- Mishari Al-Dhafiri leads the MIRC 2 standings, and Hani Qa'i is in third place
- Lebanese Henry Qa'i, accompanied by Jordan's Moussa Jheiryan,
- A high percentage of problems, with the withdrawal of Fyotech Steev, Rashid Naimi, Ihab Al-Sharfa and Abdullah Al-Rawahi.
Arifjan (Kuwait) - Qatari driver Nasser bin Saleh Al-Attiyah took off from the Kuwait International 2018 at the 25th edition of the Kuwait International Rally 2018. The fourth round of the Middle East Rally Championship was full of excitement and drama. Where Al-Attiyah leads the provisional general ranking by 8: 03.9 minutes from the nearest competitor.
The first section today, which included three stages in the desert region south of Kuwait, witnessed the withdrawal of four cars in the international rally category and one in the national rally category.
"It has never been easy, it's hard to see the track lines in such circumstances," Nasser bin Saleh said. "I've been off track a few times, there were no lines, so I had to focus hard, we had a tire hole, A little bit when I thought the clutch in the box did not work well, but now I have a comfortable lead. I'll keep it on Saturday, and that's good for the championship. "
On the other hand, Kuwaiti driver Mashari al-Zafairi looked the best, moving confidently towards his fourth MRC2 title for the Group N cars; commercial production. The Kuwaiti, along with Qatari national Nasser Al Kuwari, overcame a small problem they faced in the car, ending the first day of the actual stages in second place in the provisional general ranking.
Lebanese driver Henri Qa'i and his Jordanian navigator Moussa Gehairian finished third in the standings, as the Lebanese survived the disaster of the withdrawals. His car led the Chekoda Fabia R2 with its two front wheels to the third place in the overall standings. The third in the tournament "MRC 3".
Qatari driver Nasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah, former head of Qatar's QMF and former vice-president of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), performed well and finished third in the overall standings until he faced a major mechanical problem in another Stage, I took him out of the competition today, but he will return tomorrow to the competitions, from the launch of Rally 2.
In the national rally category, driver Jassim Al-Mekhoi and his navigator Thamer Al-Mutairi took the lead as the only driver to finish the day.
The hopes of the Czech driver Vojtysh Steev in Al-Attiyah's match on the rock of accidents were shattered. His car, Skoda Fabia R5, was hit by an accident during the fourth special stage (Zor 1) and fell to fifth in the overall standings. Where he and his team are racing against time this time to fix his car on time so that he can participate in the final stages of the day, Saturday, under the rules of the Rally 2, losing more time in the special stage Fifth, where he traversed the track.
"I do not know what happened," he said after the fourth special stage. "The vision was not good. We fell into a hole and rolled the car."
Most of the drivers suffered in one way or another, especially during the first three stages of the day, and six cars in the international rally category and two cars in the national rally category. Qatari driver Rashid Al Nuaimi and Jordanian Ihab Al Sharfa faced problems with the transmission hub in their cars. Jordan's Shadi Shaaban suffered from engine problems while Omani driver Abdullah Al Rawahi was forced to withdraw due to electrical problems in his car. While fuel pump problems prevented Jordanian driver Khaled Gomaa from finishing the rally in fourth place, at least.
This year's Silver Jubilee is organized by Bassel Salem Al-Sabah Motor Sports Club, headed by Sheikh Athbi Nayef Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, in cooperation with the State Sports Authority of Kuwait and the Kuwait International Automobile Club. Zain Kuwait Telecom is the main sponsor of the rally.
Events on Friday:
The actual competition began with the participation of the participating teams, 10 in the international category and three in the national category, for the second special stage (Kuwait Motor Sports City 1), a completely new phase. Kuwait International, in addition to leading the provisional arrangement to arrange the championship points.
Al-Atiyya passed the 15.10 km long and the same sandy track, with 7: 21.8 minutes, and that was enough for him to strengthen his lead against Steif to 17.3 seconds. Its speed reached 10 kilometers within the stage to 180 kilometers per hour.
In the "MRC2" category, Mashari Al-Dhafiri finished first in his category, ahead of Jordan's Khalid Juma, 48.2 seconds. Qatari driver Rashid Al Nuaimi was forced to stop due to a problem in the transmission hub of his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 10.
Qatari driver Nasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah succeeded in advancing to fourth place, at the expense of Jordanian driver Juma. Unfortunately, the Omani driver Abdullah Al-Rawahi continued to suffer with his Subaru Impreza, a problem he has faced since the Jordan International Rally and then Al Watani, to be forced to withdraw after the end of the stage.
In the national rally category, the number of participants fell to two, with the car of Kuwaiti driver Salim al-Dhafiri, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 8, and he and his navigator, Fares al-Dhafiri, escaping from the accident.
The Jordanian duo Ihab Shorfa and Shadi Shaaban also suffered from problems with the first, with the transmission hub and the second with the engine, forcing them to pull out. Both of them are participating in the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9, forcing the others to withdraw after the stage.
Al Attiyah continued to record the fastest times in the third special phase (Nuweisib 1), where he passed through 9: 44.6 minutes. While his Czech opponent lost more time, and Qatar managed to raise its lead to 1: 04.3 minutes, despite the difficulty of finding the right track on the new sand, where the tracks were opened.
