(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula
LOSAIL: Czech rival Vojtech Stajf and his female navigator Veronika Havelkova created their own little piece of history with a shock victory in the Manateq International Rally of Qatar, the final round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship yesterday.
Following Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah retirement on the first stage of the day, Stajf cruised to an emphatic win. His success marked the first victory in the Qatar International Rally for a non-Arab driver since the late Bjorn Waldegard's success with co-driver Fred Gallagher in a Toyota Celica Turbo way back in 1986. The win also marked the first for a non-Qatari driver since 2002 and the first MERC win for the Czech at the end of his debut season.
Stajf won the first stage of the day and then extended his advantage over Adel Abdulla to 1min 50sec with the fastest time through Al Ghariyah. The Skoda Fabia R5 driver's eventual winning margin was 4min 07.8sec. Havelkova is a two-time Slovakian national champion, but this was her first event with Stajf.
Al Attiyah and French navigator Matthieu Baumel headed into the opening Al Khor stage defending a lead of just over two minutes, but the Qatari's hopes of securing a record 14th home event win were ruined just metres into the stage when the rear left-hand drive flange broke on his Ford Fiesta R5. The crew struggled to the stage finish, dropping 2min 40.9sec to new leader Stajf, but retired after the flying finish.
Al Attiyah said: 'The upright was completely broken. Maybe it was some damage when we had a puncture in Kuwait. It was the same corner. It is bad luck. The problem was from the start of the stage. There was a vibration.
We did 300 metres and stopped to check if it was a flat tyre. We saw nothing and decided to keep going to the finish. The wheel was completely stuck and we only had three wheels. We let Vojtech pass and we finished behind him. But it was over for us.
Qatar's runner-up Adel Abdulla and new Lebanese navigator Ziad Chebab delivered an impressive debut performance in a Ford Fiesta R5. Adel got to grips with the increased performance quickly, although the loss of over two minutes in the seventh stage because of power steering issues cost him any realistic chance of catching Stajf.
Abdullah Al Kuwari moved into third overall when Al Attiyah retired and then lost over two and a half minutes with a puncture and a turbo issue in stage six. But the Qatari and his nephew Nasser Al Kuwari secured the final podium place and won the MERC 2 category.
Engine issues prevented Al Rawahi from restarting in the FIA section and co-driver illness also sidelined the MERC 2 champion Meshari Al Thefiri. The National category also lost Oman's Humaid Al Waili with engine issues and Hamed bin Eid Al Thani with turbo-related engine problems.
None of the other National Rally contenders made it to the stage start yesterday.
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