Nasser and Khalid to fight for supremacy

Shaikh Khalid Al Qassimi, Mohammed Sulayem and Nassar Al Attiyahi address the Press. — KT photo by Mukesh Kamal

Dubai — Only two drivers in the last 11 years have found victory in the Dubai International Rally, and they face an intriguing battle for supremacy when the 36th edition of the event draws the 2014 FIA Middle East Rally Championship to its conclusion this weekend.

If Shaikh Khalid Al Qasimi is to emerge as FIA Middle East champion for the second time in his career, he will have to end one of the longest winning sequences in the 30-year history of the regional series. Partnered by Chris Patterson in his Abu Dhabi Racing Citroen DS3, Al Qasimi is attempting to become the first UAE driver to achieve Dubai Rally success since he won it for the second year in a row in 2006.

Since then, the event has been dominated by Qatar’s nine-times Middle East champion Nasser Al Attiyah, who knows that his bid for a tenth regional crown, alongside Giovanni Bernacchini in a Ford Fiesta RRC, will be denied should Al Qasimi take the victory laurels on Saturday.

They are unlikely to have things all their own way, however, as Qatar’s Abdulaziz Al Kuwari could also emerge as Middle East champion should the top two seeds push too hard over the next two days and run into difficulty.

Any mistakes or misfortunes up ahead could also open the door for a serious challenge by two other Emirati drivers, Sheikh Abdullah Al Qasimi and Rashid Al Ketbi, both driving Ford Fiesta RRCs and equally keen to add a Dubai Rally win to their CVs.

Taking place under the patronage of Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE National Olympic Committee, the Dubai International Rally is one of the main attractions of the 2nd edition of Dubai Motor Festival.

The event gets under way with a ceremonial start at Dubai World Trade Centre at 7.30pm tonight (Thursday) before two days of desert special stage action in the Al Dhaid, Kadra and Mileiha areas. The finish is at Dubai World Trade Centre at 4.30pm on Saturday. For a fifth year, the rally is based at Dubai Men’s College, in the Higher Colleges of Technology campus at Academic City, Dubai, which hosts the Rally HQ and service park, as well as today’s official press conference.