HAIL — Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and French co-driver Matthieu Baumel romped to an emphatic 21m 41s victory in the 2008 Saudi Arabian Hail Baja (Hail International Rally) to record their first victory with the BMW X-raid team yesterday.

The Qatari, driving a diesel engine BMW X3 CC, began the final section of this opening round of the FIA International Cup for Cross-Country Bajas 19m 54s ahead of the Russian crew of Boris Gadasin and Alexander Mironenko and was never troubled over the closing 187.96 competitive kilometers. Gadasin held on to take a comfortable second overall in his Nissan Pick-Up and the UAE’s Yayha Al-Helai and Khaled Al-Kendi completed the podium places with a memorable drive in their Nissan Patrol.

“It was a very interesting and difficult race,” admitted a delighted Al-Attiyah. “The stages reminded me of those you would find in Mauritania on the Dakar. There was camel grass on the first one and today was faster, but still not easy. Our car was superb. It never missed a beat. X-raid has done a wonderful job on the development of the BMW X3. Now I look forward to meeting the other factory teams this season. We are feeling very positive after this win.”

Al-Helai was in triumphant mood: “My car does not have the power or the support of the top teams, but we have achieved a famous result,” said the third-placed Emirati. “It is fantastic. It was a good rally and this was a great result for us.”

Hungarians Laszlo Palik and Gabor Darazsi missed out on the podium, but claimed vital Baja championship points for fourth overall on their first visit to the Kingdom. Abdullah Al-Herais of UAE settled for fifth overall in his Nissan Patrol and Czech driver Miroslav Zapletal rounded off the top six. Numerous time penalties were imposed late on Wednesday evening on competitors who had missed various waypoints along the desert route. A shocked Zapletal dropped from third to seventh when he was given a one-hour penalty and Lebanon’s Michel Saleh incurred 75 minutes of additional penalties and slipped to ninth.

First day leader Tonni Van Deijne lost over an hour with a broken velocity joint on the first desert selective and was pushed down to 18th overall by a further 2h 30m of time penalties. The main beneficiary of the penalties was Al-Helai, who moved up to third place in his Nissan Patrol.

QMMF president Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah had been plagued by electrical problems after the refuel on Wednesday and was unable to restart in his Land Rover. The UAE’s Saeed Al-Ketbi suffered terminal gearbox woes and the UAE’s Mark Powell gave up on trying to repair his Buggy at midnight on Wednesday when a starter motor stud sheared after the clutch had been replaced. But it was business as usual at the head of the field for Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah through the opening kilometers of the final selective.

Al-Attiyah began the final day 19m 54s ahead of Gadasin, who had lost several crucial minutes at the end of the second leg trying to find a waypoint. The Qatari was 41 seconds faster than the Russian through 24km and 1m 24s ahead of Zapletal, who was permitted to restart third on the road. Gadasin regained eight seconds at PC1, but Al-Attiyah continued to edge away as the section progressed and Van Deijne began an impressive climb through the field. The Dutchman began the section in 14th and was soon running as the fourth fastest driver on the track.

But the Qatari was delayed between PC2 and the 105km point and Gadasin overturned the deficit and was the virtual stage leader, albeit briefly, at PC3. Al-Attiyah was not to be outdone, however, and edged ahead over the subsequent kilometers and eventually won the selective by 1m 47s to record a memorable win. Gadasin finished a solid second in his Overdrive Racing Nissan Navara.

The battle for the final podium place was between Al-Helai and Palik. The Hungarian had the edge early on, but the Emirati — who has vast experience of the Arabian desert and several top six UAE Desert Challenge finishes under his belt — dug deep to produce a stunning result in his Nissan Patrol and claim third overall. Miroslav Zapletal was consistently the third fastest driver on the final day, but leg two time penalties cost him a possible place on the podium. Van Deijne eventually pipped the Czech for the third fastest time on leg three. Lebanon’s Michel Saleh had been running as the seventh fastest driver on the track, but hit trouble after the fourth passage control.

“I would like to extend my appreciation to everyone who made this successful event possible,” said Mishaal Al-Sudairy, chairman of the Saudi Motor Sports Committee. “I would like to especially thank Jose Megre (Megre has worked on Baja events in Portugal for many years), who has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to offer advice and pass on his considerable experience of FIA events to our new team.” The three-day Baja was held under the patronage of Governor of Hail Prince Saud ibn Abdul Mohsen, president of the Supreme Commission for Hail Development and the Head of the Supreme Commission of the Hail Rally.