Al Qassimi takes stunning victory as Nasser crashes

ABU DHABI: Shaikh Khalid Al Qassimi won the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge after the dramatic 219.76km final stage here on Thursday as the third round of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies ended in an anticlimax.

Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah appeared to be cruising to victory until he rolled his Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux heavily before the opening passage control. Despite continuing for a short while after a long delay, he retired the damaged car at PC1.

Al Qassimi and navigator Khalid Al Kendi had put their previous day’s troubles behind them and their determination was duly rewarded with a superb victory that gives the Abu Dhabi-based driver a 33-point lead in the standings.

A delighted Al Qassimi will take many positives from his debut in the Abu Dhabi Racing Peugeot 3008 DKR. Delays on day four aside, the UAE driver has adapted well to cross-country rallying in a short space of time and his victory throws the FIA World Cup wide open. His winning margin was 41min 26sec and he became the first Emirati to win the event since Mohammed Mattar won the two non-championship races way back in 1991 and 1992.

Al Qassimi said: “I think this is the first win on an FIA World Cup round for an Emirati in 27 years. This event has been in the series for 25 years and this is also a first for an Emirati. I don’t want to be so greedy. I am still learning and for me every day is a learning curve. This is only my fourth or fifth cross-country. I am pushing myself to a good level. The team itself, all of us, had a good effort. We had a lot of problems. We took stock after the drive shaft. That was a bad time. That’s why they call it cross-country. You keep pushing. It is good for myself and for Abu Dhabi. It’s an Abu Dhabi event. It is fantastic for everyone that we won this rally. It’s a big boost winning this rally. We are happy. I am not doing the Cross-Country championship. The reality is that we are leading now. Do we do another event?”

Czech driver Martin Prokop delivered a career-best performance in this discipline to snatch second place in his Ford F-150. Mohamed Issa Abu Issa has enjoyed a successful transition from racing on a quad to being competitive in a car and the Qatari finished third overall in his Mini All4 Racing.

T2 became a battle ground between Ahmed Al Shegawi and Yasir Saiedan after earlier delays for Abu Dhabi’s Emil Khneisser and Qatar’s Adel Abdulla. Al Shegawi was delayed on the last stage and Saiedan claimed the win from Al Shegawi and Mansoor Al Helai.

Adel, who runs his Nissan Patrol with support from Saleh Al Mana Co, Ooredoo, QMMF and Nissan Middle East, finished fourth and maintains the defense of his world title in style before his home event in two weeks.

Briton Sam Sunderland and Kuwait’s Fahad Al Musallam won the motorcycle and quad categories respectively . Press Release