By Sports Reporter/Doha


Qatar’s Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah, Spain’s Marc Coma and Poland’s Rafal Sonik are the outright leaders of the Sealine Cross-Country Rally, after a demanding 398.88km competitive section across the remote deserts to the west and south of Doha yesterday.
Car, motorcycle and quad stage victories on the day fell to al-Attiyah, Austrian KTM rider Matthias Walkner and Sonik. Al-Attiyah, Coma and Sonik now head their respective categories by 13min 03sec, 2min 03sec and 58 seconds prior to the third stage today.
The all-important starting order was a big factor in deciding the outcome of the motorcycle stage and Coma played the tactics masterfully to reach the finish of the special amongst the leading group and in third position to ensure he maintained his outright lead over Team HRC’s Joan Barreda Bort.
“It was a very long stage. I start sixth and try to catch everybody and did that at 160km and then I was opening,” said Coma. “The last part in the dunes we make a big group together. It’s just the second day, another 400km tomorrow and everything is possible. It was not easy to find the rhythm.”
Walkner was pleased with his stage performance and the win. “It was quite okay. (Jordi) Viladoms did a really good job and made the navigation work. Now we have to work hard again tomorrow.”
Second-placed Barreda Bort remains defiant. “You never know what to expect for the next day now with these new rules. Everything is changing and you cannot control the situation. Until now I am doing a good race opening and making good navigation. The problem is the rules. Now you can win the race in the bivouac after the stage has finished.”
The virtual quad stage lead swapped and changed between Sonik and Qatar’s Mohammed Abu Issa in the early kilometres, but Sonik found a good pace with fellow Polish rider Jakub Piatek and managed to snatch the stage win and the outright quad category lead. Paraguay’s Nelson Augusto Sanabria retired his Yamaha Raptor from third place with engine issues.
“He (Sonik) clipped on to a bike, a Polish rider, and I got behind, but then I punctured and then made a small navigation mistake and we rode back together,” said Abu Issa. “He gained the time on me, but I can do the same to him tomorrow and the strategy should work in my favour over the next three days as long as we have no problems.”
Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed al-Rajhi was the early leader of the second stage in the car category, but al-Attiyah and French navigator Matthieu Baumel produced another masterful display of driving and navigating to record the stage win and extend their Mini All4 Racing’s outright lead, despite stopping to change a puncture.
“We had one flat tyre after CP4, we change a tyre. It’s not easy to open the roads all the way and I think we did a really good job,” said al-Attiyah. “It’s the same again tomorrow. We must both remain focused.”
Al-Rajhi’s goal at the start of the event was second overall and the Saudi and his German co-driver Timo Gottschalk performed admirably in their Overdrive Toyota Hilux to set the second quickest time and retain second place, although they also stopped on two occasions to change wheels.
“One slow puncture,” said al-Rajhi. “We tried to carry on, but every 10km, the pressure was going down, down and we had to change. Then, we get another one 180km from the end and have to stop and change. But second place was the target, so I am quite happy.”
Russian Vladimit Vasilyev consolidated third overall with the third quickest time in his Mini All4 Racing and Brazilian Reinaldo Varela reached the overnight halt in sixth, behind Erik van Loon and Joan Roma, after setting the fourth quickest time in his Overdrive Toyota.