Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi rallied back from some navigational issues to sit in seventh place overnight after Day 2 of the Qatar Cross Country Rally.
Making his debut in the event, which is Round 4 of the FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies, and with little time to test his Peugeot 3008 DKR, Sheikh Khalid was inside the top five after Passage Control 1 (PC).
However, the Abu Dhabi Racing driver and co-driver Khalid Al Kendi lost their way during the 334.08 kilometre Rawdat Rashed leg. And with many other teams struggling in similar fashion, the rankings changed rapidly with each passing PC.
Sheikh Khalid then rallied toward the end of the stage, eventually finishing the leg provisionally classified seventh before Thursday’s leg.
“It was a tough day as expected and the biggest challenge was navigation; we lost our way several times,” said Sheikh Khalid, who won the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge earlier this month.
“There were so many tracks so we tried following some of the cars that passed us but it was difficult. We are here now and that is what counts.
“We had a very balanced rhythm right through the day and made sure we did not have any punctures, which was very important because that could have cost us more time. There are still many more kilometres to go before the end of the race.
“I am still learning and want to continue to gain as much as experience as possible here in Qatar. I now look forward to tomorrow.”
Poland’s Jakub Przygonski and his Belgian co-driver Tom Colsoul lead the car standings in their Mini All4 Racing with a total time of three hours, 24 minutes and 15 seconds.
Local hero Nasser Al Attiyah, who crashed out of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge having led for much of the race, again suffered technical problems, although the two-time Dakar Rally champion was able to finish sixth alongside co-driver Matthieu Baumel in his Toyota Hilux Overdrive.
In the bike’s category, reigning Dakar Rally and Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge champion Sam Sunderland leads the way.
The Briton, who is based in Dubai, ended Day 2 with a total time of three hours, 48 minutes and 1.2 seconds on his KTM 450 Rally bike.
In the quads, Peru’s Alexis Hernandez leads with a time of five hours and 54 seconds on his Yamaha Raptor 700R.
* The National staff
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