FROM LEFT: Bahrain’s Obaid Al Kitbe, Poland’s Rafal Sonik and Qatar’s Mohammed Abu Issa, Quad category podium winners at the Sealine Cross-Country Rally. RIGHT: Cars category winner Jean Louis Schlesser and co-driver Konstantin Zhiltsov celebrate their victory. Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) President Nasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah (right) is also seen.
DOHA: Frenchman Jean-Louis Schlesser, Spaniard Marc Coma and Pole Rafal Sonik claimed outright victories in their respective car, motorcycle and quad categories of the four-day 2013 Sealine Cross-Country Rally, which finished in southern Qatar yesterday.
The trio held on to their overnight advantages in very different circumstances to clinch the wins after a punishing all-desert route of over 1,500km had tested both man and machine to the limit.
Schlesser, Chilean rider Francisco Lopez and Sonik were triumphant on the fourth and final stage.
Schlesser and his Russian co-driver Konstantin Zhiltsov started the final selective section with an advantage of 25min, 46sec over the Polish driver Krzyszt of Holowczyc and Schlesser surged into the lead of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies with his first win of the new season by the eventual margin of 31min 18sec.
“Yes, very happy, a nice but difficult race,” said Schlesser.
He added: “It was not so easy and I catch my finger in the steering wheel in a hole today, but the win has put us in a good position.”
Holowczyc reached the finish in second overall with his Mini All4 Racing and the Overdrive Racing Toyota Hiluxes of Venezuelan Nunzio Coffaro and Kazakh Aidyn Rakhimbayev were third and fourth.
“Second place is the first loser,” said Holowczyc.
He added: “This race was ideal for the Buggies, fast, open and bumpy. With the new regulations, we don’t have the power and have to rely on reliability. We see with Nasser, like on the Dakar, he was fast but the car was not reliable. If the rules are not changed the future is for the Buggy!”
Coma needed a very different strategy to claim his second successive victory in the motorcycle category.
The factory KTM rider started the final stage with a 2min, 04sec advantage over Portugal’s Paulo Gonçalves and knew full well that the Speedbrain team rider would be playing catch up over the early kilometres.
But the Portuguese lost his way a little early on and Coma was able to extend his lead into the passage control.
Thereafter, there had been some overnight rain and the Spaniard was a little more cautious to ensure that he kept to the correct route. Gonçalves began to close and Coma saw his rival behind for the first time after around 190km.
The much-vaunted grandstand finish ensued over the closing kilometres and the pair crossed the finish line inseparable. Coma won the race by just four seconds.
“Phew, that was tough. A very tough race, very difficult in all areas, but I am very happy,” said Coma.
He added: “The long distance, the navigation, the weather – this race has really gone to a high level. I lost some time in some loose sand after the passage control, but I saw Paulo after about 190km and it was exciting all the way to the finish.”
Pole Jakub Przygonski finished third and stage winner Lopez was fourth.
Sonik began the final stage with a massive lead of 1hr 33min, 49sec over the UAE’s Obaid Al Kitbe in the quad class.
Last year’s champion made no mistake for the second year running and the quickest time ensured that he maintained his 100 percent success rate in Qatar.
Al Kitbe claimed the runner-up spot and local rider Mohammed Abu Issa was third.
Instead of tackling the full 275.50km selective section used by the cars, bike and quad riders crossed a shorter 238.49km stage, after taking a different course from PC1 to rejoin the main route at the second passage control for the cars.
Goncalves began the stage two minutes behind Coma on the road and needed to beat the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Cup leader by 65 seconds to win the event.
But Coma reached PC1, after 112.52km, with his overall lead increased by a further 2min 08sec.
Nearly half the stage was completed and the Portuguese had not been able to make in-roads into Coma’s lead at all. He was also caught by Przygonski.
Coma stayed hard on the gas through the next crucial kilometres, but Gonçalves, Prygonski and Lopez grouped closer together and the Speedbrain rider managed to close in on the leader en route to the Inland Sea.
The Portuguese was putting on a late charge as the media waited anxiously at the finish line to see if it would indeed be a ‘motocross-style’ shoot-out to decide the outcome.
Gonçalves had managed to take exactly two minutes from the Spaniard, but those four vital seconds were a bridge too far and Coma held on to take the narrowest of victories in thrilling circumstances.
Elsewhere, Sonik had been the quickest quad rider to PC1 from Al Kitbe and Pablo Copetti and the Pole held on to take a comfortable win in the category. Al Kitbe and Qatar’s Mohammed Abu Issa were second and third.
Schlesser settled cosily into third position on the stage behind Holowczyc and Rakhimbayev and just needed to stay out of trouble to conserve his 25min, 46sec lead and seal a maiden Sealine win.
Faisal Al Attiya started from third position on the road but the Qatari’s topsy-turvy rally ended 33km into the stage when he broke a brake disc and retired.
Schlesser reached PC1 with a virtual stage lead of 34 seconds over Holowczyc and extended that advantage to 56 seconds at PC2, as he closed in on the Sealine title.
The Frenchman shadowed the Pole to the finish to seal victory by the margin of 31min, 18sec.
Russian Alexander Barenenko missed out on the stage win but finished high enough to confirm the class victory in his Toyota and take sixth in the overall standings.
THE PENINSULA
