The Qatari began the day 30min 33sec behind Saudi rival Ahmed Shegawi in his rented Nissan Safari Y61 and he and navigator Nasser al-Kuwari reduced that gap to 29min 24.9sec after crossing the dunes of the Rub Al-Khali in a time of 5hrs 35min 43sec, despite losing over 10 minutes stuck at the top of a sand dune near the finish.
Adel said: “Today we decided to push more than yesterday. This car is completely different to my car. I learned a lot about this car yesterday. We caught the leader (Ahmed Shegawi) and we passed him and we pushed more and more. But this stage is unbelievably difficult for our cars, as a T2. We passed many difficult places, you cannot believe.
“We were, perhaps, leading by 15 minutes but, in the last 30km, I got stuck in the top of a sand dune. It was my mistake. I did not take the right gear and we spent maybe 10 or 15 minutes getting the car out. The leader then came and passed us.
“We got going again and he stopped again and we pushed and passed him again. We managed to take one minute from him and we will now be in front of him in the stage for tomorrow. This is a good thing. There are still three days to go and I am sure the next one will be very hard. I hope to close the gap soon.”
Adel Abdulla is running his T2 programme with the crucial support of the Qatar government, the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) and Ooredoo Qatar.
Both Russia’s Yuliya Khegay-Migunova and Romania’s Claudia Laurentiu Barbu lost considerable time in the sand dunes and slipped behind further behind their T2 rivals, with the latter stopping close to the stage start and the Russian incurring time penalties after the previous stage.
Competitors will tackle the third desert special and the second of three loops stages through the UAE deserts today. The timed section will run for 281.27km.
2018 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge – T2 positions after SS2:
1. Ahmed al-Shegawi (SAU)/Laurent Lichtleuchter (FRA) Toyota Land Cruiser 10hrs 00min 23.7sec
2. Adel Abdulla (QAT)/Nasser al-Kuwari (QAT) Nissan Patrol 10hrs 29min 48.6sec
3. Yuliya Khegay-Migunova (RUS)/Aldis Vilcans (LVA) Toyota LC 200 20hrs 21min 44.5sec
4. Laurentiu-Claudiu Barbu (ROU)/Paul-Nicusor Spirodon (ROU) Nissan Navara 239hrs 01min 34.0sec
