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Al Attiyah wins record-breaking 13th Jordan Rally
Bengaluru, April 29: Qatari ace Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah survived a suspension scare on the first run through the Amar special stage and went on to secure a record-breaking eighth successive and 13th outright victory in the Jordan Rally, the second round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC).
Seemingly coasting to victory with a massive lead of over five minutes in their Autotek-run Volkswagen Polo GTI R5, Dakar Rally champion Al Attiyah and French co-driver Matthieu Baumel were forced to limp through two stages with broken suspension and sufficient repairs were made to enable the duo to reach the finish with an eventual winning margin of 4min 08.2sec.
The result marked Al Attiyah's 71st MERC win in the 212-event history of the regional series since its inception in 1984. Baumel has now won 19 MERC rallies.
Special day
"It was a special day for us. We had a few problems but we managed to fix everything. I'm so happy to win and to lead the MERC after winning in Qatar and now here in Jordan," said Al Attiyah.
"The suspension issue was a worry. We had three gravel shocks (shock absorbers) and one tarmac one and the balance was completely different. It was not easy to have all the parts because this was a new car," Al Attiyah added.
Abdulaziz second
Fellow Qatari Abdulaziz Al Kuwari and British co-driver Marshall Clarke were waiting to pounce if Al Attiyah's troubles worsened and the Škoda Fabia R5 crew finished second and maintained the pressure on their rivals in the title race.
Their consolation was winning day two and collecting an additional championship point.
Reward for Marouf
The Jordanian crew of Marouf Abu Samra and Malek Hariri were rewarded with a podium finish in their Ford Fiesta R5.
The Amman driver enjoyed his return to the international spotlight as he confirmed another top three finish for the host nation.
Henry in control
Lebanon's Henry Kahy continued the defence of his MERC 3 title in impeccable style with a fine category win and fifth overall with Jordanian co-driver Musa Djiyerian in his nimble Skoda Fabia.
The other three finishers all came from Rally 2 after early retirements
Story first published: Monday, April 29, 2019, 14:14 [IST]
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