7
2h 27m 26s
7. Ahmed Al-Sabban (KSA)/Killian Duffy (IRL) Subaru Impreza WRX STi 2h
28m 14s
8. Mufeed Mubarak (KWT)/Saad Al-Melaifi (KWT) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 8
2h 31m 31s
9. Sadiq Fadhel (UAE)/Imad Nabhan (UAE) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 8 2h
32m 57s
10. Simon Nutter (GB)/Sean Kukula (GB) Subaru Impreza WRX STi 2h 41m 10s
11. Ron Oakeley (UAE)/Jamie Turner (UAE) Subaru Impreza WRX STi 2h 41m
31s
PRE EVENT NEWS
- UAE'S SUHAIL BIN KHALIFA
PREPARES FOR UAE INTERNATIONAL RALLY
Veteran Michel Saleh relishes new rally season
- ENTRIES BEGIN TO FLOOD IN FOR ADNOC DISTRIBUTION UAE INTERNATIONAL RALLY
22/01/06
UAE'S SUHAIL BIN KHALIFA
PREPARES FOR UAE INTERNATIONAL RALLY
Veteran Michel Saleh relishes new rally season
The UAE's Sheikh Suhail Bin Khalifa Al-Maktoum will begin
his challenge for honours in this year's FIA Middle East Rally
Championship, when he tackles the 2006 ADNOC Distribution UAE International
Rally, being held under the patronage of His Highness Lieutenant General
Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the Minister of Interior, on January
25th-27th.
Al-Maktoum is one of the fastest and most talented drivers in the Middle
East and finished third overall in last year's regional series at the wheel
of a Subaru Impreza WRX STi. This season the Dubai-based driver is taking
his challenge for a maiden title more seriously and will wheel out a new
Subaru at the start of the two-day event through the Abu Dhabi deserts
around Sweihan and Al-Ain.
A former winner of the Dubai International Rally and a great rival of the
14-times Middle East champion Mohammed Ben Sulayem, as part of the Victory
Rally Team in the 1990s, Sheikh Suhail returned to the special stages two
years ago and immediately made an impact. Last year he shadowed eventual
champion Qatar's Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and the 2003 champion Sheikh
Khalid Al-Qassimi on several rallies and exchanged fastest stage times with
the other two front-runners on numerous occasions. Sheikh Suhail will be
co-driven by Wael Marjan.
Meanwhile, Dubai-based Lebanese driver Michel Saleh and co-driver Ziad
Chehab are relishing the start of the new season and will be hoping for
better luck in 2006. Saleh is a former Gulf regional champion and has been
rallying in the area since the series first began.
"It doesn't seem long since we rounded off last year with the event in
Dubai and now we are preparing for another exciting season," said Mohammed
Ben Sulayem, Chairman of the Automobile Touring Club of the United Arab
Emirates. "Suhail and Michel have been rallying in this region for many
years and always give full commitment to their rallying. Their presence on
the opening round is a major boost to the strength of this championship."
Additional support for the 2006 ADNOC Distribution UAE International Rally
comes from Finance House, the Abu Dhabi Travel Bureau, Sky Electronic Line,
AMD for computers, Gulf Commercial Group for photocopiers, Emirates
Computers for Nokia telephones and GTS Towing Services .
ENTRIES BEGIN TO FLOOD IN FOR ADNOC
DISTRIBUTION UAE INTERNATIONAL RALLY
UAE's Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi aims to build upon Dubai success
Entries are flooding in for the 2006 ADNOC Distribution
UAE International Rally, which takes place on January 25th-27th. The event
is being held under the patronage of His Highness Lieutenant General Sheikh
Saif Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the Minister of Interior.
The two-day rally is the opening round of the 2006 FIA Middle East Rally
Championship and is being organised in Al-Ain for the second time by the
Automobile and Touring Club of the United Arab Emirates. Among the first
drivers to notify officials of his intention to compete is the 2004 FIA
regional champion Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi. The UAE driver will use a Ron
Cremen-run Subaru Impreza WRX STi Spec-C for a third successive season.
Al-Qassimi will team up with his new co-driver Nicky Beech for a fourth
time, as he bids to build upon the terrific victory the pair earned in
Dubai less than one month ago. Sheikh Khalid finished second overall in the
2005 championship, behind Qatar's Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah, who is currently
in Lisbon preparing for the start of the 2006 Dakar Rally on New Year's
Eve.