Mashari Al-Zafairi scored the second fastest time to advance Nasser Bin Khalifa by 1: 36.3 minutes.
By the end of the second stage, we had six participants in the international rally category, two in the national rally category.
The participants then went to the fourth special phase (Zor 1), the longest stage, with a length of 22.46 km. Al-Attiyah passed it first, at 14:15.7 minutes, but it ended with a pierced frame, hit by a high sandy edge, seven kilometers from the end of the stage .
Al-Zafairi finished the second phase, 39.6 seconds away from Al-Attiyah, who succeeded in advancing to Stef in the provisional general ranking, before heading to the maintenance period mid-day, and overturned the car of Steve during the stage, and exceeded the Jordanian driver Khalid Juma, Fabia R5 suffered significant damage to its front section, losing five minutes to fifth place in the overall standings behind Nasser bin Khalifa and Khalid Jumaa, who also suffered from a fuel pump problem.
In the national rally category, Kuwaiti driver Mohammed Al-Zafairi was forced to withdraw at the end of the third special stage, leaving Kuwaiti driver Jasem Al-Mekhoi alone in this category.
At the end of the first section of the day, at the assembly point, Nasser bin Saleh Al Attiyah said: "We have done well so far, but we were exposed to a hole in the frame seven kilometers from the end of the fourth stage, when we hit a high sandy edge. And I felt that clutch-separator was not working properly, although it was new, and the maintenance team was able to conduct some tests at the maintenance center. "
"Things went well, and I am happy to be in second place in the overall tie, but we were hit by a strong jump during the third stage, and I noticed some strange sounds from the gearbox and I have to check its safety," he said.
"It was not easy to see the track with this light, and it was slowed down at one point for a few seconds," said Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Attiyah. "I have moved forward in the standings and so far I enjoy the rally" .
Moving to the other half of the day, the fifth special stage (Kuwait Motor City 2) witnessed a warm atmosphere, although the sky was overcast, and Al Attiyah ended the first phase, but nine times slower than its morning time, with 7: 30.1 minutes.
Al-Dhafairi maintained second place, with the second fastest recording time, while Nasir Bin Khalifa strengthened his third position while Tah-Cheef in the middle of the stage and returned to the track, but stopped before the end of the stage. While Lebanese driver Henri Qa'i deservedly deserved fourth place in the overall standings, seeking to win the third MIRC 3 title.
The sixth special phase of the day saw the participation of only five cars in the international category and one car in the national category. Nasser bin Saleh finished the first phase at 9: 50.1 minutes, followed by Al Dhafiri second, while Hafiz Nasser Bin Khalifa Despite losing two minutes to his opponent Al-Dhafiri, allowing Hani Qa'i to record the third fastest time of the season, despite the possibility of imposing time penalties on the Lebanese, for the possibility of his departure from the track.
Nasser Bin Saleh was the fastest in the final stage of the day and scored 28 times faster than the time he scored in the first pass before noon, where he suffered a hole in the frame, ending Nasser bin Saleh today 8: 03.9 minutes from his nearest rival, Meshary Zafairi.
Phase III ended, despite expectations of subsequent time penalties, when analyzing and reviewing tracking system data, before the judges' meeting. Nasser bin Khalifa from a major mechanical problem, before the end of the stage, and withdrew from them, which will force him to start tomorrow according to the law "Rally 2
Saturday:
As for tomorrow, Saturday, it will consist of six stages, divided into three morning stages, to be repeated in the afternoon, to be held in the southern deserts.
The participants will start with the eighth special stage (Benidar 1), with a length of 11.88 km, at 10 am, followed by the ninth special stage (Al-Jelia 1), starting at 10:33 am, 13.03 km long and then the 10th special phase (Arifjan 1) By noon, the length of 17.42 km.
The participants then return to Kuwait City for motorsport for assembly, maintenance and refueling.
The final stage of the day will be a repeat of the morning stages, the 11th special stage (Bnider 2), starting at 13:24 pm, followed by the 12th special stage (Gleea 2), starting at 13:57 pm, and finally, stage (Arifjan 2), starting at 14:35 pm.
This will end the Kuwait Rally, which will be followed by the closing ceremony of the rally at 16:30 at the Kuwait Motor Town.
Kuwait International Rally 2018 - Provisional General Standings after Special Phase VII (Informal Results):
Driver and navigator car timing
01- Nasser bin Saleh Al-Attiyah (Qatar) / Matthew Bommel (France) Ford Fiesta R5 - 1: 04: 29.9 hours
20- Mashary Al-Dhafiri (Kuwait) / Nasser Al-Kuwari (Qatar) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 10: 1: 12: 33.8 hours
30. Henry Gaie (Lebanon) / Musa Jheirian (Jordan) Shkoda Fabia "R2" - 1: 29: 14.2 hours
Kuwait National Rally 2018 - Provisional General Standings after Special Phase VII (Informal Results):
Driver and car navigator
01- Jassem Al-Mekhoi (Kuwait) / Thamer Al-Mutairi (Kuwait) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 8: 1: 18: 24.2 hours
You can also track the times of drivers during the Kuwait International Rally directly on the following link:
