Sealine Cross-Country Rally Qatar: Al-Attiyah leading at the halfway point // Three MINI ALL4 Racings in the top five.

Press Release.

24th April 2014.

Sealine Cross-Country Rally Qatar: Al-Attiyah leading at the halfway point // Three MINI ALL4 Racings in the top five.

Munich (DE). Nasser Al-Attiyah (QT), in the MINI ALL4 Racing, is the clear leader at the halfway point of the Sealine Cross-Country Rally in the desert state of Qatar (20th to 25th April). He leads the field after three of the five legs, 39:38 minutes ahead of X-raid teammate Vladimir Vasilyev (RU) and is well positioned to win his home rally.

Al-Attiyah had already secured the best time on each of the first two days of the demanding desert rally. The experienced Dakar driver was at ease on the treacherous terrain and, as usual, benefited from an extremely reliable and competitive MINI ALL4 Racing.

Another driver clocking fast times in the emirate is Martin Kaczmarski (PL) in the MINI ALL4 Racing, which is based on the MINI John Cooper Works Countryman. The youngster is currently in a strong fifth position.

The Sealine Cross-Country Rally in Qatar leads the drivers through a total of 1,904.54 kilometres, 1,729.76 of which are special stages. The biggest challenge facing the drivers in this rally is the fine desert sand, which the vehicles can easily get stuck in. On top of this, the high temperatures of up to 40°C demand a lot from the drivers and their vehicles.



Overall standings after the 3rd leg of the Sealine Cross-Country Rally Qatar:

1. Al-Attiyah (QT) MINI ALL4 Racing – 9h 26m 14s

2. Vasilyev (PL) MINI ALL4 Racing – 10h 05m 52s

3. Malysz (PL) Toyota – 10h 19m 11s

4. Dabrowski (PL) Toyota – 10h 30m 37s

5. Kaczmarski (PL) MINI ALL4 Racing – 10h 47m 42s



MINI field at the Sealine Cross-Country Rally Qatar 2014.

#301 MINI ALL4 Racing.

X-raid Team

Vladimir Vasilyev/Konstantin Zhiltsov (RU/RU)

#304 MINI ALL4 Racing.

X-raid Team

Nasser Al-Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel (QT/FR)

#305 MINI ALL4 Racing.

X-raid Team

Krzysztof Holowczyc/Andreas Schulz (PL/DE)

#309 MINI ALL4 Racing.

X-raid Team

Martin Kaczmarski/Filipe Palmeiro (PL/PT)

Race calendar for the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies.

14/02 – 16/02 Baja Russia
13/03 – 16/03 Baja Italy
06/04 – 10/04 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge
20/04 – 25/04 Sealine Cross-Country Rally Qatar
18/05 – 25/05 Pharaons Rally Egypt
18/07 – 20/07 Baja Aragon
14/08 – 17/08 Baja Hungary
28/08 – 30/08 Baja Poland
03/10 – 09/10 Rally Morocco
30/10 – 02/11 Baja Portugal


 

Media contact.

BMW Sports Communications
Danilo Coglianese
Phone: +49-176-601-72405
E-mail: danilo.coglianese@bmwgroup.com
Media website: www.press.bmwgroup-sport.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/MINImotorsport
YouTube: www.youtube.com/MINImotorsport
Twitter: www.twitter.com/MINImotorsport