ID :
509970
Thu, 10/25/2018 - 20:25
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Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/509970
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Qatar's Nasser Al Attiyah Looking to Seal FIA Middle East Rally Championship
Doha, October 25 (QNA) - Qatar's Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah will be hoping to lay his hands on a 14th FIA Middle East Rally Championship title in 16 years at next weekend's Kuwait International Rally to enable him to focus on winning the Manateq International Rally of Qatar for a 14th time two weeks later.
The Manateq International Rally of Qatar will start and finish at Souq Waqif in downtown Doha with the ceremonial start planned on Thursday, September 15.
The total distance of Manateq International Rally of Qatar is 639.84 km, and includes 10 stages of a speed of 207.24 km.
The official deadline for registration at Manateq International Rally of Qatar ends on Wednesday 31 October.
Czech driver Vojtech Stajf stands in the Qataris way in Kuwait and will be pushing hard to try and become the first non-Arab driver in the history of the championship to seal the overall title.
Since the championships inception in 1984, only eight Arab drivers have ever won the series, with Saeed Al-Hajri sealing the inaugural victory in 1984 and the likes of Mohammed Ben Sulayem, Mamdouh Khayat, Sheikh Hamed bin Eid Al-Thani, Abdullah Bakhashab, Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah, Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi and the late Misfer Al-Marri following in his wake.
Meanwhile, Lebanese rally driver Henry Kahy and his Jordanian navigator Musa Djiyerian will be hoping that everything goes to plan and they are able to wrap up the 2018 MERC 3 Rally Championship title at the Kuwait International Rally on November 1-3.
The pair has tackled a full programme of regional MERC 3 events this season and three consistent finishes in Jordan, Lebanon and Cyprus have given Kahy a 49-point lead in the title race.
In his first full season of regional rallying, Kahy secured victory in Jordan and third places at the other two rounds at the wheel of his koda Fabia 1.6, a car built by koda Motorsport and running in the RC4 class.
Lebanon's Rony Kanaan and Cypriot racer Panayiotis Xenophontos claimed their points for respective MERC 3 successes at the Rally of Lebanon and the Cyprus Rally, where Kahy's consistent finishing proved decisive. (QNA)