QATAR INTERNATIONAL RALLY STARTS FROM AL-MAHA ISLAND ON THURSDAY EVENING





 QATAR INTERNATIONAL RALLY STARTS FROM AL-MAHA ISLAND ON THURSDAY

EVENING

 Twenty-three crews and competitors from 14 nations set for 13 stages

 Timed action gets underway with short stage at LCSC Karting Academy

LUSAIL (Qatar): The spectacular backdrop of Al-Maha Island hosts the official start

ceremony of the Qatar International Rally for the first time from 19.00hrs on Thursday

(tomorrow) evening.

The second round of the 2023 FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) has attracted 23

FIA cars and competitors from 14 nations. They will tackle 13 special stages before the

finish back on Al-Maha Island on Saturday afternoon.

Competitive action organised by the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) gets

underway with a 3.27km special stage on tarmac at the LCSC Karting Academy from

20.00hrs tomorrow night (Thursday).

For the second successive year, the event has attracted stars from the FIA World Rally

Championship and the last three winners of the coveted FIA WRC2 Championship will line

up against the GCC’s and Levant’s leading drivers.

Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah is a 16-time winner of his home event and chasing win number 17 is

paramount for the five-time Dakar Rally winner, who trails Abdullah Al-Rawahi by six points

in the MERC after round one in Oman. Al-Attiyah’s Volkswagen Polo GTI was damaged in

the Sultanate and has been rebuilt this week at the service park in Lusail. He again teams

up with Andorra-based co-driver Mathieu Baumel, who has won five Qatar rallies.

Mads Østberg, Andreas Mikkelsen and Emil Lindholm won the last three WRC2

Championships and the talented Scandinavians will push Al-Attiyah every step of the way

over the coming three days. Østberg has the added experience of having competed on the

event last year and will take huge confidence from the fact that he led outright until a water

leak ruined his winning aspirations.

Mikkelsen and Lindholm are competing in Qatar for the first time and fast, open gravel and

stony desert terrain is a far cry from the fast, flowing gravel speed tests they are used to on

loose surface rounds of the WRC. The three SRT Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo drivers are sure to

light the touch paper and ignite a thrilling tussle in the northern Qatar deserts.


Al-Rawahi needs to stay clear of the frenetic battle for outright victory and concentrate on

the defence of his early MERC series lead. A second victory in Oman in three years has

given the Omani a superb opportunity to win a maiden regional title and he knows full well

that the Scandinavian trio running ahead are not registered for the MERC. His Jordanian co-

driver Ata Al-Hmoud leads the Co-drivers’ Championship.

Both Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari and Khalid Al-Suwaidi are proven MERC winners and have

experience on the world stage but neither of the QMMF-backed Qataris have been able to

benefit from a full rallying programme in recent seasons. They wheel out two additional

Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evos, with Al-Kuwari dearly hoping to repeat his famous 2012 victory in

Qatar and Al-Suwaidi chasing the goal of a third regional rally win to add to his successes in

Kuwait in 2012 and 2022.

Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya won the Qatar International Rally 30 years ago and currently holds

fourth place in this year’s championship. He teams up with Italian navigator Giovanni

Bernacchini in the sole Ford Fiesta R5.

Sadoon Al-Kuwari is also a veteran of numerous former Qatar rallies and the father of

Abdulaziz and Meshari Al-Thefiri’s co-driver Nasser (Al-Kuwari) is celebrating 40 years of

active competition across rallying and racing disciplines. He has recruited the services of the

experienced Belgian co-driver Stéphane Prévot for his quest for honours in a Volkswagen

Polo GTI - a record ninth Rally2 car in the field.

Al-Thefiri is a multiple former MERC2 champion and leads the category by six points after

the first round in Oman, in addition to holding third in the overall championship.

The Kuwaiti faces strong competition from a dozen rivals and a host of drivers from Jordan,

Lebanon, Qatar and Oman, who include his current closest MERC2 title challengers, Shaker

Jweihan, Yousef Al-Dhafeeri, Sheikh Bader Al-Fawaz and Shadi Shaban. Jordan’s Issa Abu

Jamous is a late withdrawal from the original entry list.

Running at the rear of the field are a pair of T4 machines in the hands of Khalid Al-

Muhannadi (Polaris) and Stefano Marrini (Can-Am).

Teams carried out reconnaissance of the northern gravel special stages on Wednesday

before the compulsory technical scrutineering checks are carried out by event officials at

Lusail.

