MUSCAT: Qatar’s Nasser bin Saleh Al Attiyah was firmly on course to equal Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s record of 60 victories in the FIA Middle East Rally Championship after leg one of the 23rd Oman International Rally yesterday.

The Qatari and French co-driver Matthieu Baumel won all six of the day’s gravel special stages to hold a comfortable outright lead of 1min 18.6sec in their Ford Fiesta RRC.

They have enjoyed a remarkable season thus far and were in a class of their own over the Sultanate’s testing mountain roads.

“No problems at all today and a good clean run on beautiful special stages” said Al Attiyah.

“We have a good lead now and can control our pace tomorrow and ensure that we don’t take any risks.”

Abu Dhabi Racing’s Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi driving a Citroën DS3 RRC and partnered by Ulster’s Chris Patterson held second position.

Despite driving on a flat tyre Qatar’s Abdulaziz Al Kuwari and British navigator Marshall Clarke were third – 24.8 seconds behind Al Qassimi - and Khalid Al-Suwaidi and Giovanni Bernacchini rounded off the top four.

Kuwaiti Salah Bin Eidan remains on course to clinch the Group N championship title in Oman and holds fifth position with Slovenian co-driver Vili Oslaj.

“I have been very impressed with the organisation of the rally” said Bin Eidan.

“Marshals were very evident on the stages you could see ambulances and this is the first time I have seen this in the championship. They are normally at the starts and finishes.”

The rate of attrition was high in the heat on the gravel surfaces and only 10 of the 14 cars finished the day.

Saif Al Harthy was the leading Omani driver in sixth after Zakariah Al-Ofi lost time in the seventh stage. Mansoor Bel Helai headed Abu Dhabi Racing team-mate Saeed Bintowq in the two-wheel drive contest.

Saeed Bintowq was penalised five minutes for his engine change after scrutineering and the non-arrival of a service vehicle meant that Kuwait’s Meshari Al-Thafiri was forced to retire.

Al Attiyah set the target time of 11min 18.3sec through the opening 19.8km of the Rusayl stage and it was comfortably quicker than the time set by Al-Qassimi and enabled the Qatari to extend his lead to 21.6 seconds heading towards the Misfah stage. After a prop shaft change before the start of the day Al Suwaidi benefited from Al Kuwari driving on a flat tyre to set the third quickest time.

Bin Eidan continued to control Group N and Zakariya Al-Ofi moved ahead in the local contingent.

Al Attiyah managed to beat Al Kuwari by just two-tenths of a second through the third stage – where Abdulaziz ran wide on a corner - and his advantage over Al Qassimi climbed to 23.8 seconds.

Rashid Al Naimi’s Group N run came to an end and only 13 cars made it to the start of the Saal special.

The rally leader continued to pull away from his rivals and beat Al Kuwari by 4.9 seconds to take a lead of 38.6 seconds into the midday service stop and regroup at the Oman Automobile Association.

Al Kuwari and Al-Suwaidi held third and fourth Group N leader Bin Eidan was fifth and Al-Ofi headed the local contingent in sixth.

Mansoor Bel Helai was comfortably ahead of Bintowq in the 2WD category despite a puncture. Neither Khalid Al-Minji nor former agency photographer Hamid Al Qasmi managed to complete the stage and 11 cars reached the service point in their allotted time. Al Attiyah was three seconds slower on the re-run of Rusayl but he still managed to win the stage and the gap at the front grew to 53.7 seconds.

The three stages will be repeated in the afternoon at 12.47hrs 13.20hrs and 13.48hrs before the finishing ceremony brings proceedings to a close at the OAA from 16.00hrs.



THE PENINSULA