Al Attiyah cruises to record 15th win
01 Feb 2021 - 8:39
The podium winners of the Qatar International Rally, Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah, Matthieu Baumel; Abdulaziz Al Kuwari, James Fulton and Khalid Al Suwaidi and Hugo Magalhães celebrate on the podium.
The Peninsula
Doha: Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah continued to rewrite his own history by securing a comfortable victory in the Qatar International Rally yesterday.
The Qatari and French co-driver Matthieu Baumel managed the pace perfectly over the closing stages and guided their Autotek Motorsport Volkswagen Polo GTi R5 to a winning margin of 1min 48.4sec over Abdulaziz Al Kuwari and his new Irish co-driver James Fulton.
Al Attiyah grabs lead at Qatar Rally
31 Jan 2021 - 9:40
The Peninsula
Defending regional champion Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah took full advantage of late problems for Ulsterman Kris Meeke to hammer home his advantage after a fascinating four gravel special stages of the Qatar International Rally yesterday.
The two rivals shared a pair of stage wins apiece through the northern deserts and were separated by 10.3 seconds before the last action of the day. Meeke and English navigator Sebastian Marshall damaged the underside of their Škoda Fabia R5 after a heavy landing over a jump and were forced to stop after the stage.
Stage set for Qatar International Rally
29 Jan 2021 - 9:46
Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah tests his VW before the Qatar International Rally
The Peninsula
The 2021 Qatar International Rally roars into life at Katara this evening with the ceremonial start podium set to be held at 8:15pm before teams will tackle two runs and two laps of a purpose-built super special stage from 9:30pm. Then, ahead of an impressive field of drivers and co-drivers from 12 nations are two days of high-speed competition across the northern deserts of the State of Qatar that will make the opening round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) such a challenge. Run under the rigorous protocols put in place for the COVID-19 pandemic, all necessary precautions have been taken. Teams have now completed their reconnaissance of the desert special stages and attention turns to setting the cars up in preparation for the rigours that lie ahead over the weekend.
Al Kuwari eyes second victory at Qatar Rally
26 Jan 2021 - 8:37
Abdulaziz Al Kuwari
The Peninsula
Doha: Abdulaziz Al Kuwari will be looking to put himself in contention to win the Qatar International Rally for a second time when the opening round of the 2021 FIA Middle East Rally Championship gets underway at Katara on Friday evening.
The 41-year-old Doha-based driver has taken a relative back seat from international competition in the last few years, but backing from the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) leaves the 2012 Qatar International Rally winner hopeful that he can challenge for outright success over the 11 gravel special stages of the series opener.
Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation had announced that defending FIA Middle East rally champion Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and WRC star Kis Meeke are the top seeds among the 18 international car entries (subject to FIA approval) for next week’s Qatar International Rally.
The opening round of the 2021 FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) will go ahead under the strict Covid-19 protocols in force in the State of Qatar and has also moved forward by one day in the calendar.
The start ceremony will be held at Katara on January 29, Friday evening, followed by two days of gravel action in the deserts of Qatar from January 30 till 31.