JRM’s NR4-specification Subaru WRX STI rally car recorded even more international success at the weekend when Rashid Al Naimi won the production class and finished third overall at the opening round of the FIA Middle East Championship.
The Qatar Rally Team has chosen to use a brace of JRM-built Subarus to spearhead its assault on the 2016 MERC production category and the cars were given their competitive debut at the Qatar International Rally.
Al Naimi (above) and team-mate Khalifa Saleh Al Attiyah (below) didn’t waste any time getting to grips with their new machines and set the production pace throughout the rally.
They scored nine fastest times on the 13-stage event and Al Naimi took an impressive 43.6s victory. Mitsubishi drivers Abdulla Al Kuwari and Husam Salem completed the top three.
Qatar Rally Team boss Ken Skidmore was pleased with the performance of his team’s new cars during their maiden event in the Middle East.
He said: “I’m extremely happy with the result because the cars stood up very well to the demanding roads in the Qatar desert and they showed excellent speed and strength. Rashid suffered a puncture on the first day but the car’s performance still allowed him to recover and take a dominant Gp N win.
“We’re already looking forward to the Kuwait Rally in March where we hope we can follow up our first round success with another victory.”
JRM’s Head of Motorsport Sales, Graham Prew, was pleased to see the car add to its international credentials in the FIA Middle East Rally Championship – only two months after it won the production category at Wales Rally GB by more than five minutes and finished 20th overall in the hands of David Higgins.
“The results in Wales and Qatar show that our latest-specification NR4 Subaru offers big advantages over other production rally cars,” he said. “Technically, the latest-spec of Subaru WRX STI is more up-to-date than all of its rivals and that gives the driver the confidence to push hard on the stages.”
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