Al-Attiyah fends off his rivals in Qatar to claim his 80th MERC win 12.02.2022: • Oman’s Al-Rawahi and Ulster’s Kris Meeke round off podium places • Østberg, Al-Kuwari and Al-Suwaidi retire on dramatic final day • Kuwait’s Meshari Al-Thefiri cruises to comfortable MERC2 win

•       Oman’s Al-Rawahi and Ulster’s Kris Meeke round off podium places

•       Østberg, Al-Kuwari and Al-Suwaidi retire on dramatic final day

•       Kuwait’s Meshari Al-Thefiri cruises to comfortable MERC2 win
 

 Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah overcame the most difficult challenge of his career at the Qatar International Rally to record a 16th victory at his home event and achieve a stunning milestone of 80 wins in the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) since 2003.
 


Driving his customary Autotek Volkswagen Polo GTI, Al-Attiyah only hit the front on the eighth of 12 gravel special stages in the Qatar deserts and survived a front puncture in stage nine to press home his advantage over the final three stages. Mads Østberg pushed him all the way to the penultimate stage, but Al-Attiyah hung on doggedly and eventually secured a winning margin of 4min 38.4sec after the Norwegian retired.
 


The success was a 28th for co-driver Mathieu Baumel in the MERC and his fifth in Qatar, while Al-Attiyah’s 80th success as a driver equalled the number of wins achieved last month by French legend Sébastien Loeb in the FIA World Rally Championship.
 


“It is a good feeling,” said Al-Attiyah, who duly extended his lead in the regional series. “I am really happy to win Qatar Rally. This is my home and in front of my people. This was not an easy race. It was tricky. The pace that we did from yesterday to today, me and Kris and Mads, was very hard. This was a fantastic win. I was trying to keep one pace. It was amazing..”
 


Østberg and Ilka Minor certainly took the fight to Al-Attiyah, led overnight and extended their advantage on the first stage of the morning. The Norwegian lost his way for a few seconds in stage eight and then a rear puncture cost him his lead before the regroup.



He pushed hard during the afternoon to try and hunt down a charging Al-Attiyah, but it was in vain and a heavy impact in the penultimate stage damaged the Škoda Fabia R2 evo, caused a water leak from a fractured pipe and sidelined the former FIA WRC2 World Champion within sight of the finish.
 



Oman’s Abdullah Al-Rawahi was patient and stayed clear of trouble as chaos ensued around  him. He and Jordanian co-driver Ata Al-Hmoud were rewarded with a stunning second place in their Oman Rally Team-run Škoda Fabia R2 evo and a useful haul of championship points.
 


Al-Rawahi said: “Quite happy. The guys in front were pushing too much and a few of them had technical problems. I was trying to be clean and take advantage of anyone who made mistakes. Overall, on the second day, the times were quite close and I am happy with my performance. It was really important that we finished second.”
 


Andorra-based Ulsterman Kris Meeke and co-driver Chris Patterson led after two stages on Friday before rolling out of contention for the win in stage four. Meeke climbed from fifth to third during the final day and then overcame a damper issue on the final loop of three stages to regain third overall and the final place on the podium.
 


The former WRC star said: “Normally I like to be at the races. We were early on but I made that silly mistake on stage four. The speed was good all weekend. We had an issue at the rear to carry through the final stages, so we had to take it easy. Anything can happen here. We saw Nasser had his issues but still got through. He has proven why he is the king of the desert.
 


“No idea about the future at this stage. I am doing my testing with Škoda at the moment, the new R5. That is keeping me busy. As far as rallies are concerned, I have no idea but I would love to do more in the Middle East. You just learn so much. It is so unique and different. I learned more than I did last year. To beat this man (Nasser) on this terrain is nearly mission impossible.”
 


Transmission issues accounted for Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari and cost the Qatari a potential podium finish, while a broken wheel hub was the cause of Khaled Ak-Suwaidi’s retirement from fifth overall.
 


Kuwait’s Meshari Al-Thefiri was the class of the MERC2 field in his fourth-placed Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. He and co-driver Nasser Al-Kuwari completely dominated the category to secure a winning margin of 11min 56.5sec over Oman’s Zakariya and Mohammed Al-Aamri.
 


Jordan’s Issa Abu Jamous moved ahead of fellow countryman Ihab Al-Shorafa on the final loop of stages, when the latter suffered tyre issues. They reached the finish in sixth and seventh overall. Qatar’s Mohammed Al-Attiyah was eighth and Germany’s Edith Weiss came home in ninth.
 



Ahmed and Firas Allouh overcame a dramatic first day of the Qatar National Rally to edge the win over their Qatari Can-Am rivals, Ahmad Al-Muhannadi and Mubarak Al-Khelaifi. Lebanon’s Kahy dropped 17 minutes to his rivals on the first run through Umm Birka and finished third.
 


Action in the 2022 FIA Middle East Rally Championship resumes in Kuwait on March 17th-19th.
 



Neil Perkins,  photos QMMF