Qatar's Nasser Al Attiyah Tops Sealine Rally

Doha, April 23 (QNA) - Qatars Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah, Spaniard Joan Barreda and the host nations Mohammed Abu Issa stole the limelight by setting the fastest times in the third 411.76km selective section of the Sealine Cross-Country Rally through the Qatar desert on Wednesday. Al-Attiyah duly extended his advantage to 39min 38sec in the car category, Honda rider Barreda managed to slip 1min 19sec ahead of KTMs Marc Coma in the motorcycle section and Qatars Mohammed Abu Issa increased his lead in the quads after Polands Rafal Sonik hit trouble. Al-Attiyah had no fear of opening the stage for the cars and he and French navigator Matthieu Baumel controlled their pace masterfully to record a third successive stage win, despite erring on the side of caution at a tricky navigational point. Brazilians Reinaldo Varela and Gustavo Gugelmin were second in an Overdrive Toyota Hilux and the third quickest time for Mini driver Vladimir Vasilyev enabled the Russian to snatch second overall after Yazeed Al-Rajhi hit trouble. "It was a good day and good navigation," said Al-Attiyah. "But there was one place where Matthieu and I were not sure and we decided to stop and make sure we had the correct track. Maybe it cost us around nine minutes, because there was a track to the left and it was not easy at all." Al-Rajhi was carrying three spare tyres in his Toyota and he punctured for a fourth time before the dunes at the end of the stage and tried to finish on the rim. He tried to block the rear differential to prevent excess wear, but the resultant damage broke the rear axle and the Saudi was stranded at the foot of the dunes near the finish with a hefty amount of time penalties to follow. Joan Barreda caught overall leader Marc Coma early in the days selective section and the leading group of four motorcycle riders reached the finish together, with Barreda clocking the quickest time of 4hr 53min 43sec to take an unofficial lead of 1min 19sec from Coma. "The strategy at the start looked to be working well for Paolo (Goncalves) and Marc," said Barreda. "But I won the first stage and gained that important minute. Now I have the lead and Marc will play catch up tomorrow and then I will have to do the same on Friday. Its looking good for Honda at the moment. "There was a place today, after the refuelling, where all six of us took the wrong track and (Jordi) Viladoms and Paolo found the right way. Marc and I were behind for about two minutes but we caught up again. It was not easy." Rafal Sonik caught and passed Mohammed Abu Issa before the first passage control in the battle for the quad category, but the Qatari managed to stay with the Pole and surged through to take the stage win, despite two punctures, when Sonik suffered his own problems. "Very happy in the end, but I had a flat tyre before the refuel and Rafal managed to get away when I changed it," said Abu Issa, who now leads by over 30 minutes heading into the last two days. "Then, I think he must have had a navigational problem because I did not see him. I rode alone, had another flat tyre after 360km, but I managed to complete the stage and now I have a good lead."(QNA)