Nasser Al-Attiyah (QT) has won the Sealine Cross Country Rally in Qatar in the MINI ALL4 Racing. The X-raid team driver crossed the finishing line after five stages and 1,729.76 stage kilometres in first place.
“I’m absolutely delighted, to have won my home rally,” Al-Attiyah commented in his native Doha. “The conditions here have been anything but easy. The sand dunes are treacherous, it is easy to get the car stuck in the fine sand. The high temperatures in the desert also exact a heavy toll on man and machine.”
Al-Attiyah continued: “My co-driver Mattieu Baumel navigated me safely as always, I was able to rely on him at all times. He deserves a great deal of thanks. I was likewise able to depend on my MINI ALL4 Racing. It drove reliably as always, which I have become accustomed to since the Dakar.”
Al-Attiyah’s success was made all the more sweet thanks to the second-place finish of his MINI team-mate Vladimir Vasilyev (RU), who recorded a strong second place with the start number 301. This finish enabled Vasilyev to extend his advantage in the overall classification in the World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies. He now has a commanding lead with 114 points ahead of Yazeed Alrajhi (SA/60 points), who did not complete the rally in Qatar. The fifth world cup event will be held in Egypt from 18–25 May.
Final results Sealine Cross Country Rally Qatar:
1. Al-Attiyah (QT) MINI ALL4 Racing – 17h 22m 51s
2. Vasilyev (RU) MINI ALL4 Racing – 18h 39m 47s
3. Dabrowski (PL) Toyota – 18h 59m 47s
3. Dabrowski (PL) Toyota – 18h 59m 47s
4. Malysz (PL) Toyota – 19h 02m 51s
5. Varela (BR) Toyota – 19h 17m 21sMINI Driver line-up Sealine Cross-Country Rally Qatar 2014.
#301 MINI ALL4 Racing.
X-raid team
Vladimir Vasilyev/Konstantin Zhiltsov (RU/RU)
#304 MINI ALL4 Racing.
X-raid team
Nasser Al-Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel (QT/FR)
#305 MINI ALL4 Racing.
X-raid team
Krzysztof Holowczyc/Andreas Schulz (PL/DE)
#309 MINI ALL4 Racing.
X-raid team
Martin Kaczmarski/Filipe Palmeiro (PL/PT)
Race calendar for the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies.
14/02 – 16/02 Baja Russia
13/03 – 16/03 Baja Italy
06/04 – 10/04 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge
20/04 – 25/04 Sealine Cross-Country Rally Qatar
18/05 – 25/05 Pharaons Rally Egypt
18/07 – 20/07 Baja Aragón
14/08 – 17/08 Baja Hungary
28/08 – 30/08 Baja Poland
03/10 – 09/10 Rally Morocco
30/10 – 02/11 Baja Portugal
