Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah continues his domination in Silky Way Rally

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia: Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah continued his domination in the Silky Way Rally, winning the third stage comfortably to extend his lead by more than 20 minutes.

Al Attiyah and his French co-driver Mathieu Baumel suffered a puncture during the 695km stage from the Russian city of Ulan-Ude to the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar, but it did not stop the champion Qatari driver from taking a commanding position in the event.

“It is the first time I have driven in Mongolia and it is really magnificent. Everything is green! We drove well today. The pace was perfect. Mathieu (Baumel), gave me the rhythm to follow,” said Al Attiyah.

“After 150 kilometres we saw that no one was following us, so we backed off a little. We had to stop for a slow puncture 20 kilometres from the finish. We really had to push a little more today, to give us more of a gap going into the first big stage of this Silk Way Rally,” he said.

Russian Denis Krotov in a MINI JCW was second while Chinese driver Han Wei (Buggy Geely SMG) slipped down to third place.

Krotov was also pleased with his show. “The day was pretty good for us. We didn’t make the slightest navigation error and that allowed us in the wake of al-Attiyah. Tomorrow’s stage should also suit us and I hope we can do the same result.”