Al Attiyah sails to victory.

Faisal Hakki, Special to The Star Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah strengthened his grip over the Middle East Rally Championship last week when he drove his Subaru Impreza WRX Sti to an easy victory in the fourth round of the title fight, the 2006 Jordan International Rally. The Qatari driver dominated the three-day event from start until finish clocking fastest times on 13 of the 17 special stages and leaving his peers green with envy by showing them a trick or two on fast driving. Al-Attiyah finished the event 4 minutes and 13.8 seconds ahead of second placed Sheikh Suhail Bin Khalifa Al-Maktoum from the United Arab Emirates. On board his new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX, Jordanian Amjad Farah came in a distant third overall--and a glittering first among Jordanian drivers--with a 10 minute 33 second gap from the winner. Abdullah Al-Qassimi from the UAE came in fourth driving a Subaru followed by Qatar's Misfer Al-Mirri and the weathered Michel Saleh from Lebanon, both on Mitsubishis.Other Jordanian drivers taking part in the event were a little less fortunate. Four-times Jordan drivers' championship winner Faris Bustami came in seventh after having held tight to his fifth position during the first day of the event. Bustami lost five minutes in the Rumman stage when his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII flipped on its right side as he was trying to cut a left corner and hit a rock on the inside. He ended up losing five minutes and dropping two places to seventh. Veteran Bashar Bustami was even less fortunate when his car spun on the tenth stage and he lost valuable time trying to restart the engine. Ala'a Khlaifeh dropped out after incurring a number of time penalties, while Abed Al-Hameed Al-Adham and Imad Juma followed suit as a result of suspension and axle failures, consecutively. Although the Rally did not witness any cutthroat competition over the top spot, it was nevertheless one of the most exciting events in the history of Jordanian and Middle East Rallying. This year's rally has become one of six official candidates to join the World Rally Championship (WRC) in 2007, and the organizing committee has undoubtedly risen to the challenge by planning and executing a world-class event. Drivers made clear their satisfaction over the great leaps made forward on the logistical level and when comparing this year's event with last year. Lebanese driver Michel Saleh admitted to being "very impressed" with the stages, and said that "they could be dangerous if you push too hard and need to be treated with respect. But, when you consider that the worst one of them all is the Dead Sea stage, and that was the best stage last year, that proves what a huge improvement the organizers have made". Almost 50 percent of the distance covered by the special stages is entirely new, while 30 percent of the old routes have been dramatically overhauled. Moreover, and with the majority of the stages being run below sea level, with some of them being at the lowest point on earth, the Jordan International Rally was an unquestionably unique event. UAE's 14-time Middle East Champion Mohammed Bin Sulayem has also pledged his personal support for the WRC bid in addition to that of the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE which he currently heads. Bin Sulayem, who was present at the rally, joined A-listers four-time WRC champion Tommi Makinnen and his co-driver Kai Lindstrom and Carlos Sainz' ex-co-driver Spaniard Luis Moya. Running against the rallies of South Africa, Ireland, Poland, New Zealand and Portugal for a spot on next year's WRC calendar, the Jordan Rally is definitely up against some very serious competition. The FIA (FE[umlaut]dE[umlaut]ration Internationale de l'Automobile) ruling committee will be out with verdict early July. [e-mail] 1: Al-Attiyah steers his Subaru to victoryPicture 2: Sheikh Suhail Bin Khalifa splashes his way to secondPicture 3: Amjad Farah tackles Mount Nebo and finishes thirdAl Attiyah sails to victory

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