JULAI’A, Kuwait: Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah may well be able to hit the cruise control button on the final leg of the Kuwait International Rally, after he surged into a staggering lead of 6min 23.2sec after six timed special stages in the southern Kuwait deserts on Friday.

He and French navigator Matthieu Baumel were never troubled during a faultless day, where their Skoda Fabia R5 won every stage to take firm control and push the 11-time regional champion toward a record sixth win in Kuwait.

“A perfect day for our team, really,” reflected Al-Attiyah. “We win all the stages and I have a big lead now. The objectives change now though. We have to conserve that lead and make no mistakes on the last day. It is very important for me to win in Kuwait and extend my lead in the championship.”

A fierce desert battle raged behind the leading drivers in the MERC 2 class that could well become the highlight of the regional championship this year.

Yigit Timur began to up his pace as the day progressed and the Turk snatched the MERC 2 lead and second overall at the end of the sixth stage in a Tok Sport Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. By the end of the leg, that advantage was a mere 4.1 seconds.

Kuwait’s Meshari Al-Thefiri produced the standout local performance of the day in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X to hold third overall and second in MERC 2, despite a minor incident on the second stage when he damaged the intercooler.

“I am very happy to finish the day in the top three,” said Al-Thefiri. “The Turkish guy (Timur) is second. Four seconds between us. I lost time in the sixth stage and the gap is very small. I have the advantage tomorrow, because I know the stages very well. The most important thing is to finish to celebrate winning the national championship.”

Qatar’s Rashed Al-Nuami and Italian navigator Nicola Arena were fourth and third in MERC 2 and Al-Attiyah’s brother Khalifa Al-Attiyah and Cypriot navigator Savvas Laos rounded off the top five in their Subaru Impreza.

The Lebanese duo of Rodolphe Asmar and experienced co-driver Joseph Matar held sixth and Saudi rookie Rakan Al-Rashed and Finnish navigator Jarkko Kalliolepo were seventh. Germany’s Edith Weiss and the Kuwaiti duo of Saleh Ali and Elie Chachati rounded off the 10 survivors.

Qatar’s Khaled Al-Suwaidi and Italian co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini were a comfortable second in their Ford Fiesta R5 until they lost over five minutes with a broken gearbox in stage five and slipped to eighth overall. Ongoing problems cost them further time before they retired before stage seven.

“The stages are really nice. I was not taking risks or adventures. Nasser is not an easy driver to beat, so I was being logical,” said Al-Suwaidi. “I did a mistake with the tires. I put the hard compound and was afraid of punctures. I will try to push a little more tomorrow.”

“On the fourth stage I have a problem. I lost third gear and continued the stage. On the next stage only the fourth and fifth gears were working. I retired before the last stage.”

The event is being organized by the Basil Salem Al-Sabah Motor Racing Club (BMRC) under the chairmanship of Sheikh Athbi Nayef Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and in conjunction with the General Authority for Sport.