Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi will lead a six-car Citroen DS3 team at this weekend’s Kuwait International Rally, round two of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship.
Three of the top four seeds at this weekend’s rally are previous winners of the event in Kuwait. That statistic alone has set the scene for a titanic battle across 13 special stages, starting with a short super special at the recently opened Sirbb Karting Circuit from 17:50 (18:50 UAE) on Thursday.
Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah has won this rally in 2009, 2011 and 2013 and claimed an 11th victory in his home event last month to snatch a seven-point lead in a regional championship he has won nine times in the last 11 years.
“No problems for us on the recce, the stages are quite nice, nothing really to worry about,” said Al Attiyah.
Abu Dhabi Racing’s Al Qassimi will be trying to overhaul his Qatari rival this weekend. Winner in Kuwait in 2010, the 2004 regional champion fronts a six-team Abu Dhabi Racing line-up with six Citroens in the event – a DS3 RRC for Al Qassimi and five two-wheel drive DS3 R3s for Abu Dhabi Racing-Citroen Middle East Trophy leader Mohamed Al Mutawaa, Mohamed Al Sahlawi, Juma Al Falaisi, Saeed Bintouq and Mansoor Bel Helei.
Al Qassimi told Sport360°: “My goal is to fight for the win. To prepare properly for the event and to define the best possible set-up; we carried out some tests at the start of the week. I think the fight at the front will be intense; we’ll need to be on the pace from the word go.”
Speaking about his colleagues, Al Qassimi added: “The young Emirati drivers produced some strong performances in Qatar, especially as it is a rally that is reputed for its harsh and unforgiving stages.
“The challenge in Kuwait is different, which means the drivers will be facing fresh difficulties and they will need to control their cars a little bit more.”
Yazeed Al Rajhi is on a roll at the moment and is virtually tackling an event every week in a hectic rallying programme.
Winner of the Kuwait event when it ran as a candidate round in 2008, Al Rajhi has a comfortable lead in the 2014 FIA World Cup after taking wins in Russia and Italy and has also won the inaugural Rally Jeddah this year.
The Saudi was fourth in the opening MERC round after early problems and needs at least a podium finish to keep his title hopes alive. Abdulaziz Al Kuwari currently holds second place in the regional series after finishing behind Al Attiyah in Qatar.
He now has a programme of six WRC events to get his teeth into and success in Kuwait will stand Al Kuwari in good stead for the forthcoming Rally of Portugal in early April.
Saleh bin Eidan failed to finish the opening round after engine issues and he fronts the Kuwaiti challenge on this occasion. The last local to win this event was Ahmed Al Thafiri in 1981. The rally begins today with the spectator stage and ends on Saturday.
