Nasser extends Abu Dhabi lead
ABU DHABI: Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah and Dubai-based Sam Sunderland extended their leads in the car and motorcycle categories by claiming victories through the opening 276.59km selective section of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge on Sunday.
The stage started east of Arjan, south of Abu Dhabi, and finished north of the remote desert resort of Qasr Al Sarab.
Nasser cruised to the stage win in the cars and his Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux now leads the event by 11min 35.1sec from Abu Dhabi Racing’s Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi.
Russian Vladimir Vasilyev finished third in his X-raid Mini All4 Racing, Czech Miroslav Zapletal was fourth and fellow countryman Martin Prokop produced an impressive performance in his Ford to claim the fifth fastest time.
"Today was not easy, but we had a good start position – sixth. We push very hard in the first 70km and pass everybody just to make the gap big. We don’t have any problems. Everything is working very well. Our Toyota is good. It was very hot. Inside the cabin it was 52 (Centigrade). We try and drink water and some energy liquid. Now we see for the next day," said Nasser.
In the bikes category, Dakar Rally winner Sunderland started last on the road, claimed the win by just three seconds and holds an overnight advantage of just 5.7 seconds over the Chilean defending FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Champion Pablo Quintanilla, riding his Husqvarna.
"It was good to win the stage yesterday and have the choice of position, because this race is quite strategic. It was a heavy day, really tough, and we had to push a lot. To start last and finish first was not easy. The deserts are really unpredictable out there. The rain of the past weeks, I lost the front (of the bike) in the sand, in the soft dunes, braking a few times. This caused a bit of stress. But the bike is working good. I will take each day as it comes. Obviously starting first tomorrow, I will lose time. But we will see," said Sunderland.
Saudi Arabia’s Yasir Saeidan has unfinished business in the T2 category after missing out on last year’s title and he made a strong start to his campaign and was the front-running T2 driver at the early passage control checks.
