Autosportfoto

Khalid Al Qassimi wins Dubai Rally

Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi and Chris Patterson win Dubaï International Rally in a DS 3 RRC.

The Abu Dhabi driver won the home event with a lead of 57 seconds over second place finisher.
Mohammed Al Mutawaa wins the 2WD class ahead of teammates Belhelei and Bintouq.
After achieving a comfortable lead on day one, Sheikh Khalid bin Faisal Al Qassimi and Co-driver Chris Patterson decided to keep a steady pace and maintain the lead until the chequered flag at the end of the Dubai International Rally.

Al Qassimi's strategy on the final day payed off and he won the home event with a lead of 57 sec. over 2nd place finisher AbdulAziz Al Kuwari while 3rd place went to Khalid Al Suwaidi.

"My initial strategy was to push hard till the end but after achieving a comfortable lead on day one we changed our strategy from full attack to balanced pace to defend our lead." Al Qassimi said.

"On Day 2, we used hard tires that have low grip but longer durability which paid off because the some of the stages were very rough particularly SS8. Everything went well and I'm really happy to win my home Rally."

In the 2WD class, the Abu Dhabi Racing junior drivers finished inside the top 10. Mohamed Al Mutawaa/Stephen McAuley won the event posting some impressive times, some even faster than the group N cars! The 2nd place was constantly changing between Saeed Bintowq/Allan Harryman and Mansour Belhelei/Khalid Al Kendi. Eventually, it was Belhelei who had the final word taking P2 and his teammate Bintouq taking P3.

PROVISIONAL OVERALL CLASSIFICATION

1. Khalid Al Qassimi / Chris Patterson (DS 3 RRC) 1:58:41.5
2. Abdulaziz Al Kuwari / Marshall Clarke (Ford Fiesta RRC) +57.0
4. Khalid Al Suwaidi / Giovanni Bernacchini (Ford Fiesta RRC) +4:37.6
5. Abdulla Al Qassimi / Joseph Matar (Ford Fiesta RRC) +6:01.6
6. Mohammed Al Mutawaa / Stephen McAuley (DS 3 R3) +19:16.5
7. Nassib Nassar / Rony Maroun (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) +19:24.3
8. Mansoor Bel Helai / Khalid Al Kendi (DS 3 R3) +23:10.9
9. Saeed Bintouq / Allan Harryman (DS 3 R3) +23:28.0...