(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Emirati driver wins drivers championship title at Dubai Rally to end Al Attiyahs hold.
Shaikh Khalid Al Qasimi and co-driver Chris Patterson celebrate their Dubai Rally victory on the finish ramp with Mohammed bin Sulayem ATCUAE president. Supplied photo
Dubai — The UAE’s Shaikh Khalid Al Qasimi produced a stunning fightback to win the Dubai International Rally in sensational fashion on Saturday and snatch the FIA Middle East Championship drivers’ title away from Qatar’s Nasser Al Attiyah.
In the most spectacular ever finish to the regional championship Al Qassimi emerged victorious by a margin of just 0.3 seconds after a thrilling start-to-finish battle with Al Attiyah to deny his great rival an eighth successive win in Dubai and a tenth Middle East crown.
Incredibly everything came down to the final special stage of the season a 25.92km section which started with the Emirati driver leading by 0.4 seconds after he had produced a brilliant surge to win the previous stage by 6.1 seconds.
Never before had the destiny of the Dubai Rally title or the championship been so delicately balanced and Al Qasimi partnered by Chris Patterson in his Abu Dhabi Racing Citroen DS3 held his nerve to record his third win in Dubai and land his second Middle East triumph.
“We pushed to the limit but it was very difficult” said an emotional Al Qasimi who had been determined to produce a home victory ahead of UAE National Day.
‘On the last stage I had a flat tyre but I got through it. If we’re going to be in the record books now it’s not just my name that’s going there it’s also the name of Citroen because of what we’ve done together.”
Victory had looked to be in the grasp of Al Attiyah for whom the rally signalled the end of a hugely successful six-year partnership with Italian co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini.
“We are quite happy we did a really good job here” he said at the finish. “We are not slow but were really surprised about Khalid’s times in the afternoon. I knew it would not be easy and that we really needed to concentrate all the time.”
Finishing third in the rally and in the championship was Qatar’s Al Kuwari with fellow-countryman Khalid Al Suwaidi the UAE’s Shaikh Abdullah Al Qasimi and another Qatari Abdulla Al Kuwari completing the top six in Dubai.
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.