Sheikh Khalid is ready to chase down the Merc title at Dubai International Rally

DUBAI // Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi is hoping to get his National Day celebrations off to an early start with victory at Friday’s Dubai International Rally.

He will go head-to-head with Qatar’s Nasser Al Attiyah in the final leg of the 2014 Middle East Rally Championship (Merc) for the overall title.

Al Attiyah, the nine-time Merc champion, holds a six-point lead over Al Qassimi (69), but with 25 points on offer for the champion in Dubai and 18 for the runners-up the UAE driver will beat the Qatari to the title if he finishes at the top of the podium this week.

“This is a very important event for us,” Al Qassimi said.

“We celebrate our National Day just a couple of days after the end of this championship, so I am hoping me or one of the Emirati drivers wins this.

“I know Nasser has won here for a few years, but we need to keep believing and keep pushing and keep trying.”

Al Qassimi, the 2004 Merc champion, last won the Dubai championship in 2006 and Al Attiyah has dominated the event since, topping the podium seven times in a row to script one of the longest winning streaks in the history of the championships.

“Dubai is a very special race, the final race, and we have a lot of experience here,” said Al Attiyah. “So we know what we need to do here and get the job done just like we did every year to win this race.”

Al Attiyah’s first of nine wins in Dubai came in 2003 and he defended his title in 2004, before Al Qassimi won twice on the trot.

So these two have dominated the event over the past 11 years, but Qatar’s Abdulaziz Al Kuwari, who is third in the overall championship with 66 points, has also put himself in the frame this year and could win the Merc title if he can finish ahead of the two veterans.

“We have all the ingredients for another classic Dubai International Rally to decide the outcome of the Middle East Championship,” said Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE, the rally organisers.

arizvi@thenational.ae

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