Qatar's Attiyah claims eighth victory in Jordan Rally

DEAD SEA — Qatar’s Nasser Al Attiyah on Saturday cruised to his eighth Jordan Rally victory and his 53rd Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) win after finishing first place in the 21 hectic Special Stages of Jordan Rally 2014, the third round of MERC. 

Attiyah and co-driver Italian Giovanni Bernacchini clocked 3h00m53.2s, followed by UAE’s Khaled Al Qassimi and co-driver Chris Patterson with 3h02m55.4s, and UAE’s Abdullah Al Qassimi and co-driver Catherine Derousseaux in the third place with 3h15m26.7s.

Bernacchini claimed his 24th win as co-driver, equalling Chris Patterson’s record.

Meanwhile, Jordan’s Marouf Abu Samra lost a good chance for a podium finish and settled in the fourth place with 3h16m03.9s after a close battle with Abdullah Al Qassimi.

Kuwait’s Salah Bin Eidan settled in the fifth place with 3h18m19.9s and Jordan’s Husam Salem in the sixth place (Group N) with 3h27m15.2s. 

Attiyah, who headed straight to take part in the 5th round of the World Rally Championship in Argentina, said: “It was a tough but smooth run for us." 

"The first couple of stages included some sections that had been used already and I was a little cautious because of the varying degree of grip, but I got into my rhythm after that," he added. 

"This is another tremendous win for our team. It is developing into a superb season now. I just need to keep the momentum going.”

On the other hand, UAE's Khaled Al Qassimi said: “We made some changes to the car and they worked and we won a couple of special stages. I lost my rhythm a little but we kept fighting till the end.”

Jordan’s veteran driver Abu Samra said "mechanical issues" added more pressure on his car. 

"The challenge was really tough I was behind Abdullah with 37.2s,” he said.

Saturday started with only 19 cars. Khaled Al Qassimi took the lead of SS12 Shuna 1 and Attiyah in the second place but first overall, and Abu Samra sneaked into third, but things soon changed with the Jordanian driver slipping into fourth overall at SS13.

Attiyah took the lead in SS14, SS15 and SS16 with Khaled Al Qassimi following close and Abu Samra fighting for third.

Saturday’s last stages saw Attiyah dominate.

Khaled Al Qassimi surprised Attiyah by winning SS19 Rawda but with a difference of 1m44s, the Qatari champion sailed smoothly to win SS20, SS21 and the rally.

The event was held under the patronage of HRH Prince Feisal, chairman of Jordan Motorsport. 

The rally missed the participation of Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Al Rajhi, who fell ill and had to be hospitalised on Thursday. 

Khaled Zakaria, Jordan Rally director, expressed his satisfaction with the event. 

"... The changes we made paid off especially when we split the stages into two loops of five stages. I thank everyone who worked on this rally especially the volunteers who we see as the backbone of each event.” 

A moment of silence was observed on Thursday in memory of the Qatari driver Misfer Al Marri, the 2010 regional rally champion and a frequent participant in Jordan rallies who passed away this year.