Al-Attiyah and Coma pad leads in Sealine Rally

SEALINE, Qatar: Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and Spain’s Marc Coma increased their leads in the car and motorcycle categories of the Sealine Cross-Country Rally, after the third 392.52km selective loop section through the Qatar desert on Wednesday.
Marc Coma lost the virtual overall lead to Joan Barreda Bort during the day’s stage and then fought back to set the third quickest time and extend his overall advantage over new second-placed Jordi Viladoms to 10min 12sec. It was another impressive performance by the five-time Dakar winner and means that he can now manage his race strategy over the next two days.
Coma said: “It was a difficult day again. We start in the dunes, but the last part was like a different stage, rocky, a lot of pistes and (we have to) follow the cap. I had a good rhythm all day. The feeling was good. I know Joan (Barreda Bort) was pushing, but to push and not to make a mistake is a fine balance.”
Portugal’s Paolo Gonçalves changed his tactics on Tuesday to upset the running order and the decision worked well for the Team HRC rider. He won the stage by a margin of 2min 04sec from Pablo Quintanilla and climbed to fourth overall.
“With these new rules we have to use them as best as possible. After yesterday’s result I knew I had a little advantage. I really do well and I catch them all and make a lot of time. Now I can choose my starting position. I will try again and see what happens at the end,” said Gonçalves.
Stage opener Barreda Bort attacked from the start, but time loss before the fourth passage control was costly for the Spaniard. “I have a navigation mistake. To go all day alone is so difficult. I was opening and pushing real hard. I try. I know it is not easy with this situation. I try to change,” he said.
Al-Attiyah extended his overall lead in the car category to 22min 19sec with a third successive stage win. “We did a good job today. I am quite happy. We had to open the road and keep a good speed. We were a little cautious in places just to find the right way. We pushed a little in the dunes to make a gap and then it was a case of not getting a puncture.”
Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Al-Rajhi blotted his copybook early in the stage and lost over five minutes, but still reached the finish in third place and maintained second overall.
“After about 14km we stop in some easy place, stuck, and we were passed by (Reinaldo) Varela and (Vladimir) Vasilyev,” admitted Al-Rajhi. “Then we pass them again and I was scared then not to make a mistake or get a puncture. But I am quite happy with this position. The points are the important thing for second place.”
Dutchman Erik van Loon and Briton Harry Hunt lost their fourth and ninth places in the overall standings after crashing 153.27km into the day’s stage on Qatar’s western shoreline.