Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Racing Rally team will be participating this weekend with five Citroën cars in Kuwait International Rally (13th to 14th of March) in the second round of the Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) this season. The team will be led by Shaikh Khalid Bin Faisal Al Qassimi and his veteran co-driver Chris Patterson in their Citroën DS 3 RRC. Kuwait will be the first round in the MERC for the Abu Dhabi Racing Junior drivers and they are: Mohammad Al Mutawaa/Stephen McAuley (MERC 2WD and youth cup champion), Mohammad Al Sahlawi/Craig Parry, Mansour Belhelei/Khalid Al Kendi, and Saeed Bintouq/Allan Harryman. The junior drivers will all be participating in the 2WD category in their Citroën DS 3 R3’s.
Shaikh Khalid Bin Faisal Al Qassimi, hoping to repeat his 2010 achievement in Kuwait this year, said: “Kuwait International Rally is one of my favourites because the stages are well defined and the terrain is less rugged compared to other rallies, but it is just as competitive. I finished second last year and we are aiming to repeat our performance in 2010 and come first this year”.
Abu Dhabi Racing junior drivers will participate in Kuwait International Rally in the 2WD category to gain more experience in their first rally this season and spectators will be following to see if Al Mutawaa will be able to win in Kuwait for the second time in a row or one of his teammates will have the last word.
Kuwait International Rally is a two-day event with a total of 13 special stages set over 250.46km. The first day (Friday, March 13) consists of seven stages totalling 144.72-km, while the second day (Saturday, March 14) stages are 105.74km long.
Al Qassimi is participating in five rounds of the World Rally Championship this year with Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team: Rally Argentina (April 23 to 26), Rally Portugal (May 21 to 24), Rally Sardegna (June 11 to 14) Rally Finland (July 30-August 2), and Rally of Spain (October 22 to 25).
