Sheikh Khalid to spearhead UAE’s six-car challenge in Jordan

Anthony Fernandes 12:24 28/04/2014
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  • Double hunt: Sheikh Khalid is in the process of chasing his second MERC title.

    A six-car Abu Dhabi Racing team led by Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi will spearhead the UAE’s challenge at the Jordan Rally, round three of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC), from May 1-3.

    Sheikh Khalid goes into the round trailing championship leader Nasser Al Attiyah by 17 points and needs to win in Jordan if he is to stand any realistic chance of adding to his solitary regional title, which he won in 2004.

    Lying further back in third is Yazeed Al Rajhi of Saudi Arabia, 23 points off Al Attiyah and just six behind Sheikh Khalid.

    Al Attiyah is on a roll after winning the first two rounds in Qatar and Kuwait, while Sheikh Khalid finished third and second respectively.

    Qatari Al Attiyah is gunning for his 10th MERC title with an eye on overhauling Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s long-standing 14 regional titles.

    Al Attiyah’s original plan for 2014 was a full programme of the MERC and a limited campaign in the WRC2 after the Qatari opted not to compete in the WRC this year.

    However, Al Attiyah is said to have modified his plans for the current season after wining the Sealine Cross Country Rally on home soil.

    Despite competing in just one round of the World Cup, Al Attiyah is now joint fourth in the overall standings given the Qatar event had offered double the points – 60 as opposed to 30.

    The Qatari is now just 75 points behind leader Vladimir Vasilyev of Russia, but with six rounds and a maximum 180 points still on offer, Al Attiyah believes he can yet win his second World Cup title having first triumphed in 2008 behind the wheel of a BMW.

    Al Attiyah will have his work cut out should he target two titles this season though, because the Lebanon MERC and the Poland World Cup rounds will be held on the same weekend of September 28.

    While the MERC is no doubt his top priority, a victory in Jordan would most certainly encourage him to do the World Cup rounds in Egypt, Spain and Hungary [May 18 to August 14].

    This would allow the 43 year-old to assess whether or not to pursue another World Cup title, all depending on his overall standings before the Poland round in late August.

    If anything, Al Attiyah is hoping to kill two birds with one stone this season.

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