Qatar's Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and his new Italian co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini clinched a start-to-finish victory in the Kuwait International Rally on Saturday. Al-Attiyah duly celebrated his 31st regional rally victory – on the 150th event in the 26-year history of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship – and Bernacchini won his second championship rally in two years. Qatar's Misfer Al-Marri and Ulster co-driver Chris Patterson secured the runner-up position, when the Saudi Arabian driver Yazeed Al-Rajhi and French co-driver Matthieu Baumel stopped with mechanical problems on the penultimate stage. Al-Rajhi's failure helped Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi and Ulster co-driver Michael Orr grab third place. __