LOSAIL (Qatar): Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and French co-driver Matthieu Baumel got the better of a strong field through a varied and challenging opening 4.84km super special stage of the Manateq Qatar Cross-Country Rally at the Losail International Circuit late on Wednesday afternoon.

The performance earned the defending FIA World Cup champion a slender lead of 5.76 seconds to take into the first of four demanding desert selective sections on Thursday morning. Cars tackled the stage in reverse order and Al-Attiyah saved the best until last with a time of 4min 13.35sec.

South African de Villiers settled in well in the second of the Toyota GAZOO Racing South Africa Hiluxes and sealed second position, while Poland’s Jakub Przygonski rounded off the top three.

Fellow countryman Aron Domzala was fourth and FIA World Cup leader Martin Prokop finished the stage in fifth place. Dutchman Erik van Loon took a maximum stage penalty of one hour after crashing in the stage. The Overdrive Racing mechanics will need to work to repair the Toyota before the restart on Thursday.

Qatar’s Adel Abdulla delighted his home crowds by romping into a 42-second T2 category lead over main Saudi Arabian rival Ahmed Shegawi. The QMMF and Ooredoo-backed Nissan Patrol driver posted a time of 5min 18.81sec to snatch the early advantage in the section for series production cross-country vehicles. Russia’s Yuliya Migunova-Khegay was third and Romania’s Laurentiu Claudiu Barbu finished in a distant fourth.

Spaniard Santiago Navarro moved into an impressive 18.33-second T3 category lead over Frenchman Claude Fournier. Series rival José Luis Pena Campo of Spain was a mere 1.43 seconds behind and Italy’s Michele Cinotto completed the stage in fourth.

Spaniard Fernando Alvarez survived a slight indiscretion after running wide to finish the stage in eighth overall with his South Racing Volkswagen Amarok.

Nineteen cars were officially permitted to start the Manateq Qatar Cross-Country Rally and 14 lined up in the Manateq Qatar National Baja, in addition to the four that were eligible from the main event. The two non-starters in the QCCR were Khaled Al-Suwaidi and Ravil Maginov.

Polish Orlen Team rider Maciej Giemza prepared to tackle the Qatar deserts as a lone FIM-sanctioned motorcycle entrant with an opening time of 4min 36.65sec in the super special stage. Dutchman Kees Koolen pipped quad rival Russian rival Alexsandr Maxsimov by 3.46 seconds to lead the category heading into the desert.