DEAD SEA, Jordan: Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah was at his clinical and devastating best on the second day of the Jordan Rally. The Qatari, who had begun the day with a lead of 9.5 seconds, won all 10 special stages in the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley areas to take a convincing lead of 11min 16.4sec into the final eight timed tests on Saturday.
His partnership with French co-driver Matthieu Baumel in a Skoda Fabia R5 goes from strength-to-strength and the Doha-based driver remains firmly on course for a 10th Jordan win.
“To be honest, I pushed hard on the super special on Thursday night to make a show for the spectators, but then I managed to control the rally and my pace,” said the Qatari. “I know from experience that these stages need to be respected and I was able to drive quickly without making mistakes.”
The eagerly anticipated battle for MERC 2 honors developed into a duel between the Jordanian duo of Khaled Juma and Husam Salem, after Khalifa Al-Attiyah rolled out of contention on the first stage of the morning and Rashid Al-Nuami crashed and lost a wheel.
Juma, the defending local national champion, took advantage of ongoing brake issues and caution by his local rival to reach the night halt with a lead of 1min 23.4sec and a fine second overall. Salem was a solid third to give the host nation two places on the provisional podium.
A somewhat resigned Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari and his Irish navigator Killian Duffy held second in their Skoda Fabia R5 until the 10th stage, when the Qatari launched his car off the track and into retirement. Al-Attiyah and Al-Kuwari had been the class of the field. A three-minute delay in SS7 pushed Khalid Al-Suwaidi further behind the leading duo and the Qatari failed to start of the eighth stage and retired.
Once Khalifa Al-Attiyah and Al-Nuami hit trouble, Abdullah Al-Kuwari took the decision to ease his pace to preserve championship points and the Qatari held third in MERC 2 and fourth overall at the end of the day.
Kuwait’s Meshari Al-Thefiri overcame early morning delays and climbed to fifth place. Ihab Al-Shorafa was sixth, Lebanon’s Rodolphe Asmar and Jordan’s Asem Aref rounded off the eight survivors, but local girl Lina Hadadi lost her seventh position after stopping in the last stage of what developed into a gruelling day at the Dead Sea.
Saturday’s timetable consists of a further eight special stages, consisting of two runs through the Rawda, Shuna, Karamah and Baptism Site specials, split by a midday service and regroup at the Dead Sea.
Positions after SS11 (unofficial @ 16.07hrs):
1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Matthieu Baumel (FRA) Skoda Fabia R5 1hr 24min 41.4sec
2. Khaled Juma (JOR)/Faris Al-Tal (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII 1hr 35min 57.8sec
3. Husam Salem (JOR)/Nancy Al-Majali (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 1hr 37min 21.2sec
4. Abdullah Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Adel Hussein (QAT) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 1hr 38min 12.4sec
5. Meshari Al-Thafiri (KWT)/Emad Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 1hr 45min 03.5sec
6. Ihab Al-Shorafa (JOR)/Hazem Attiyat (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 1hr 56min 06.0sec
7. Rodolphe Asmar (LEB)/Joseph Matar (LEB) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 2hr 01min 13.2sec
8. Asem Aref (JOR)/Musa Djiyerian (JOR) Renault Clio 2hr 09min 37.9sec
His partnership with French co-driver Matthieu Baumel in a Skoda Fabia R5 goes from strength-to-strength and the Doha-based driver remains firmly on course for a 10th Jordan win.
“To be honest, I pushed hard on the super special on Thursday night to make a show for the spectators, but then I managed to control the rally and my pace,” said the Qatari. “I know from experience that these stages need to be respected and I was able to drive quickly without making mistakes.”
The eagerly anticipated battle for MERC 2 honors developed into a duel between the Jordanian duo of Khaled Juma and Husam Salem, after Khalifa Al-Attiyah rolled out of contention on the first stage of the morning and Rashid Al-Nuami crashed and lost a wheel.
Juma, the defending local national champion, took advantage of ongoing brake issues and caution by his local rival to reach the night halt with a lead of 1min 23.4sec and a fine second overall. Salem was a solid third to give the host nation two places on the provisional podium.
A somewhat resigned Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari and his Irish navigator Killian Duffy held second in their Skoda Fabia R5 until the 10th stage, when the Qatari launched his car off the track and into retirement. Al-Attiyah and Al-Kuwari had been the class of the field. A three-minute delay in SS7 pushed Khalid Al-Suwaidi further behind the leading duo and the Qatari failed to start of the eighth stage and retired.
Once Khalifa Al-Attiyah and Al-Nuami hit trouble, Abdullah Al-Kuwari took the decision to ease his pace to preserve championship points and the Qatari held third in MERC 2 and fourth overall at the end of the day.
Kuwait’s Meshari Al-Thefiri overcame early morning delays and climbed to fifth place. Ihab Al-Shorafa was sixth, Lebanon’s Rodolphe Asmar and Jordan’s Asem Aref rounded off the eight survivors, but local girl Lina Hadadi lost her seventh position after stopping in the last stage of what developed into a gruelling day at the Dead Sea.
Saturday’s timetable consists of a further eight special stages, consisting of two runs through the Rawda, Shuna, Karamah and Baptism Site specials, split by a midday service and regroup at the Dead Sea.
Positions after SS11 (unofficial @ 16.07hrs):
1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Matthieu Baumel (FRA) Skoda Fabia R5 1hr 24min 41.4sec
2. Khaled Juma (JOR)/Faris Al-Tal (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII 1hr 35min 57.8sec
3. Husam Salem (JOR)/Nancy Al-Majali (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 1hr 37min 21.2sec
4. Abdullah Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Adel Hussein (QAT) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 1hr 38min 12.4sec
5. Meshari Al-Thafiri (KWT)/Emad Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 1hr 45min 03.5sec
6. Ihab Al-Shorafa (JOR)/Hazem Attiyat (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 1hr 56min 06.0sec
7. Rodolphe Asmar (LEB)/Joseph Matar (LEB) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 2hr 01min 13.2sec
8. Asem Aref (JOR)/Musa Djiyerian (JOR) Renault Clio 2hr 09min 37.9sec
