Autosportfoto

Khalid Al Qassimi on the podium in Oman

Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi and Chris Patterson ended the Oman Rally on the podium in their DS 3 RRC.

Mansoor Belhelei/Khaled Al Kendi and Saeed Bintouq/Allan Harryman secured a one-two finish for the Abu Dhabi Racing Junior Team in the two-wheel drive category in their DS 3 R3s.
Despite the opening leg's very rough stages, Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi and Chris Patterson made a very good start to the rally, ending day one in second place. Still looking for the right set-up on the Oman stages, the Abu Dhabi Racing driver lost precious seconds during the final leg to reach the finish in third.

"The start of the race was pretty difficult because the stages were tougher and rougher than last year," commented Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi. "We had to work on the set-up of the DS 3 RRC. On the first day, I thought I had picked up a puncture, but we had problems that were affecting the stability of the car. Throughout the rally, I wasn‘t able to push to the limit. We lost a lot of time and that ended up costing us second position."

In the two-wheel drive class, whilst Saeed Bintouq was handed a five-minute penalty for changing engine after scrutineering, Mansoor Belhelei grabbed the early lead and held onto first position right to the end. The two Abu Dhabi Racing Junior Team drivers secured a one-two finish in their DS 3 R3s, ending sixth and seventh in the overall standings.

FINAL PROVISIONAL STANDINGS

1. Nasser Al-Attiyah / Matthieu Baumel (Ford Fiesta RRC) 2:28:00.5
2. Abdulaziz Al Kuwari / Marshall Clarke (Ford Fiesta RRC) +48.5
3. Khalid Al Qassimi / Chris Patterson (DS 3 RRC) +1:24.1
4. Khalid Al Suwaidi / Giovanni Bernacchini (Ford Fiesta RRC) +7:06.7
5. Salah Bin Eidan / Vili Oslaj (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X) +35:21.0
6. Mansoor Bel Helai / Khalid Al Kendi (DS 3 R3) +37:47.5
7. Saeed Bintouq / Allan Harryman (DS 3 R3) +40:31.3...