Adverse Nation – Al-Attiyah/Baumel the early pacesetters in Qatar

Nasser Al-Attiyah, six-time winner of the Qatar Adverse Nation Rally, has stamped his authority on his dwelling round of the FIA World Cup for Adverse Nation Rallies. The Qatari and French navigator Mathieu Baumel led the principle stage from open up to accept to transfer the gap occasion of the season by an spectacular 5 minutes and 50 seconds. Yazeed Al Rajhi and Michael Orr reached the accept 2nd overall with the third Toyota Hilux crew of Jakub Przygonski and Timo Gottschalk locking out the raze three.

On the sleek time’s route eased the crews into the competition with the shortest of the six selective sections at 171.25 kilometres, which ran from the centre of the country in an anti-clockwise loop in the direction of the east flit.

Al-Attiyah had the duty of opening the street, however co-driver Baumel guided the Qatari thru the maze of tracks – thought-about to be a pair of of the trickiest for navigation in the series – to explain the principle stage select of the atrocious country rally season. “It’s by no system easy and the roads are no longer easy and tricky,” acknowledged Al-Attiyah, who picked up one puncture. “But we made no mistakes, managed with out considerations and had truthful tempo.”

Al Rajhi maintained a stop 2nd residing all a number of the simplest ways thru the percentage, only a minute adrift of Al-Attiyah, however then he and co-driver Orr dropped one other four minutes after the 100 kilometre designate. “We picked up a puncture after which performed the final 40 kilometres of the percentage with a brake philosophize; the pedal lawful saved going to the flooring,” acknowledged Al Rajhi.

Przygonski is competing for the principle time in the Toyota Hilux and the Pole, with regular co-driver Timo Gottschalk, performed third as they struggled to gain into the lawful groove. “It was as soon as exhausting to gain into a rhythm this present day with the navigation and automotive to transfer love we aged to attain,” acknowledged the 2018 Qatar winner, one other to cease and switch a wheel. “We are in a position to try and fix a pair of of the navigation considerations between us and the cooperation the following day will likely be truthful.”

Khalid Al Mohannadi and Sébastien Delaunay had a huge speed thru the percentage, the Qatari/French pairing fourth overall and main the T3 class of their Polaris. “On the sleek time the strategy was as soon as no longer too noteworthy about bustle,” acknowledged Al Mohannadi. “No considerations and Sébastien is a extraordinarily truthful co-driver so no mistakes.”

Austin Jones, with unusual navigator in Brazilian Gustavo Gugelmin, was as soon as lawful 35 seconds adrift of his T3 rival with a fixed efficiency all a number of the simplest ways thru the percentage. “It was as soon as a truthful day and we went rather slowly, perhaps at fifty p.c, as I wished to gain into the groove with my unusual navigator,” acknowledged the American, who overnights fifth overall in the Can-Am Maverick and 2nd in T3. “I’m in a position to’t be taught the terrain at all, all of it appears to be the an identical and is terribly very annoying; I’m in a position to’t keep in mind making an try to navigate! It’s our first time together and we wanted to observe what the comfort of the competition was as soon as love. Now we all know the build we are, we’ll gain it going quite more for the longer phases.”

Fedor Vorobyev and Kirill Shubin constantly upped their tempo in the unusual OT3 Overdrive automotive and performed sixth overall and third of the T3 contenders. “We had a gearbox philosophize and one puncture,” acknowledged the Russian, who performed final 300 and sixty five days’s atrocious country rally season 2nd in the class.

Monday’s leg is, competitively, the third longest of the rally and takes the crews over a 334.25 kilometre share that winds its system alongside the north-japanese flit and all over the northern barren role

Manateq Qatar Adverse Nation Rally – Provisional results after Leg 1 (16: 45 hrs local)

T3 leaders Khalid Al Mohannadi/Sébastien Delaunay

Photos: RallyZone