Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi fastest on Day 4 to climb to fourth at Qatar Cross Country Rally

Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi in action on Day 4 of the Qatar Cross Country Rally. Courtesy Abu Dhabi Racing

Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi moved up to fourth in the overall standings after posting the fastest time on Day 4 of the Qatar Cross Country Rally.

The Abu Dhabi Racing driver and chairman, alongside co-driver Khalid Al Kendi, completed the 337.76 kilometre Abu Thayiah leg in his Peugeot 3008 DKR in three hours, 22 minutes and five seconds.

Leeroy Poulter and co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz finished second on the day in their Toyota Hilux, one minute and 29 seconds behind Sheikh Khalid.

Qatar’s Nasser Al Attiyah and French co-driver Matthieu Baumel completed the top three, one minute and 56 seconds behind the leader to retain the overall lead.

“It was a good day no doubt. I pushed from the beginning and followed the leader’s lines as every day we are losing time getting lost,” Sheikh Khalid said.

“He knows the road very well, but eventually after following him for most of the stage driving cautiously due to the dusty conditions, I caught up with him around seven and 10km on the final section.

“For me, this was about learning more and more in this format of racing.”

It may have been a successful day, but Sheikh Khalid revealed they did have to contend with some problems.

“We did have a couple of minor issues earlier in the day, especially with the navigation which we need to have a look at for the future; but then this is the nature of racing. What is important is that we are here and the learning curve continues.

“For the final leg tomorrow, as I will start first the strategy will be to adopt a cautious approach and perhaps reduce pace because we do not want to get lost again and lose time. The aim now is to bring the car home safely.”

In the bikes category, Sam Sunderland stretched his lead at the top opf the standings after reeling off another stage win.

The Dubai-based Briton and his KTM 450 Rally recovered from losing his way early in the stage to post the fastest time, and will take a 12 minutes and 34 second lead into the final day.

“It’s not done until it’s done,” Sunderland said. “I made a few navigational mistakes early on and had a bit of stress this morning.

“I pushed a lot after the refuel and it ended up being a pretty good day. There were a couple of mistakes in the road book.

“From my point of view it was not so clear in a couple of places and it added a bit of confusion. It kind of snowballs. You try to rush after that. I feel strong. The plan is not to make a mistake now, but that isn’t always easy.”

Up next is the final Al Zubara leg over a distance of 343.32km.

* The National staff

POSITIONS ON SS4 (UNOFFICIAL)

Cars

1. Khalid Al-Qassimi/Khaled Al-Kendi, Peugeot 3008 DKR: 3hr 22min 05sec

2. Leeroy Poulter/Dirk von Zitzewitz, Toyota Hilux: 3hr 23min 34sec

3. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah/Matthieu Baumel, Toyota Hilux Overdrive: 3hr 24min 01sec

4. Jakub Przygonski/Tom Colsoul, Mini All4 Racing: 3hr 25min 23sec

5. Mohammed Abu Issa/Xavier Panseri, Mini All4 Racing: 3hr 29min 19sec

6. Erik Van Loon/Wouter Rosegaar, Toyota Hilux Overdrive: 3hr 45min 28sec

Bikes

1. Sam Sunderland, KTM 450 Rally: 4hr 02min 39sec

2.. Kevin Benavides, Honda 450 CRF Rally: 4hr 06min 37sec

3. Matthias Walkner, KTM 450 Rally: 4hr 08min 11sec

4. Paolo Gonçalves, Honda 450 CRF Rally: 4hr 08min 44sec

5. Pierre Alexander Renet, Husqvarna 450 Rally: 4hr 09min 39sec

6. Pablo Quintanilla, Husqvarna 450 Rally: 4hr 09min 59sec

7. Antoine Meo, KTM 450 Rally: 4hr 41min 53sec

Quads

1. Rafal Sonik, Yamaha YFM 700 R: 5hr 57min 40sec

2. Alexis Hernandez, Yamaha Raptor 700R: 6hr 08min 11sec

OVERALL STANDINGS

Cars

1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah/Matthieu Baumel, Toyota Hilux Overdrive: 10hr 27min 29sec

2. Leeroy Poulter/Dirk von Zitzewitz, Toyota Hilux: 10hr 30min 55sec

3. Jakub Przygonski/Tom Colsoul, Mini All4 Racing: 10hr 33min 48sec

4. Khalid Al-Qassimi/Khaled Al-Kendi, Peugeot 3008 DKR: 10hr 35min 41sec

5. Mohammed Abu Issa/Xavier Panseri, Mini All4 Racing: 10hr 37min 37sec

6. Erik Van Loon/Wouter Rosegaar, Toyota Hilux Overdrive: 11hr 02min 21sec

7. Martin Prokop/Jan Tomanek, Ford F-150 Evo: 11hr 59min 04sec

8. Aron Domzala/Szymon Gospodarczyk, Toyota Hilux Overdrive: 12hr 14min 44sec

9. Jürgen Schröder/Maximilian Schöder, Nissan Navara: 12hr 19min 41sec

10. Yasir Saiedan/Laurent Lichtleuchter, Toyota Land Cruiser T2: 13hr 16min 38sec

Bikes

1. Sam Sunderland, KTM 450 Rally: 11hr 58min 23sec

2. Paolo Gonçalves, Honda 450 CRF Rally: 12hr 10min 57sec

3. Matthias Walkner, KTM 450 Rally: 12hr 13min 42sec

4. Kevin Benavides, Honda 450 CRF Rally: 12hr 15min 22sec

5. Pablo Quintanilla, Husqvarna 450 Rally: 12hr 18min 35sec

6. Pierre Alexander Renet, Husqvarna 450 Rally: 12hr 20min 23sec

7. Antoine Meo, KTM 450 Rally: 3hr 59min 12sec

8. Mohammed Al-Balooshi, KTM 450 Rally Replica: 14hr 43min 58sec

9. Maciej Giemza, KTM 450 Rally Replica: 9hr 56min 36.1sec

Quads

1. Rafal Sonik, Yamaha YFM 700 R: 16hr 15min 43sec

3. Alexis Hernandez, Yamaha Raptor 700R: 17hr 02min 33sec

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