MUSCAT (Oman): Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah began the defence of his FIA Middle East Rally Championship in emphatic style with a convincing start-to-finish victory at the Oman International Rally yesterday.
The Qatari and French co-driver Matthieu Baumel won each of the 12 special stages (SS9 was cancelled) in their Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 and romped to a winning margin of 5min 04.1sec on the Sultanate of Oman’s return to the regional series for the first time since 2015.
The success was Al Attiyah’s sixth in Oman as he tries to break Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s record of seven wins in the Sultanate. Baumel has now won the eent twice (2015 and 2020).
Al Attiyah said: “Thanks to the Oman Automobile Association for organising the first round of the Middle East Championship. Now I win six times here. I always like what I see here. I love the stages and the people.”
Oman’s Abdullah Al Rawahi delivered a solid performance on his R5 debut to secure second position with Jordanian co-driver Ata Al Hmoud in a Ford Fiesta.
Al Rawahi said: “It was a really good result for us and we finished, despite a power steering problem on the last two stages. I would like to thank the team and everyone at the Oman Automobile Association for bringing this rally back.”
Qatar’s Nasser Khalifa Al Attiyah and Italian co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini rounded off the podium places in the third of the Ford Fiesta R5s. The Qatari said: “The rally was good, the stages, the parc ferme and the service area.
“We really enjoyed the stages. Some of them are a bit tough. After 28 years, coming back to Oman to do the rally, I keep my pace and I take third position. I am glad to start the season with a good result. We have time now to plan for the next round in Qatar.”
