Qatar’s Al-Suwaidi wins Kuwait International Rally

Qatari national Khaled Al-Suwaidi was declared winner of the second round Kuwait International Rally 2012 on a ceremonial rally finish platform and post rally press conference at the Safir International Hotel and Residences in Fintas, Kuwait. The 2-day Rally was organized by the Kuwait Quarter Mile Automobile and Motorcycle Club in coordination with the Kuwait International Automotive Club (KIAC) under the patronage of Sheikh Nasser Mohammed Al-Sabah. The first day of the rally saw five drivers drop out due to technical issues, leaving twenty two cars to continue on day two. The second day also kicked off, progressed and finally ended with very bad news as seven cars had to drop out also due to technical issues. Prominent among the drop-outs was former Qatari Rally Champion, Nasser Attiyah who was being tipped as possible winner of the race, given his performance on day one as frontrunner. Female Turkish driver Burcu Cetiakaya also had to drop out at stage eleven due to a broken axle, triangle and right-hand front wheel running off. In all twelve cars dropped out leaving thirteen to complete the race. Ten drivers in all were awarded trophies with the most coveted trophy of all going to Khaled Al-Suwaidi. The elaborate ceremony started with all ten cars taking their turns to mount the finish platform to receive their awards, starting with the 10th car. Each driver was accompanied by his co-driver to receive the award. The following were the results of the rally in descending order: * Khaled AlSuwaidi (Qatar) * Sheikh Abdullah Al-Qassimi (UAE) * Misfer Al-Marri (Qatar) * Saleh Bin Eidan (Kuwait) * Khalifah Al-Attiyah (Qatar) * Mishal AlNejadi (Kuwait) * Michel Saleh (Lebanon) * Zaid Dahshan (Jordan) * Orcun Polat (Turkey) * Hani Al Bast (Jordan) Khaled Al-Suwaidi speaking to the Arab Times said since he was driving that particular car for the first time, he initially was entertaining some fears that it might disappoint him somewhere along the way; the signs of success began to show on the first day of when he finished second by the close of the day. he added that the second day was when he pushed harder and was able to win all six rounds of the day with a clear 4-minute gap separating him from the second car. “Its really been a thrilling experience for our team”, he added. General secretary of Kuwait Quarter Mile Automobile & Motor Cycle Club, Sheikh Ali Fawaz Al-Sabah for his part paid congratulated all the drivers, especially Khaled Al-Suwaidi and his co-driver for a job well done. Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah, President of Qatar Moto Sport Federation couldn’t hide his elation at a compatriot winning such a prestigious event, saying that Suwaidi is the youngest of the drivers and has won the award for Qatar for which Qataris will be very proud. Fourth place winner, Saleh Bin Eidan said he had a good start to the rally on day one, leading the pack on the first stage before getting into second place in the second stage and when it got to the fifth stage he rolled over in an accident where the marshals were around to turn the car back on its wheels for him to continue the race. In all he lost eleven minutes of precious time due to the roll-over and some mechanical issues on the first day. Day two saw Bin Eidan and his colleague drive as furiously as ever moving from 12th position to win five of the six stages to clinch the fourth position. He may not have won the top prize, but most spectators and analysts thought he could easily have won the first position had it not been for the accident. He was however grateful for the position he got, saying that “this is a rally which is a sport and of course the best player wins and I congratulate the winner”. Briefing the press, on the event, the Publicity Manager for the event, Osama AlMansour said that a lot of factors accounted for the resounding success of the event, prominent among them being good management, uncompromising media coverage and so forth. He added that there were over 15 foreign media personnel present, 16 local newspapers, 14 TV channels with the government of Kuwait assisting in the provision of a helicopter for areal and live TV coverage. He praised Sheikh Athbi Nayef Al-Sabah and Sheikh Ali Fawaz Al-Sabah, both executive members of the Kuwait Quarter Mile Automobile & Motorcycle Club, who were all over the place taking care of business. The event ended with a press conference where the results were formally announced by the organizing committee in the presence of the media.