Abu Dhabi Racing’s Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi, Dubai-based Briton Sam Sunderland and Kuwait’s Fahad Al-Musallam secured overall victories after the final dramatic Abu Dhabi Aviation-sponsored stage of 219.76km at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.
Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah appeared to be cruising to victory in the cars until he rolled his Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux heavily before the opening passage control.
Despite continuing for a short while after a long delay, he retired the damaged car at PC1.
Al Attiyah just needed to avoid taking any risks to win the car category for the third time and give Toyota a second win.
But the Qatari got caught out on a fast section of track before the first passage control and launched the Toyota into a heavy roll. T
he crew frantically tried to make repairs and began to crawl through the stage to the first checkpoint, but it was to no avail and it opened the door for Al-Qassimi to snatch a sensational victory.
On the other hand, Al Qassimi and navigator Khalid Al Kendi had put their previous day’s troubles behind them and were pushing hard to the finish and keeping the pressure on their rivals.
Their determination was duly rewarded with a superb victory that gives the Abu Dhabi driver a 33-point lead in the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies after three rounds.
A delighted Al-Qassimi will take many positives from his debut in the Abu Dhabi Racing Peugeot 3008 DKR.
“I think this is the first win on an FIA World Cup round for an Emirati in 27 years," he said.
"This event has been in the series for 25 years and this is also a first for an Emirati. I don’t want to be so greedy. I am still learning and for me every day is a learning curve. This is only my fourth or fifth cross-country. I am pushing myself to a good level," he added.
Meanwhile, a fascinating tussle ensued for supremacy in the motorcycle and quad categories.
Honda’s Paulo Gonçalves began the last stage with a lead of 33.8 seconds, but starting order is crucial in this form of cross-country rallying and Dakar champion Sam Sunderland delivered a stunning ride on his Red Bull KTM 450 Rally to seal the stage win and earn his first Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge victory.
T2 became a battle ground between Ahmed Al-Shegawi and Yasir Saiedan after earlier delays for Abu Dhabi’s Emil Khneisser and Qatar’s Adel Abdulla. Al-Shegawi was delayed on the last stage and Saiedan claimed the win from Al-Shegawi and Mansoor Al-Helai.
Dutchman Kees Koolen won the day’s stage in the quads but, when Guatamala’s Rodolfo Schippers – who began the day with a lead of 1min 43.3sec – stopped with mechanical issues it opened the door for Kuwait’s Fahad Al-Musallam to claim a memorable win on his Yamaha Raptor 700 R. Former leader Kamil Wisniewski of Poland finished third.
“I cannot quite believe it honestly. It feels like a dream," Al-Musallam said.
"I guess I will wake up and realise this achievement. I was trying to chase Rodolfo (Schippers). The goal was to finish each stage and then to push."
