Al Kuwari Brothers Win Qatar International Rally

Lusail, Qatar: Abdulaziz Al Kuwari and his brother Nasser ended a 10-year wait for a third FIA Middle East Rally Championship victory when they secured a second win at the Qatar International Rally yesterday.

The Qatari duo trailed runaway leader Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah for three-quarters of the event but hit the front when the defending champion suffered a broken wheel and resultant suspension damage after nine of the event's 12 gravel stages to the north of Doha.

From then on, the Sarrazin Škoda Fabia RS duo stayed clear of trouble over the remaining three special stages to follow up their 2012 victory in Qatar at the wheel of a Mini S2000. Al Kuwari had also notched up success on a candidate event in Oman back in 2014 and picked up maximum MERC points in Cyprus the same year. His brother only came back as a stand-in co-driver for this event after announcing his retirement from the sport last year.

The delighted Qatari had a flattering winning margin of 5min 08.8sec. He said:“Fourteen years I didn't win the event and, 14 years, my brother was never next to me on this event. I brought him back. I said he had to retire at home. It was good to come back and win the rally. I never pushed 100%. I never had a penalty or a puncture, maybe one of the only ones. There is a limit you have to stay below. The team did a great job. Thanks to the QMMF and Sarrazin Motorsport. Now, for sure, I will ask the QMMF if I can continue the Middle East championship. I think I deserve it. I am always there.”

Nasser Al Kuwari added:“When my brother tried to push me to come back, I had a feeling that we were going to win it. This will be my last race and we have won it. I am so happy for my brother, my father, my family, the QMMF. I am proud of my brother. This is the end of my career.”

Al Attiyah's goal of a 19th Qatar victory fizzled out on the road section after stage nine. The Qatari and co-driver Candido Carrera had completed the stage with a broken rear-left wheel and damaged suspension on their Autotek Škoda Fabia RS.

They were forced to change the wheel and make emergency repairs on the side of the road after the stage but the wheel was hanging at an angle and there was a small fire when they began the return to Lusail. The Qatari tried a couple of times to make further repairs and made it back to Lusail within his maximum lateness, albeit on three rotating wheels, before throwing in the towel. He admitted that he thought he had a puncture and drove to the end of the stage, not realising that the wheel had broken and damaged the suspension.

Saudi Arabia's Hamza Bakhashab and his Irish co-driver Lorcan Moore applied the pressure on local youngster Mohammed Al Marri and Frenchman Pierre Delorme as the leg progressed and took full advantage of a large time loss for the young Qatari on stage 10 to secure second overall in a Jameel Motorsport Toyota GR Yaris Rally2. It was the Saudi's third ever special stage rally after the WRC event in Saudi Arabia last November and Oman last month.

Mohammad Al Marri delivered a memorable performance on his first outing in a Citroën C3 Rally2 but was forced to retire after the 10th stage with a broken suspension rod.

Nasser Khalifa Al Atya and Ziad Chehab finished on the final step of the podium in their Motortune Ford Fiesta and Al Atya claimed maximum points in the FIA Master Driver category for the second event in succession.

Shaker Jweihan completely dominated the FIA MERC2 category with Mustafa Juma in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X for a second time in three weeks. Despite a bent suspension arm for the opening loop of stages on Saturday, the Jordanian finished fourth and romped to class victory by 13min 20.8sec.

Rashid Al Muhannadi and Gary McElhinney moved into a useful lead in the FIA MERC4 category on the first stage of the morning when Khalifa Saleh Al Attiyah was sidelined with technical problems.

The defending champions increased their advantage as the day progressed in a QMMF-backed Peugeot 208 but a penultimate stage retirement with transmission issues enabled rivals Ahmad Shaheen Al Muhannadi and Taha Al Zadjali to take the lead.

They then rolled in the last stage and gifted victory and fifth place to Nouef Al Sowaidi and Aisvydas Paliukenas. Ahmed Al Kuwari and Baptiste Cerrato finished sixth in the second of the Peugeots.

The Italian duo of Christiano Gabbarrini and Alessandro Forni were seventh in a Yamaha Quaddy YXZ 1000R and the Omani duo of Zakariya Al Aamri and Mohammed Al Mazrui finished eighth in a Subaru Impreza N14 and picked up points for second in MERC2.

Charbel Chebly drove well on his Qatar debut with Carlos Hanna, finished third in MERC2 and ninth overall. Mohammed Mansoor Parol (Mitsubishi), Shadi El-Fakih (Renault) and Jassim Al Muqahwi (Mitsubishi) rounded off the 12 finishers.

Abdullah Al Rawahi retired before the restart. The Omani had suffered several time-consuming punctures during leg one and had back pain as a result of his injury in Lebanon last year.

The FIA Middle East Rally Championship resumes with the Jordan Rally on May 14-16.

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