Al Attiyah grabs lead at Qatar Rally
31 Jan 2021 - 9:40
The Peninsula
Defending regional champion Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah took full advantage of late problems for Ulsterman Kris Meeke to hammer home his advantage after a fascinating four gravel special stages of the Qatar International Rally yesterday.
The two rivals shared a pair of stage wins apiece through the northern deserts and were separated by 10.3 seconds before the last action of the day. Meeke and English navigator Sebastian Marshall damaged the underside of their Škoda Fabia R5 after a heavy landing over a jump and were forced to stop after the stage.
Meeke fastest in SS1 as desert battle begins
30 Jan 2021 - 11:05
Ireland’s Kris Meeke and his English navigator Sebastien Marshall during the ceremonial flag off of the 2021 Qatar International Rally at Katara yesterday.
The Peninsula
Doha: Northern Ireland’s Kris Meeke and his English navigator Sebastien Marshall finished the opening special stage of the 2021 Qatar International Rally with a 6.6-second advantage over local hero Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah at Katara, north of Doha, late yesterday.
Driving a Škoda Fabia R5 on the sealed surface stage, Meeke clocked a time of 4min 14.3sec. The 4.4km stage consisted of two runs and two laps of a purpose-built track. This followed immediately after the event’s pre-event press conference and a ceremonial start where 17 cars taking part in the FIA event and four entered in the Qatar National Rally were flagged away by senior QMMF officials.