One of the first entries received by event officials came from the Kuwaiti
1600 driver Essam Al-Nejadi in his two-wheel drive Proton Wira. Al-Nejadi
and his brother Meshal have been regular competitors in the region and
Meshal clinched the 1600 title in Dubai earlier this month.
The first international entrant was Britain's David Scialom and co-driver
Andy Tatham. David has been a regular in the regional championship for the
last three seasons and will tackle the all-desert rally in a Mitsubishi
Lancer Evolution 5. He finished sixth overall in Qatar in 2004, seventh in
Oman and then took a fine fifth place in Dubai recently.
"We are expecting between 30 and 40 drivers to take part in the rally on
the final entry list," said Mohammed Ben Sulayem, Chairman of the
Automobile and Touring Club of the United Arab Emirates. "We are delighted
with the names we have received so far. It looks as though the 2006 Middle
East series will be the most competitive in the history of the
championship. Last year was a very exciting season and brought back many
memories from the time when I was competing in the series on a regular
basis."
Additional support for the 2006 ADNOC Distribution UAE International Rally
comes from Finance House, the Abu Dhabi Travel Bureau, Sky Electronic Line,
AMD for computers, Gulf Commercial Group for photocopiers, Emirates
Computers for Nokia telephones and GTS Towing Services .
AL-AIN BASED UAE INTERNATIONAL RALLY SET
TO KICK-START MIDDLE EAST RALLY SEASON
Al-Ain to again host opening round of MERC;
UAE opener to precede seven further MERC events
The ADNOC Distribution UAE International Rally will be
held under the patronage of His Highness Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif Bin
Zayed Al-Nahyan, Minister of Interior, and will kick-start the 2006 FIA
Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) on January 25th-27th. The event will
be organised by the Automobile and Touring Club of the United Arab
Emirates.
Next year's prestigious rally series will be fought out over eight, two-day
special stage rallies and the emirate of Abu Dhabi has again been chosen to
get the series underway. For the second successive season the garden city
of Al-Ain will play host to the rally, after the success of the inaugural
event in the city last February.
Organisers are currently finalising details of the route and timetable, but
officials have confirmed that the event will consist of two legs of gravel
stages in the Al-Ain and Sweihan areas of Abu Dhabi.
"We are delighted to again host the opening round of next year's FIA Middle
East Championship," said Mohammed Ben Sulayem, Chairman of the Organising
Committee and himself a 14-times FIA Middle East rally champion. "The
switch to Al-Ain last season was well received by competitors and the media
and we are keen to build upon that success with another first class event
at the end of January."
Last year's FIA Middle East rally series was the best supported on record
and officials are confident that the 2006 FIA Middle East Rally
Championship will attract a whole host of the region's top drivers from as
far afield as Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait and Syria.
Both the UAE's Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi and Sheikh Abdullah Al-Qassimi have
already pledged a full assault at the championship in 2006 and the UAE's
Sheikh Suhail Bin Khalifa Al-Maktoum is also determined to build upon the
impressive return to the sport he made at the wheel of a Subaru Impreza WRX
STi in 2005.
Next year's championship features several minor timetable amendments, with
the Qatar International Rally slotting into the calendar as the second
round in February. Registered teams will then head to the Sultanate of Oman
in March and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan at the end of May for rounds
three and four.
After a four-week break, the series will then resume with the all-tarmac
Rally of Lebanon at the end of June, the Syria international Rally in
September, a visit to the Troodos mountains in Cyprus at the start of
November and the traditional finale in Dubai at the start of December. The
Bahrain Motor Federation recently confimed that the Bahrain Rally will not
run in 2006.
"We hope that everyone connected with this year's ADNOC Distribution UAE
International Rally enjoys their stay in Al-Ain," added Ben Sulayem. "The
city is looking forward to welcoming competitors, officials, VIPs and
members of the media."
The event will be based for the second season at the Hilton Al-Ain and will
be supported by Finance House, the Abu Dhabi Travel Bureau, Sky Electronic
Line, AMD for computers, Gulf Commercial Group for photocopiers, Emirates
Computers for Nokia telephones and GTS Towing Services .