Doha, Qatar: Nasser Al-Attiyah and Italian co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini claimed a convincing victory in MERC - Qtel Qatar International Rally 2010 for Barwa World Rally Team.
In their new Ford Fiesta S2000 Nasser and Giovanni won six of the first eight stages on the first day. But on the second day they lost valuable time due to several punctures on the tough, stony and all-gravel stages and dropped to the second position. On the closing stages the new leader Khalid Al-Qassimi suffered three punctures and fell behind, so Nasser could slow down a bit and follow clean line to the finish. Nasser’s eighth victory in the home event in a row was his 35th in the FIA Middle East Rally Championship.
“We were really looking for the win here as we will skip Kuwait Rally to take part in the S2000 WRC Cup in Mexico. We enjoyed the rally a lot, we had an engine sensor problem before the start and punctures on the last day, but we managed to win the home rally for the eight time. The Ford Fiesta S2000 is a great car to drive, the control and grip while entering and exiting a corner are just fantastic. I'm quite happy and Giovanni did an excellent job,” said Nasser.
