Qatar’s triple Dakar Rally winner Nasser bin Saleh al Attiyah moved ever close to winning the elusive Rally of Lebanon, the third round of the Middle East Rally Championship, on Saturday.
After the full competitive second day, in which six special stages were run, thrice runner-up Attiyah and his French co-pilot Matthieu Baumel grabbed a healthy five minutes and 39.1 seconds overall lead over a host of local drivers.
Attiyah, who had lost the lone stage to 14-time winners Roger Feghali from Lebanon on Friday, was dominant and won all the six stages today in Volkswagen Polo GTi.
Feghali felt the pressure from Attiyah and crashed out of the rally in the return leg of Hboub, the SS5 over 21.30 kms. With only one day and four more stages left, there can’t be a better chance for Attiyah, who has to just go through the remaining distance without any risk and wrap up his dream title.
Following Attiyah are five Lebanese drivers, led by Rodgrigue Rahi in Mitsubishi Evo9. Patrick Njeim, also in Mitsubishi Evo9, is holding the third spot, being six minutes and 32.6 seconds adrift of the leader.
