‘Safety is the most important thing for everyone and it was the only decision to cancel the stage today’          

 

Qatar’s Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah and Polish junior rider Konrad Dabrowski were confirmed as the winners of the Qatar International Baja Saturday, but strong winds, limited visibility and safety concerns meant that the final stage for the FIA competitors was cancelled.
With visibility reduced by shifting sands and gusting north-westerly winds, al-Attiyah and French co-driver Mathieu Baumel were unable to take the revised start of the final section in their Toyota GR DKR Hilux and the result stood as per the classification on Friday evening, although reduced points were awarded to registered contenders in the FIA Middle East Cup for Cross-Country Bajas.
“Safety is the most important thing for everyone and it was the only decision to cancel the stage today,” said al-Attiyah. “It would have been a good fight. I was very happy with the way the car performed yesterday and I am always so happy to win races in Qatar. This terrain is tough and the navigation is never easy.”

Yazeed al-Rajhi and co-driver Michael Orr finished second overall and Yasir Seaidan rounded off the podium places and a Toyota 1-2-3 finish with French co-driver Laurent Lichtleuchter.

Duust Rally Team’s Dabrowski was never troubled over the final blustery stage, moved ahead of his rivals as the morning progressed and stormed to an emphatic win by the margin of 10min 53.9sec. The success marked the first ever for Husqvarna in Qatar and a second Polish triumph on two wheels after Maciej Giemza topped the standings at the Qatar Cross-Country Rally in 2018.

“It was really difficult today in some places with the white sand and the strong wind, it was difficult see and almost impossible to see the angles,” said a delighted Dabrowski. “I enjoyed it. I was pushing today. I didn’t want the guys to catch me. I focused on the navigation and the speed was coming with it. It was a really good day. First of all, I had my first ever stage win here and then to win every stage in the rally and to win the rally, I did not expect that. I am really surprised and really happy.”
Emirati Mohamed al-Balooshi and Great Britain’s Maki Rees-Stavros rode close together for much of the final stage to come home in second and third places. South Africa’s Michael Anderson came home in fourth overall and the UK’s Alex McInnes rounded off the top five. Saudi Arabia’s Ahmed al-Jaber, Robert Wallace, Qatar’s over-450cc category winner Sheikh Mohamed al-Thani, Bahrain’s Salman Farhan and wrapped up the top 10.
WRC star Kris Meeke enjoyed his first experiences in a Can-Am entered in the T3 lightweight prototype category and secured the category win and fourth overall with French co-driver Francois Cazalet. The Andorra-based Ulsterman finished 21min 25.3sec ahead of local driver Ahmed al-Kuwari in his QMMF Team Can-Am.
Khalifa Saleh al-Attiyah and Max Delfino were handed 12 minutes of time penalties on Friday evening for missing route waypoints. The Qatari slipped to sixth overall but secured the FIA T4 category win by 4min 32.8sec from the father and son crew of Sadoon and Nasser al-Kuwari.
Rashid al-Muhannadi, Emirati Yasmeen Koloc and Adel Abdulla rounded off the top finishers in their Can-Ams.
Dani Sordo’s progress was ruined by missing waypoints on Friday and the Nasser Racing Can-Am debutant slipped down the rankings as a result. He was eventually classified in 13th overall and eighth in T3.
Saudi Arabia’s Muneef al-Shammeri (Nissan) finished 14th overall and won the FIA T2 category, while fellow countryman Abdulmajeed al-Khulaifi secured the FIM quad section win on his Yamaha.
Belgian rival Emiel Stuckens only completed part of the final stage. Saudi Arabia’s Mishaal al-Ghuneim fended off the challenge from Emirati rider Mohamed Meerza and Qatar’s Arkadiy Bochinin to win the FIM National Baja. Al-Mashna and Hani al-Shammeri won the National Baja for cars.

Final results

FIA – Cars (top five):
1. Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah (QAT)/Mathieu Baumel (AND) Toyota GR DKR Hilux 2hr 21min 11.5sec; 2. Yazeed al-Rajhi (SAU)/Michael Orr (GBR) Toyota Hilux Overdrive 2hr 25min 04.1sec; 3. Yasir Seaidan (SAU)/Laurent Lichtleuchter (FRA) Toyota Hilux Overdrive 2hr 48min 41.3sec; 4. Kris Meeke (AND)/François Cazalet (FRA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3) 2hr 50min 40.6sec; 5. Ahmed al-Kuwari (QAT)/Manuel Lucchese (QAT) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3) 3hr 12min 05.9sec

FIM – Bikes (top five):
1. Konrad D?browski (POL) Husqvarna FR450 6hr 41min 53.4sec; 2. Mohamed al-Balooshi (ARE) Husqvarna FR450 6hr 52min 47.3sec; 3. Maki Rees-Stavros (GBR) KTM 450 EXC-F 7hr 08min 08.6sec; 4. Michael Anderson (RSA) KTM 450 EXC-F 8hr 38min 58.0sec; 5. Alex McInnes (GBR) Husqvarna FE450 8hr 45min 10.6sec

FIM – Quads:
1. Abdulmajeed al-Khulaifi (SAU) Yamaha 700 CC 9hr 26min 17.9sec

Qatar National Baja

Cars: 1. Al-Mashna al-Shammeri (SAU)/Hani al-Shammeri (SAU) Nissan Patrol 1hr 41min 14.7sec; 2. Motab Saud al-Shammeri (SAU)/Bader al-Ajmi (SAU) Nissan Patrol 1hr 52min 19.1sec; 3. Abdullah al-Rabban (QAT)/Pedro Santos (PRT) Jeep 2hr 32min 27.8sec; 4. Salem al-Thefiri (KWT)/Firas al-Thefiri (KWT) Nissan Patrol 3hr 00min 35.1sec; 5. Dhari al-Dhafeeri (KWT)/Saffah al-Dhafeeri (KWT) Can-Am Maverick X3 4hr 15min 02.7sec; 6. Abdulaziz al-Yaeesh (SAU)/Faisal al-Ahmari (SAU) Nissan Patrol 4hr 44min 54.9sec

Bikes
: 1. Mishaal al-Ghuneim (SAU) KTM 450 Rally 5hr 52min 19.8sec; 2. Mohamed Meerza (ARE) Husqvarna 6hr 10min 04.6sec; 3. Arkadiy Bochinin (QAT) KTM 450 6hr 27min 01.9sec; 4. Abdulrahman al-Nasr (QAT) Yamaha 6hr 36min 02.1sec    

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