Shaikh Khalid bin Faisal Al Qassimi has grip on second place

Kuwait: Shaikh Khalid bin Faisal Al Qassimi and co-driver Chris Patterson finished day one of the Kuwait International Rally, Round 2 of the 2015 FIA Middle East Rally Championship, in a strong second place amid a five-way battle for top honours at the wheel of his Abu Dhabi Racing Citroen DS3 RRC and keeping them in strong for the final day on Saturday.

The first day of the rally was held over seven stages of challenging terrain, stretching 144.72 km, with Al Qassimi also thrown a dose of bad luck when sand obscured his vision and cost him valuable time. At this point he dropped down to third in the standings. The mishap served  to inspire Al Qassimi and Patterson, as after the service park stop, they proceeded to set impressive times throughout the final stages of the day, reeling in and passing Saudi driver Yazeed Al Rajhi, to entrench themselves in second place.