Qatar International Rally ready to roar into action

Lusail, Qatar: The countdown is on the start of this weekend s Qatar International Rally, the second round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship o...

Lusail, Qatar: The countdown is on the start of this weekend’s Qatar International Rally, the second round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship organised by the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF).

Eight drivers joined the QMMF’s Executive Director Amro Al Hamad at the pre-event press conference at the Lusail International Circuit yesterday evening.

Championship leader Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah and former champion Abdullah Al Rawahi attended alongside Qatar’s Nasser Khalifa Al Atya, Mohammed Al Marri and Rashid Al Mohannadi, Jordan’s current FIA MERC2 leader Shaker Jweihan, his Kuwaiti rival Jassim Al Muqahwi and Saudi Arabia’s young Hamza Bakhashab.

QMMF President Abdulrahman Al Mannai was then called forward at the conclusion of the press conference to present a cake to Al Attiyah on behalf of the QMMF to celebrate the Qatari’s recent sixth success in the Dakar Rally.

Should the multiple regional champion achieve glory this weekend, it will be his fourth international win in as many weeks to follow on from the Dakar success, victory in the opening round of this championship in Oman and a triumph at last weekend’s Saudi Baja, round one of the FIA World Baja Cup.Vehicles undergoes pre-rally preparations at Lusail.