Attiyah won the Dubai International Rally for the second straight year Saturday to round off another triumphant FIA Middle East Championship campaign. Partnered by British co-driver Chris Patterson in a Subaru Impreza, Al-Attiyah emerged from a fascinating battle with the UAE's Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi to take victory by a margin of 3 mins 42 secs in the seventh and final round of the regional series. It would have been much closer but for a puncture which destroyed Sheikh Khalid's challenge on the final special stage of the event after he had closed to within 17 seconds. Sheikh Abdullah Al Qassimi, brother of Sheikh Khalid, finished third ahead of Oman's Nizar Al-Shanfari. Lebanon's Roger Feghali in a Mitsubishi Evo 9 and the UAE's Sheikh Suheil Al-Maktoum in a City of Arabia Subaru Impreza completed the top six. Despite going out of the rally on the final leg with mechanical problems, Qatar's Misfer Al-Marri claimed runner's up spot in the Middle East Championship, just edging out Lebanese driver Nick Georgiou, who retired on the penultimate stage, and Al-Shanfari. Al-Attiyah and Sheikh Khalid had been separated by just six seconds at the end of a dramatic first leg on Friday, and Al-Attiyah was clearly determined to build on his advantage as the second leg got under way. He was 12 seconds quicker than Al Qassimi on the day's first special stage and, after the next stage had been canceled for technical reasons, increased his lead by another 13 seconds on the following stage. With time running out, Al-Qassimi produced a superb response on the penultimate stage, winning it in brilliant style to set the stage for what would have been a tense finish but for his last leg puncture. Among the second leg casualties were UAE-based Lebanese driver Michel Saleh and Qatari Mubarak Al Hajri who both rolled their cars on the day's first special stage. Georgiou had looked set to claim second place overall before his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9 came to a complete halt on the penultimate stage. __
