After achieving a comfortable lead on day one of the Dubai International Rally, Sheikh Khalid bin Faisal Al Qassimi and co-driver Chris Patterson decided to keep a steady pace in their Citroen DS3 RRC and maintain the lead until the chequered flag.
Al Qassimi’s strategy on the final day paid off and he won the home event with a lead of 57 seconds over second place finisher AbdulAziz Al Kuwari, while third place went to Khalid Al Suwaidi.
“My initial strategy was to push hard till the end but after achieving a comfortable lead on day one we changed our strategy from full attack to balanced pace to defend our lead,” Al Qassimi said.
“On Day 2, we used hard tyres that have low grip but longer durability which paid off because some of the stages were very rough, particularly SS8. Everything went well and I’m really happy to win my home rally.”
In the 2WD class, the Abu Dhabi Racing junior drivers finished inside the top 10. Mohamed Al Mutawaa/Stephen McAuley won the event posting some impressive times, some even faster than the group N cars! Second place was constantly changing between Saeed Bintowq/Allan Harryman and Mansour Belhelei/Khalid Al Kendi. Eventually, it was Belhelei who had the final word, taking P2 with his teammate Bintouq finishing third.
PROVISIONAL OVERALL CLASSIFICATION
1. Khalid Al Qassimi / Chris Patterson (DS 3 RRC) 1:58:41.5
2. Abdulaziz Al Kuwari / Marshall Clarke (Ford Fiesta RRC) +57.0
4.
4. Khalid Al Suwaidi / Giovanni Bernacchini (Ford Fiesta RRC) +4:37.6
5.
5. Abdulla Al Qassimi / Joseph Matar (Ford Fiesta RRC) +6:01.6
6.
6. Mohammed Al Mutawaa / Stephen McAuley (DS 3 R3) +19:16.5
7.
7. Nassib Nassar / Rony Maroun (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) +19:24.3
8.
8. Mansoor Bel Helai / Khalid Al Kendi (DS 3 R3) +23:10.9
9.
9. Saeed Bintouq / Allan Harryman (DS 3 R3) +23:28.0…
SUBSCRIBE BELOW TO READ THE FULL STORY
