The row between Qatar and the UAE over two controversial decisions – denying Abu Dhabi a round of the Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) and then following that up by stripping Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi of his Dubai rally victory and regional title – is threatening to assume epic proportions.
Abu Dhabi Racing, for who Sheikh Khalid drives, are currently weighing all options before them, including legal and perhaps even discontinuing from participating in the regional series.
While the row threatens to intensify, it has now emerged that the three-member International Court of Appeal panel – Jan Stovicek (Czech Republic), Philippe Roberti de Winghe (Belgium) and Felipe Zeraik (Brazil) – that stripped Sheikh Khalid of his title were granted an extension in service for a further period of three years beg-inning January 1, 2015.
And, coincidentally, the extension was granted on the final day of the FIA General Assembly in Doha, December 5, while the ruling on Sheikh Khalid was made the previous day.
The neutrality of the panel has also come into question with concern raised about their presence in Doha and the location of their makeshift office at the St Regis hotel, the venue of the five-day general assembly.
But Sheikh Khalid, when contacted, preferred not to wade into the controversy and said: “The competition with Nasser Al Attiyah in Dubai International Rally reached a very high level and was very close.
“The times that I recorded in the stages speak for themselves. Obviously, I am very disappointed with the decision but the International Court of Appeal has the final call.
“I believe that I won Dubai International Rally fairly, I was the fastest in most of the stages. I feel that the decision is not fair to me or to the team.
“I have proposed several times that cars participating in the Middle East Rally Championship should have on-board cameras, but for some reason this control solution has not been taken into consideration.
“As Abu Dhabi Racing, we really need to think about our commitment to the Middle East Rally Championship going forward.”
Sheikh Khalid’s lawyer Zeeshan Dhar added: “The ICA decision was based on a route deviation which is out of sync with all applicable regulations applied by the FIA appointed rally stewards, and therefore there is no legal or rational basis for the ICA decision.
“We presented the ICA with clear and unequivocal evidence by way of video footage that the appellant, who was seeking to penalise Sheikh Khalid for the route deviation, had himself knowingly committed far more serious route deviations for which he was not penalised.”