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SPORT Sunday 5 February 2017 PAGE | 22 PAGE | 23 Garcia grabs Chelsea widen gapgap tthree-shot Dubai at the top with wwinin DDeserte Classic lead over Arsenal Qatar's Rashed clinches dramatic win Qatar Rally RESULTS Talented Qatari QMMF Qatar International youngster wins first Rally Positions after SS12: round of the MERC as 1 Rashid Al Naimi (QAT)/ defending champion Hugo Magalhães (POR) Al Attiyah retires Subaru Impreza WRX STi 1hr 56min 28.3sec with engine issues on 2 Meshari Al Thefiri (KWT)/ penultimate stage Fares Al-Thefiri (KWT) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 2hr 21min 57.0sec The Peninsula QMMF Qatar National here may have been a Rally Positions after SS12: small entry in this 1 Nasser Al Kuwari (QAT)/ year’s QMMF Qatar Killian Duffy (IRL) Mit- subishi Lancer Evo IX 2hr International Rally, but 10min 17.2sec it didn’t detract from 2 Khaled Al Mohannadi Tone of the most exciting ever (QAT)/Musa Sherif (IND) final days of a round of the FIA Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII Middle East Rally 2hr 43min 26.1sec Championship. 3 Henry Kahy (LEB)/Musa Qatar’s talented youngster Djiyerian (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII Rashed Al Naimi and new Por- 3hr 05min 07.1sec tuguese co-driver Hugo Magalhaes claimed a dramatic FIA Middle East Rally victory, when firm favourite Championship Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah suffered positions after round 1 : engine issues on the penultimate 1 Rashid Al Naimi (QAT) 37pts stage and retired his Skoda Fabia 2 Meshari Al Thefiri (KWT) R5. 28pts A stunned Al Naimi also 3 Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah claimed victory in the MERC 2 (QAT) 7pts category, three special stage wins 4 Khalid Al Suwaidi (QAT) and now leads the regional rally 6pts championship by nine points. Rashed Al Naimi and Hugo Magalhaes celebrate their win at the Qatar International Rally, the first round of the FIA Middle East Rally “The target here was the win Championship, in Doha yesterday. BOTTOM: Rashed and Magalhaes in action during the event. in MERC 2, but to win the Qatar Rally is a complete shock to me Middle East. It’s a great and the Qatari managed to coax and changes my entire strategy feeling.” his stricken Skoda through the for the rest of the season,” said The Kuwaiti pairing of next stage with a dying engine Al Naimi. Meshari and Fares Al Thefiri con- and a suspension issue. It proved “It is a short championship trolled their pace perfectly to too much, however, and the and I have a really good chance bring a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo- Qatari’s 64th MERC rally win is to win the title. I lution X to the finish in second on hold for a few more weeks. had a flat tyre on overall and second in MERC 2. It Al Attiyah said: “We damaged the last stage and was a career-best result for the the radiator and, after that, we we damaged the Kuwaiti after he had been denied could not continue because we suspension, but it second place in Kuwait last year lost all the water. I was sure that We damaged the by a fuel violation. we would have damaged the There have been rallies engine if we had carried on. I did radiator and, after around the world in the past with not want to cheat or bend the performance as a driver in his for Al Attiyah and the Qatari Al Naimi clocked the target time that, we could not no finishers, but just two finish- rules by taking water from some- Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX. faced a hectic few minutes at the of 10min 29.3sec. But it was to ers in the international was a low body. This is the game you know. Al Kuwari reached Losail 33min remote service stop in Al Khar- no avail and Al Attiyah’s engine continue because point for the Middle East on the I think, to have a good race, you 08.9sec in front of Khaled Al saah with Matthieu Baumel and expired five kilometres into SS11 we lost all the championship’s 201st rally since also need to have a service Mohannadi to take a stunning four mechanics trying to fix a and Al Naimi inherited a shock water. I was sure its inception in 1984. Rigid new between the three stages, like the win in the National Rally. leaking radiator. He started the lead of 24min 40.6sec. FIA fuel tank safety regulations old rule. Al Mohannadi and Indian co- subsequent Al Kharsaah 2 stage Despite finishing the final that we would had forced five teams out of the “I hope that we will be bet- driver Musa Sherif lost 18 after Al Naimi and ceded 2min stage with a flat tyre, Al Naimi