Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge

The erstwhile UAE Desert Challenge, one of the world’s most prestigious international cross country rallies, entered a new era in March 2009 when it was renamed the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge

Defending Dakar champions Al-Attiyah and Coma increase leads in Sealine Rally

·  Clever tactics assist Honda’s Paulo Gonçalves to take a first stage win 

·  Poland’s Sonik snatches quad lead after Abu Issa’s navigational mistake

The Race Hub: Rally

The Race Hub: Rally: What is a Rally Stage Rally consists of a series of timed races, called stages. A stage is anywhere from one to twenty five miles long,...

Gulf Countries Rally Challenge

We are going to shield the light on Rally races in Gulf Countries; therefore we are posting series of posts contain a lot of information from various aspects races, competitors and what were the challenges 

Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge

Nasser Al-Attiyah seals record-breaking fifth victory in Kuwait Rally

Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah’s rich vein of form continues and the Qatari coasted to an emphatic record-breaking fifth victory in the Kuwait International Rally on Saturday. 

Partnered to a fourth successive win this year by French co-driver Matthieu Baumel, the Ford Fiesta RRC driver won nine of the 13 gravel special stages and reached the podium at Marina Crescent in Kuwait with a winning margin of 1min 02.1sec. 

The success was his 56th in the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) and he now stands just four wins short of the magical 60 set by Dubai’s Mohammed Ben Sulayem between 1984 and 2002. Baumel claimed his fifth MERC win and now draws level with Steve Lancaster and Nabil Njeim in equal sixth in the list of most co-driver wins in the MERC.

Abu Dhabi Racing’s Al-Qassimi Citroën DS3 RRC won two stages and shadowed Al-Attiyah to the finish for the second time this season. He and Chris Patterson lost a little time in the dust on Friday but picked up another haul of valuable championship points to keep the heat on the Qatari in the eight-round series.

What is a Rally?

Stage Rally consists of a series of timed races, called stages. A stage is anywhere from one to twenty five miles long, and is usually a forest or logging road. The roads are closed to the public, and each competitor starts one minute after the next. Thus the challenge is driving the road, not rubbing wheel to wheel with your competitors.

Keep in mind that the driver has never been on the road before, and has no idea what is behind the next curve or over the next hill. The navigator is equipped with a special odometer, accurate to the hundredth of a mile, and a route book which tells them what turns to make, as well as especially dangerous sections to watch for, like cliffs or river crossings. All of the stages, sometimes called special stages, are linked by transits, which are regular roads. Because the vehicles have to travel from one stage to the next on these transits, all of the race vehicles actually have to be street legal.