Czech pair of Vojtech Stajf and co-driver Veronika Havelkova converted their golden opportunity into a historic triumph after local giant Nasser bin Saleh al Attiyah was forced to quit the Manateq International Rally of Qatar, the final round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship on Saturday.
Attiyah, with an overnight lead of two minutes, was looking to cap his record 14th regional crown with a 14th win in the home rally but his Ford Fiesta R5 lost left-hand drive flange soon after starting the day. They somehow managed to reach the stage finish line but the Czech had already opened an over-two-minute gap on him.
After Attiyah decided to retire, Stajf, driving Skoda Fabia R5, held his nerves and went on to post the win over Adel Abdulla by four minutes and 7.08 seconds, becoming the first non-Arab to triumph in the rally since Bj'f6rn Waldeg'e5rd's success with co-driver Fred Gallagher in a Toyota Celica Turbo way back in 1986. The win also marked the first for a non-Qatari driver since 2002 and the first MERC win for the Czech at the end of his debut season.
A smiling Stajf said after the race,"Last year, Nasser told me to race in the Middle East rally. We decided to give it a try this year. It was a big challenge throughout the whole year. Each rally was different. We still didn't have the required pace and for a long time even in the future, we won't have the pace to match Nasser at his home rally.
"So it's quite a miracle to win here. In a rally, anything can happen. I feel sorry for Nasser. We started the rally with caution. We were trying to avoid any mysterious mistakes. We stopped two times during the stages today. But after the crash in the Kuwait Rally, my team has repaired the car very well and it was running perfectly. I really want to thank my team for this victory.
"This is the 100th year of the Czech independence so it is very special for us. Ours is a Czech team with a Czech car in the Middle East rallies. I think we deserved a win in the MERC and we're delighted that it came in the home rally of Nasser.
The triumph also enabled Veronica to seal a deal with Stajf for the entire next season. Stajf added:"Earlier she was not very excited about doing rallies in the Middle East deserts. She however did a great job. I was looking for a co-driver for the new season but after today's victory, we decided to race together."
"The whole championship was challenging for me. Even though I have been doing the rallies for 22 years, everything was new for me here from the series to rallies to stages. I was always learning. This victory is a great present for the whole team. We put in a lot of efforts and money. It was the last event of the season and we're very happy to win it."
For me the priority is the Czech rally as all my sponsors support me for that event. When the calendar for the 2019 MERC is announced, we'll see which rallies we can do. Next year, the Qatar Rally will be the season-opener and if the dates permit us, we'll love to come back to defend the title. If any driver in the Middle East wants to rent one of our cars, we can do that and it will help us meet the expenses in the Middle East rallies."
A dejected Attiyah said:"The upright was completely broken. Maybe it was some damage when we had a puncture in Kuwait. It was the same corner. It is bad luck. The problem was from the start of the stage. There was a vibration. We did 300 metres and stopped to check if it was a flat tyre.
"We saw nothing and decided to keep going to the finish. The wheel was completely stuck and we only had three wheels. We let Vojtech pass and we finished behind him. But it was over for us," the Qatari star added.
Runner-up Adel Abdulla and new Lebanese navigator Ziad Chebab delivered an impressive debut performance in a Ford Fiesta R5. Adel got to grips with the increased performance quickly, although the loss of over two minutes in the seventh stage because of power steering issues cost him any realistic chance of catching Stajf.
Abdulla commented about driving the R5 car:"This is a new experience and new challenge for us. By God's grace, we did a good job as a team, especially my co-driver. Motortune Racing have a big experience about these racing cars. This helped us get the second place.
"We always try to give our best shot to each rally. Our aim is to reach the podium every time we contest in a rally. We really want to give back something to our country and the Amir His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani for the great support to us. We just wish that the Qatari drivers keep succeeding and bringing laurels for their nation."
Abdullah al Kuwari moved into third overall when Attiyah retired and then lost over two and a half minutes with a puncture and a turbo issue in stage six. But the Qatari and his nephew Nasser al Kuwari secured the final podium place and won the MERC 2 category.
Mohammed al Meer was unable to capitalise on Kuwari's delays when he suffered his own time loss in Al Ghariyah. He and Ahmad al Fares reached the finish in fourth.