have damaged the international event in any case ter in Jordan. After, we have minutes in the eighth stage with 04.4sec to the MERC 2 driver to held on to claim a stunning vic- engine if we had and, without the support of driv- Cyprus and Lebanon, so we try technical problems and bounced lead the rally by 7min 46.4sec tory and the lead in both the ers from the UAE and several to score maximum points for the back to claim second place. Leb- with two stages to go. It was the MERC and MERC 2. His winning carried on. I did other GCC countries, the Qatar championship. It is not so easy anon’s Henry Kahy teamed up first special stage win for Al- margin was a somewhat flatter- not want to cheat Motor and Motorcycle Federa- now, but we will see.” with Jordanian Musa Djiyerian Naimi in his second full season ing 25min 28.7sec, but he or bend the rules tion (QMMF) put on an excellent Qatar’s Khaled Al Suwaidi to round off the National Rally of MERC competition. Al Kuwari suffered a late scare when he had rally, held in part in atrocious put up a brave challenge over the podium. extended his National Rally lead to drive back cautiously on the by taking water weather conditions. opening leg but he struggled to Al Attiyah was in fine form to 38min 50.2sec. road section with damage to a from somebody. Al Attiyah won seven of the match the defending champion from the outset yesterday and Autotek team manager Ken bent suspension arm. It was a 11 special stages (SS2 was can- after the restart yesterday and delivered a crushing blow to Al Skidmore confirmed that Al Atti- dramatic end to a memorable was not too bad celled) with French navigator rolled out of contention in the Suwaidi’s title ambitions by win- yah completed the stage with a rally. The next round of the FIA and I managed to Matthieu Baumel, but the team ninth stage. ning the stage by 20.7 seconds to broken radiator, a dying engine Middle East Rally Championship finish and win my could not repair a broken radi- Former co-driver Nasser Al extend his lead to 31.1 seconds. and suspension issues, as he tried will be the Jordan Rally on May first rally in the ator at the remote service stop Kuwari delivered a superb But it wasn’t all plain sailing to coax the Skoda to the finish. 4 to 6. QSL: Al Wakrah snatch a point off Al Gharafa The Peninsula Al Gharafa picked up their defender Mohamed Arafa In the 55th minute, Al Wak- pace after the 10th minute as the headed the ball away with an Al rah's Muaaz Al-Salemi provided ottom side Al Wakrah hosts stitched neat moves on Gharafa player within striking for a solo run but his quick- shared spoils in a goalless home soil to pressure Al Wak- range. footed shot from inside the box Bdraw against former Qatar rah who resisted with rugged In the 38th minute, Al sailed above the Al Gharafa Stars League champions Al defending. Wakrah's Ahmad Ali Khil crossbar. Gharafa yesterday. In the 19th minute, Johnson slipped in a low ball towards With game inching towards Hosts Al Gharafa failed to Kendrick of Al Gharafa Al Gharafa’s goalmouth but a draw, Al Wakrah's Jassem Al- impress against a Wakrah side attempted a long-range shot but his shot was neatly slapped Jalabii unleashed a powerful shot that has only two wins out of 18 the ball sailed past the Al Wak- away by young goalkeeper from the edge of the Al Gharafa games before the clash. rah goalpost as the visitors yet Yusuf Hassan. box but the ball swerved and Al Gharafa started brightly again maintained a clean slate Two minutes later, Al Wak- sailed past the home team's when defender George Kwesi under pressure. rah midfielder Youssoupha goalpost in the 80th minute. produced a neat charge in the Seven minutes later, Al Mbengue unleashed a powerful Despite the draw, the result 9th minute but his chip from Gharafa's Kendrick once again shot from the edge of the Al means that Al Wakrah are still Action from the Qatar Stars League match between Al Gharafa close range was quickly blocked provided a neat pass from the Gharafa box but his strike nar- rooted to the bottom of the and Al Wakrah at Al Gharafa Stadium yesterday. by goalkeeper Hassan Idriss. flank but Al Wakrah's alert rowly missed the target. league. SPORT SUNDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2017 21 NBA: Rockets retire trail Falcons, Patriots eye NFL glory blazing Yao's Houston in the NFL, as Ryan enjoyed a A staff member jersey Reuters most valuable player-caliber walks past a campaign tossing 38 touch- sign at the NFL Los Angeles he Atlanta Falcons will downs, second only to Green Experience at AFP try today to remove Bay's Aaron Rodgers.