Red Bull driver Feghali aims for Dubai podium

Strong competition from the UAE, Jordan and Saudi Arabia

Jeddah 30 November 2004-  Lebanon's Abdo Feghali will be aiming for a podium finish on his first desert rally, when he and co-driver Joseph Mattar tackle this weekend's Dubai International Rally, which starts from the Al Bustana Rotana Hotel on Thursday, December 2nd and finishes the following afternoon (Friday).

As the Red Bull driver bids to gain as much experience of varied driving conditions in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 8 by entering the two-day rally, the event will also decide the outcome of the 2004 FIA Middle East Rally Championship, with Qatar's Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and the UAE's Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi both in contention for the coveted championship.

"It is going to be an exciting weekend in the desert," said Abdo. "Nasser has to win the rally and will be driving flat out to achieve that. He has nothing to lose and I will be able to measure my pace against him driving on the limit. Khalid is sure to adopt a more cautious approach and only needs to take one championship point and he wins the title. That means he has to finish in eighth place or better. It is an interesting situation, but there are several other drivers out there who could upset the form guide and reach the podium."

Organized by the Automobile and Touring Club of the United Arab Emirates, the season's finale takes place over two legs of seven special stages to the south and east of Dubai city in the remote regions around Hatta and Fossil Rock. The organizers have attracted entries from 14 countries and Feghali's Red Bull team faces competition for a podium finish from a strong UAE line-up of drivers in Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions.

Sheikh Suhail bin Khalifa Al-Maktoum and Michel Saleh are two veterans of the regional series and they have both been inside the top three on events this season. Saleh won the first ever Gulf Championship over 20 years ago and is still as enthusiastic as ever about his rallying.

Saudi driver Ahmed Al-Sabban is enjoying his most successful season to date in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and is still in contention for third position in the championship. He lays equal fourth with Jordan's Amjad Farrah before the rally and both will be pushing hard to clinch third in the series in the absence of Cypriot Andreas Tsouloftas. Another likely front runner is last year's Group N rally champion Sheikh Abdullah Al-Qassimi, who has only tackled select events this season and was second overall in Syria in September behind his brother Khalid.

"Abdullah was one of the first drivers in the region to consistently achieve good results in Group N cars," said Feghali. "He won the championship on several occasions and is always competitive on home ground in the UAE. He will be another driver I will be hoping to match and beat as I challenge for the podium.

"This will be a learning curve for me. I will also have to be patient. It is one of those rallies where the fastest driver at the start is not necessarily the winner. On tarmac rallies you can push all the time, but in the desert you need to know when you can push and when you have to conserve the car. A champion is someone who can do both in equal measures when the need arises."

Leading starters:

Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QA)/Chris Patterson (GB) Subari Impreza WRX STi

Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi (UAE)/Michael Orr (GB) Subaru Impreza WRX STi

Abdo Feghali (RL)/Joseph Mattar (RL) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 8

Sheikh Abdullah Al-Qassimi (UAE)/Steve Lancaster (GB) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 7

Sheikh Suhail Bin Khalifa Al-Maktoum (UAE)/Ahmed Ghaziri (RL) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 7

Amjad Farrah (HKJ)/Khaled Zakaria (HKJ) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 7

Ahmed Al-Sabban (KSA)/Killian Duffy (IRL) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 7

2004 FIA Middle East Rally Championship Positions after round 7 of 8 (Drivers):

1. Khalid Al-Qassimi (UAE)                    43 pts

2. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QA)            34 pts

3. Andreas Tsouloftas (CY)                   26 pts                      

4. Amjad Farrah (HKJ)                          18 pts                                                 

4. Ahmed Al-Sabban (KSA)                   18 pts                              

6. Issa Al-Dossari (KSA)                       12 pts      

6. Abdullah Al-Qassimi (UAE)                 12 pts                    

8. Roger Feghali (RL)                           10 pts

9. Suhail Khalifa (UAE)                         8 pts

9. Michel Saleh (RL)                            8 pts  

9. Abdo Feghali (RL)                            8 pts, etc

-Ends- 

For further information:
Bassem El Zei
Communication Manager
Saudi Arabia & Yemen  
Tel.: +966 2 6988430
Fax: 00966 2 2561612
e-mail: Bassem.elzein@redbull.com.sa

© Press Release 2004