2023 Qatar International Rally – leading entries:

1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Mathieu Baumel (AND) Volkswagen Polo GTI

2. Emil Lindholm (FIN)/Reeta Hämäläinen (FIN) Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo

3. Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR)/Torstein Eriksen (NOR) Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo

4. Mads Østberg (NOR)/Patrik Barth (SWE) Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo

5. Abdullah Al-Rawahi (OMN)/Ata Al-Hmoud (JOR) Škoda Fabia Evo

6. Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya (QAT)/Giovanni Bernacchini (ITA) Ford Fiesta R5

7. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Lorcan Moore (IRL) Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo

8. Khalid Al-Suwaidi (QAT)/Hugo Magalhães (PRT) Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo


9. Sadoon Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Stéphane Prévot (BEL) Volkswagen Polo GTI

10. Meshari Al-Thefiri (KWT)/Nasser Al-Kuwari (QAT) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

11. Shaker Jweihan (JOR)/Nancy Al-Majali (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

12. Yousef Al-Dhafeeri (KWT)/Carlos Hanna (LEB) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

14. Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez (JOR)/Emad Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lanver Evo X

16. Zakariya Al-Aamri (OMN)/Mohammed Al-Mazroui OMN) Subaru Impreza WRX STI

17. Ihab Al-Shorafa (JOR)/Yousef Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

18. Rashid Al-Muhannadi (QAT)/Fares Allouh (QAT) Subaru Impreza STI

19. Jad Al-Aawar (LEB)/Vicken Kanledjian (LEB) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

20. Ahmad Khaled (LEB)/Samer Sfeir (LEB) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX

21. Shadi Shaban (JOR)/Samer Issa (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

22. Abdullah Al-Rabban (QAT)/Hassan Ali Obaid (ARE) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

23. Sami Fleifel (JOR)/Ahmed Al-Khatab (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII

24. Stefano Marrini (ITA)/Stefano Tiraboschi (ITA) Can-Am Maverick X3

25. Khalid Al-Muhannadi (QAT)/Pedro Santos (PRT) Polaris Pro XP

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Incredible Football Festival of India (IFFI)

Image
When November swings around it’s time to roll out the red carpet as a plethora of mega stars from Bollywood fly into Goa to celebrate the International Film Festival of India (IFFI). The week long extravaganza brings glamorous actors and directors from the film fraternity in contact with fans of the big screen. This year’s event happened between the 20 th  and 28 th  of November in Panjim and was extra special for me. On the sidelines of the main event, an open air football film festival was organised by Serendipity, which took place from the 22 nd  till the 27 th  of November at the Children’s park in Campal. The idea behind the screenings was that Goans love football, so this would attract them towards attending the glitzy annual event. The friendly German professor, Jans Tilman was the curator of the football documentaries and was present to interact with the audience before and after the movies. This was actually Jan’s second trip to Goa as he previously organised similar foo
Read more

Doha winner Aryna Sabalenka: ‘I lost my dad in the pre-season. I’m doing this for him’

Image
Doha winner Aryna Sabalenka: ‘I lost my dad in the pre-season. I’m doing this for him’ Aryna Sabalenka eased past Petra Kvitova to win the Qatar Open and then dedicated the title to her father Sergey, who passed away in November. The 21-year-old secured her sixth WTA Tour title and third Premier 5 trophy with a solid victory over the eighth-seeded Kvitova, winning 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 14 minutes. The ninth seed broke in game four of the first set and games seven and nine of the second to ease to victory. Sabalenka revealed afterwards how tough the past few months have been on her following the death of her father. “It was a long journey here and I put everything on tennis,” the Belarusian said. “I was actually only playing tennis and focusing on tennis and nothing else. And I think I gave everything for tennis. “I just lost my dad in the pre-season and he was my biggest motivation, and I’m doing it for him.” The world No 13’s last four titles were all w
Read more

Asia’s best women’s teams poised for AFC Women’s Club Championship™ return

    The stage will be set for the return of Asia’s premier women's football club competition when eight club champions from as many Member Associations (MAs) discover their battle lines at the official draw ceremony of the  AFC  Women’s Club Championship™ 2023 - Invitational Tournament on Thursday.  Taking place from November 6 to 12, the tournament will give way to the  AFC  Women’s Champions League  from the 2024/25 season.  The eight participants, three more than the previous edition, will be divided into two groups of four teams who will play in centralised venues in Uzbekistan and Thailand.  The seeding is based on the latest FIFA Women’s World Ranking of their respective MAs, and following the Nadeshiko’s commendable performance at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023, WE League champions Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies of Japan will be the top seed, securing a spot in Pot 1.  With Australia’s Semi-final finish at the FIFA Women’s World Cup earning them the s
Read more