KUWAIT CITY // Another race, another record.
Nasser Al Attiyah, the 10-time Middle East Rally champion, won his fifth Kuwait International Rally on Saturday to break Mohammed ben Sulayem’s record and move Qatar level with the UAE in terms of total Middle East Rally Championship (Merc) race victories.
Al Attiyah’s triumph was the 56th Merc win of the 44 year old’s career and moved him within four of Ben Sulayem’s record of 60, achieved by the Emirati between 1984 and 2002.
The victory also meant Qatar, with 73 race wins, matched the total held by the UAE.
“I am so happy to keep this run of wins going and extend my lead in the championship,” said Al Attiyah, who finished one minute, 2.1 seconds ahead of title rival Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi. “I had a good strategy here and it worked. I managed my pace and that was important.”
Al Attiyah leads Al Qassimi in the Merc by 14 points after two rounds. The Emirati, who drives for Abu Dhabi Racing, won two of yesterday’s six stages but was unable to make up the time lost on Friday’s third stage.
“I’m happy to be on the podium. I had some bad luck on the first day when dust stuck to my windshield and I had visibility problems, as a result of which I lost nearly 40 seconds,” Al Qassimi said. “Then, while I was catching up, I lost another 25 seconds due to a puncture. It is not the result I wanted, but I’ll take second after all the issues.”
Ben Sulayem, who remains the driver with most Merc titles, having won the championship 14 times, congratulated Al Attiyah on his latest achievement.
“I did my part for my country, but records are there to be broken,” he said. “I am sure Nasser will eventually break more of my records, but we can be proud the UAE held them for such a period.
“The challenge we have now is to get more young drivers into the sport because the Middle East Rally Championship is not about the records, but about improving the infrastructure and support of motorsport in the region and ensuring ways to sustain it.”
Mansour Al Helei, the Abu Dhabi Racing junior development driver, was ninth overall but first in the two-wheel drive category.
The next round of the Merc is in Iran on May 6-8.
gmeenaghan@thenational.ae
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