FINTAS, Kuwait — Abu Dhabi Racing's Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi and Chris Patterson stayed in contention throughout, but it was Qatar's Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and Italian co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini who snatched victory in the 22nd Kuwait International Rally, round two of the 2014 FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC), which finished here Saturday. Al-Attiyah began the day with a lead of 12.5sec and won four of the second leg's six stages to reach the finish with a winning margin of 27.5 seconds. It was the Qatari's 52nd MERC win and his co-driver's 23rd. The Ford Fiesta RRC crew now lead their respective championship categories by 17 points after two rounds. Driving a Citroën DS3 RRC, Al-Qassimi was the class of the rest of the field, but he did not quite have the pace to match Al-Attiyah. Nevertheless, the Abu Dhabi driver finished 1min 44.8sec in front of the third-placed Saudi Yazeed Al-Rajhi. Abdullah Al-Qassimi held on to confirm fourth position. The FIA Middle East Rally Championship resumes along the sinuous and dusty desert trails of the Jordan Rally on May 1-3. — SG
