Qatar's Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and his new Italian co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini held an unofficial 1m 30s lead after the first seven special stages of the Kuwait International Rally on Friday. Yazeed Al-Rajhi and French co-driver Matthieu Baumel held second overall in their Peugeot 207 S2000, despite an oil leak and a potential drive shaft problem on the first loop. The Saudi finished the leg unofficially 35 seconds in front of Qatar's Misfer Al-Marri and Ulster co-driver Chris Patterson. The UAE team of Rashid Al-Ketbi and Khaled Al-Kendi complained of soft suspension settings for the first stage of the morning and held third at the day's mid-point, but slipped to fourth when they collected a puncture at the start of the seventh desert stage. Saudi Arabia's Ahmed Al-Sabban was forced to change a drive shaft at the lunchtime service point, but was out of contention by the time teams arrived. __
