Qatar makes history as Sealine Cross-Country rally starts

04:43 04/12/2013
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  • Qatar made history yesterday when the Sealine Cross-Country Rally, round three of the FIA World Cup for Cross Countries Rallies, officially got under way with administrative checks and documentation for GCC entries at the Losail International Circuit.

    Hosts Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) will continue with the pre-rally checks today with a focus on the international entries.

    Following the completion of these formalities, QMMF president Nasser Khalifa Al Attiyah will address a news conference in the company of some of the top drivers and riders at the Sealine Beach Resort.

    Competitors will then head to the Corniche in Doha for the ceremonial start, with the first motorcycle set to cross the podium at 15:00 hours local time (UAE 16:00).

    The new Sealine Cross-Country Rally will be held over four special stages between Wednesday and Saturday covering a distance of 1,227.64km of varied competitive action in a compact route totalling 1,323.23km.

    The on-stage competition gets underway for the motorcycles and quads with a 4.2km timed super special stage near the Sealine Beach Resort at 13:00 hours tomorrow while the first car will tackle the special from 13:40 hours.

    Qatar’s Adel Hussein Abdullah won the quad category at the Qatar Baja candidate event last November and is relishing this week’s challenge.

    “It’s fantastic that we have this event in Qatar and so many big names on the entry list,” said the KTM 525 quad rider. “It is going to be a great challenge for me to win again this week, but I will do my best.”

    Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah arrived in Qatar after a disappointing outing in the Kuwait International Rally at the weekend, where an engine failure ruined his chances of success in a Peugeot 207, but the defending FIA Middle East rally champion is determined to defend his Qatar Baja title after piecing together a late deal to drive a Toyota Hilux.

    “I couldn’t really miss my home event, especially as it is now in the FIA World Cup and has attracted so many top drivers,” said Al Attiyah, who is seeded No3 for the event behind Jean-Louis Schlesser and Khalifa Al Mutaiwei.

    “It will not be easy. Jean-Louis has made a good start to his bid to win the World Cup again, Khalifa has shown good speed since his return to racing and Yazeed (Al Rajhi) won the recent rally in Saudi Arabia and is full of confidence,” he added.

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