Qatari duo set for title showdown in Dubai Rally

Qatar’s Misfer Al Marri will carry a major advantage into next month’s Dubai International Rally as he bids to replace fellow countryman Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah as the FIA Middle East champion.

 

Despite winning the Cyprus Rally at the weekend to record his second successive victory in the championship, six-time winner Al Attiyah still trails Al Marri by eight points ahead of the final round of the regional series in Dubai on December 3-4.

 

It means that even if Al Attiyah wins the Dubai Rally, sixth place in the event will be enough to install Al Marri as the eighth driver, and the fourth Qatari, to win the FIA Middle East Rally Championship since it was launched in 1984.

 

The uncertainties of rallying, however, could still bring a dramatic finish to the title race in Dubai, which has produced some classic championship grand finales over the years.

 

In 1993, after finishing tied on points with fellow Qatari Nasser Khalifa Al Atya, Sheikh Hamad Al Thani clinched the title in Dubai on a count back because he had previously won the longest rally in the championship in Jordan.

 

Qatar, which produced the first ever FIA Middle East champion in Saeed Al Hajri 26 years ago, could finish the season with a regional 1-2-3, as Khaled Al Suwaidi has climbed to third place following the Cyprus Rally.

 

The 2010 FIA Middle East Championship will be decided over an all-new route featuring fast flowing special stages injected with short “technical” sections to test the drivers and machinery.

 

Run on smooth and forgiving desert trails outside Dubai, the brand new stages are designed by the rally organisers, the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE, to ensure the maximum number of competitors reach the finish.

 

Visiting competitors are asked to contact the ATCUAE www.atcuae.ae details of assistance packages to help with travel and accommodation.

 

Running traditionally over the UAE National Day holiday weekend, the event will have a ceremonial start on December 2 from the Old Town area of Dubai. Over the following two days six stages of approximately 22 km each will all be run twice to produce a route of 280 km.