(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Shaikh Khalid was in top form winning all of Fridays stages and storming to victory in a total time of 1 hour 24 minutes 33.
Shaikh Khalid on way to Abu Dhabi Rally win. — Supplied photo
Abu Dhabi — Shaikh Khalid Al Qassimi won the Abu Dhabi Rally a candidate event for next year’s FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) in dominating fashion on Friday.
Shaikh Khalid dominated the event from day one going fastest in the super special stage held on Thursday night at the North Handling area of the iconic Yas Marina Circuit the home of the Etihad Airways Formula One Grand Prix.
On Friday Shaikh Khalid opened his campaign at the Ghantoot 1 special stage over 18.71km finishing 25.9 seconds ahead of his closest rival and over one minute ahead of the new overnight leader Abu Dhabi Racing junior driver Mohamed Al Mutawaa. (Shaikh Khalid has received a penalty of 30-sec as he slipped off the track during the spectator stage)
From there on Shaikh Khalid was in top form winning all of Friday’s stages and storming to victory in a total time of 1 hour 24 minutes 33.8 seconds 3 minutes 05.3 seconds ahead of Shaikh Abdullah in second with Abdullah Al Kuwari 9 minutes 11.9 seconds further back in third overall.
A delighted Shaikh Khalid said: “I would like to thank each and every member of the organizing body; the organization of the rally was first class. The stages were exciting and technically demanding in places but thankfully we didn’t face any major obstacles and won first place. I would like to thank the Citroen Total Abu Dhabi Rally Team for their consummate professionalism as always in preparing the cars to the highest standards. I would like to add that I am very happy for the Abu Dhabi Racing junior team who I thought performed very well in stages and we are looking to enroll them in numerous future rallies so that they can gain even more experience.”
Shaikh Abdullah said: “It was an exciting rally today; we did our best to win but unfortunately our tires did not perform well here in Abu Dhabi despite being tested at Rally Jordan.”
Abdulla Al Kawari said: “We have really enjoyed the rally and its exciting stages despite the hot weather. The organisation was outstanding as were the spectators. I would like to thank Sheikh Khalid and the organising committee who delivered a fantastic Rally for all involved.”
Abu Dhabi Racing drivers Mohamed Al Mutawaa Mansoor Belhelei Mohammed Al Sahlawi and Saeed Bintouq finished fourth fifth sixth and seventh respectively.
The event jointly organised by Yas Motor Racing Club and Abu Dhabi Racing run over 453.48km with 153.44km as the competitive distance over nine stages and the remainder as the liaison distance drew a total of 15 cars.
Ahmed Al Kaabi chairman of Organising Committee commented after the rally: “I would like to thank everyone in the organising team for their efforts in making the Rally happen. Obviously safety is our top priority at Yas Marina Circuit and thanks to the efforts of the team the Rally was a huge success. We are looking forward to organizing the Abu Dhabi Rally next year and for it to becoming a permanent of the Middle East Rally Competition rounds.”
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.