FINTAS: Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah is the clear favourite to claim a record-breaking sixth victory in the Kuwait International Rally, round two of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship as the three-day action gets under way today with a timed super special stage at the Sirbb Circuit.
Already nine points clear of his nearest rival in the regional series after winning the Qatar Rally for a 13th time last month, the 11-time Middle East champion is chasing a 62nd victory in the series and his second in a Skoda Fabia R5 with French navigator Matthieu Baumel.
The second R5 car will be driven by Khaled Al Suwaidi, another Qatari to fall foul of bad fortune in Mexico last month.
Al Suwaidi and Italian navigator Giovanni Bernacchini hold second place in the regional rally series in their Ford Fiesta R5 and realise the importance of reaching the finish if they are to have any chance of winning a maiden title.
Al-Suwaidi won the Kuwait event outright in 2012 with British navigator Nick Beech. Abdulaziz Al Kuwari has endured a torrid start to his season in a second Skoda: a heavy crash in Qatar and a couple of mechanical breakages and a crash in Rally Mexico have left the Qatari empty-handed from his opening two events of the season, but he and Irish navigator Killian Duffy were due a run of better fortune, after the remains of their wrecked Skoda was returned to Europe after the Qatar Rally. Engine issues meant that Kuwait’s Masoud Al Saleh was not able to join the final list in his Ford Fiesta S2000. There is a new points-scoring system in this year’s championship. The FIA has revised the traditional 25 points for a win, 18 for second and 15 for third-style format for FIA Regional Rallies.
In addition to these points, additional bonuses are to be awarded according to the classification of each leg on the scale of seven down to one.
Therefore, the winner of the rally will be awarded 25 points, plus an additional seven for winning the second day and up to a maximum of seven more points for leading after day one.
The R5 cars are more powerful and have better handling and body strength than their NR4 counterparts, although the remainder of the entry on the event being hosted by the Basil Salem Al Sabah Motor Racing Club (BMRC) consists of an impressive array of Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions and Subaru Imprezas in the hands of drivers from Kuwait, Qatar, Lebanon, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Ali Al HitmiThe Peninsula