MERC 3 champion Henry Kahy and Jordanian navigator Musa Djiyerian wrapped up an excellent season with another impressive display in their two-wheel drive Skoda Fabia 1.6. Kahy was classified in sixth overall after losing fifth on the penultimate stage.
Qatar's Rashed al Mohannadi and Jordanian co-driver Yousef Juma finished fifth after Kahy suffered technical issues near the end and slipped to sixth place.
Kuwait's Saleh bin Eidan began the day in fifth and slipped to sixth overall with ongoing clutch problems on the first stage of the day. But he regained his place on the subsequent special and moved up to fourth after Attiyah's retirement before retiring with axle damage after a collision in Al Ghariyah.
Engine issues prevented Abdullah al Rawahi from restarting in the FIA section and co-driver illness also sidelined the MERC 2 champion Meshari al Thefiri. The National category also lost Oman's Humaid al Waili with engine issues and Hamed bin Eid al Thani with turbo-related engine problems.
QMMF President Abdulrahman al Mannai said,"Right before the rally to the finish, a lot of unexpected things took place and made our job as the hosts quite challenging.
"There were heavy rains which forced us to change and shorten the changes. Then during the last day, Nasser al Attiyah had an unfortunate exit. This gave an opportunity to new drivers like Stajf and Adel to get to the podium. Abdul al Kuwari returned to the rallies after some time and he also did well to win his class.
"However, we managed to put up an overall great show and we'll keep improving the rally, which will return to its old schedule and kick-start the new season next year," he added.
Results
2018 Manateq International Rally of Qatar
Positions after SS10 (unofficial):
1. Vojtech '8atajf (CZE)/Veronika Havelkov'e1 (CZE) '8akoda Fabia R5 1hr 39min 46.7sec; 2. Adel Hussein (QAT)/Ziad Chehab (LEB) Ford Fiesta R5 1hr 43min 54.5sec;
3. Abdullah al Kuwari (QAT)/Nasser al Kuwari (QAT) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 1hr 52min 48.0sec; 4. Mohammed al Meer (QAT)/Ahmad al Fares (KWT) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 2hrs 13min 57.1sec; 5. Rashid al Mohannadi (QAT)/Yousef Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 2hrs 20min 27.8sec; 6. Henry Kahy (LBN)/Musa Djiyerian (JOR) Skoda Fabia 1.6 2hrs 26min 06.3sec.
2018 FIA Middle East Rally Championship final positions (unofficial):
1. Nasser bin Saleh al Attiyah (QAT) 153pts; 2. Vojtech '8atajf (CZE) 131pts; 3. Meshari al Thefiri (KWT) 59pts; 4. Roger Feghali (LBN) 38pts; 5. Henry Kahy (LBN) 33pts; 6. Khaled Juma (JOR) 32pts; 7. Adel Abdulla (QAT) 29pts; 8. Christos Demostheous (CYP) 25pts; 9. Abdullah al Kuwari 24pts; 9. Rodolphe Asmar (LBN) 24pts, etc.
2018 FIA MERC 2 final positions (unofficial):
1. Meshari al Thefiri (KWT) 117pts; 2. Khaled Juma (JOR) 49pts; 3. Abdullah al Kuwari (QAT) 39pts; 4. Savvas Savva (CYP) 37pts; 5. Ihab al Shorafa (JOR) 33pts; 6. Costas Zenonos (CYP) 30pts; 7. Mohammed al Meer (QAT) 29pts; 8. Ahmed Shaban (JOR) 25pts; 8. George Englezou (CYP) 25pts; 10. Rashid al Mohannadi (QAT) 24pts; 10. Nasser Khalifa al Attiyah (QAT) 24pts; 12. Abdullah al Rawahi (OMN) 23pts, etc.
2018 FIA MERC 3 final positions (unofficial):
1. Henry Kahy (LBN) 166pts; 2. Rony Kanaan (LBN) 39pts; 3. Panayiotis Xenophontos (CYP) 37pts; 4. Asem Aref (JOR) 30pts; 4. Matthias Njeim (LBN) 30pts; 4. Constantinos Televantos (CYP) 30pts; 7. Zacharias Manoli (CYP) 23pts.
2018 FIA MERC Junior Championship for Drivers final positions (unofficial):
1. Matthias Njeim (LBN) 39pts.
