Attiyah tops Andalucia Rally first leg, takes slender lead
Qatari Khalifa Al Attiyah and his French co-driver Xavier Panseri overall top in T4 category
QATAR’S Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah and his French co-driver Matthieu Baumel took a slender lead at the Andalucia Rally in Spain winning the rst leg on Thursday.
Driving a newly designed Toyota Hilux Overdrive, Attiyah put in a fastest drive between Arcos de la Frontera and
illamartin, completing the 177km route in 1 hour 39.25 seconds. The nal two stages, however, were cancelled by the organisers for safety reasons.
Attiyah and Baumel were just 1 minute 28 seconds ahead of Lithuanian driver ala aidotas and Portuguese co-driver Paulo Fiuza, who drove a Mini Cooper.
Local favourites Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz were not far behind, a mere 2 minute 41 seconds separating them and Attiyah, despite encountering GPS system failure.
In compliance with FIA regulations, the rst top ten chose their starting position with Wednesday’s 8km prologue winner Attiyah opting to start third behind his eternal rival Sainz.
Talking tactics before making his choice Nasser con ded: “The perfect solution would be to start third or fourth behind Carlos (Sainz) and Yazeed (Al Rajhi) as you don’t want to be behind slow cars but wherever Carlos starts I’ll be starting behind him,” the Qatari legend said.
Meanwhile, Attiyah’s brother Khalifa Al Attiyah alongwith French co-driver avier Panseri topped the T4 category.
Khalifa, driving a Can-Am Maverick RS is overall 12th with a total time of 1 hour 54 minute 46 seconds.
Friday’s second stage of 381km will be held between Arahal and Coripe.
The fourth and nal stage is slated for Sunday.