KUWAIT CITY, Feb 23: Qatari national Abdul-Aziz Al-Kuwari of the Seashore Qatar rally team driving a Ford Fiesta S2000 cruised to a 1:01:40 finish ahead of all drivers after six grueling rounds in two stages of the Kuwait Quarter Mile Automobile & Motorcycle Club organized 2013 Kuwait National Rally championship round four Saturday on the desert sands of Julai’a in the south of Kuwait.
Al Kuwari was followed in second place by Jordanian Alaa Rasheed and Irish co-driver Duffy Killian who finished in 1:08:9.1 despite suffering a 2:20 penalty that affected their overall timing. Michel Saleh from Lebanon clocked 1:09:29.3 to clinch the third and final podium slot in the 91 kilometer three-stage race.
Kuwait’s Abdullah Al-Hajeri finished fourth in a Mitsubishi Evo8 followed in fifth place by Ibrahim Al-Muhanna of Saudi Arabia and partner Tariq Al Rammah. Another Qatari driver Mohammed Al Hargan finished sixth driving a Nissan Patrol just ahead of Saleh Ghadanfar of Kuwait in seventh place also in a Nissan Patrol. Mishari Al Thafeeri of Kuwait finished eighth.

While Al-Kuwari and co-driver Killian kept a fast and constant pace in all six rounds alternating between Al-Zour and Bneider to finish first, Saleh partnered by compatriot co-driver Ahmed Al-Ghaziri, had to battle hard through the stages, first zooming past Rasheed in the first round of the Bneider stage. He finished fourth behind Al-Kuwari, Rasheed and Mufeed Mubarak in the Al-Zour round one stage. Mufeed who was in the second spot up to the final rounds of both Al-Zour and Bneider, eventually had his car towed off the tracks due to mechanical issues, offering Rasheed the opportunity to fill the second position slot up to the final stretch. The rally which happened under a cloudy atmosphere saw eight of the original sixteen participating vehicles (five cars and three SUVs) make it to the finish line.  Two of them, a saloon car and an SUV (4X4) flipped in abrupt maneuvers. The rugged desert terrain sent five other vehicles off the tracks due to mechanical problems. Mishal Al-Nejadi, the driver leading in the overall standings before the round 4 rally, was a no-show due to a surgery he underwent in the run up to the event.

Sheikh Athbi Al-Naif Al-Sabah, chairman of the rally organizing committee and director of the Kuwait Quarter-Mile Automobile and Motor Cycle Club, organizers of the event, presented the rally winners awards and trophies at the ceremony that had members of the Kuwait International Automobile Club-KT and other Quarter Mile club executives as well as automotive rally enthusiasts and members of the media present to mark the end of round four. The event which was held under the patronage of the Governor of Al-Ahmadi Sheikh Dr Ibrahim Al-Duaij Al-Sabah, kicked off at 9.00 am on Saturday in the Julai’a Area opposite the Seashell Resort in south Kuwait where service and VIP Centers were set up within the space provided to take care of mechanical and other issues arising. Sheikh Athbi Al-Naif thanked the Car Wash center and other entities who in diverse ways contributed to the resounding success of the rally. Next in line is the Kuwait International Rally which kicks off March 22-23, 2013 in the same circuit.

By Iddris Seidu
Arab Times Staff