Qatar's Al-Attiyah and Abu Issa pull clear as Barreda regains motorcycle lead at Sealine Rally
- Qatar’s Hussein forced out; crash sidelines Polish rider Berdysz
- Tyre woes and broken axle for stranded Saudi Yazeed Al-Rajhi
- Fourth gruelling 404.18km selective section set to run on Thursday
SEALINE (Qatar): Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah, Spaniard Joan Barreda and the host nation’s Mohammed Abu Issa stole the limelight by setting the fastest times in the third 411.76km selective section of the Sealine Cross-Country Rally through the Qatar desert on Wednesday.
Al-Attiyah duly extended his advantage to 39min 38sec in the car category, Honda rider Barreda managed to slip 1min 19sec ahead of KTM’s Marc Coma in the motorcycle section and Qatar’s Mohammed Abu Issa increased his lead in the quads after Poland’s Rafal Sonik hit trouble.
Al-Attiyah had no fear of opening the stage for the cars and he and French navigator Matthieu Baumel controlled their pace masterfully to record a third successive stage win, despite erring on the side of caution at a tricky navigational point.
Brazilians Reinaldo Varela and Gustavo Gugelmin were second in an Overdrive Toyota Hilux and the third quickest time for Mini driver Vladimir Vasilyev enabled the Russian to snatch second overall after Yazeed Al-Rajhi hit trouble.
