(MENAFN- The Peninsula) After five consecutive second-place finishes, Jari Ketomaa yesterday won the WRC2 race at the Wales Rally GB but it wasn't enough to prevent Qatar's Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah from claiming the support-category world title.
Ketomaa led from start-to-finish in a Ford Fiesta R5 to lead home Lorenzo Bertelli's similar car by 59.4 seconds, with Matthew Wilson a further 21.3 seconds back in third.
"My main target was only to win this rally," said the Finn. "Every driver wants to win in Britain, which is one of the championship's classic rounds, and we did that."
Al Attiyah needed to finish only seventh to clinch the title but the Qatari, winner of four rounds, had a few anxious moments in his Fiesta RRC. Early gearbox problems left him eighth but a calculated recovery promoted him to sixth to net the points he needed.
"It's fantastic!" said Al Attiyah. "A great year for us, a great time here in Great Britain and a great moment. Now we are off to Dubai for the last round of the Middle East Championship and we must win there also," he added.
Britain's Tom Cave put local experience to good use to take fourth, just 10.2 seconds from the podium, after holding a top-three place during the opening day, while Karl Kruuda was fifth ahead of the cautious Al Attiyah. Bernardo Sousa held second until crashing in darkness on Saturday evening and the Portuguese pilot did not restart yesterday.
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