Shaikh Khalid Al Qassimi makes it three wins

Dubai - Emirati Mansour bin Jabr set a string of fastest times in the Group N category, the final round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship.

Shaikh Khalid Al Qassimi, of Abu Dhabi Racing, sealed his third victory in Dubai and his eighth in the MERC by the margin of 57 seconds when he began the final leg of the 37th Dubai International Rally with an outright lead of 1min 44.9sec over Qatar's Abdulaziz Al Kuwari.
Emirati Mansour bin Jabr set a string of fastest times in the Group N category, the final round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship.
With support from the Bin Jabr Group, Mansour and fellow Emirati navigator Arif Yousef Mohammed had lost time on the fifth stage on Friday with a broken suspension arm, but proved their potential in no uncertain terms with an impressive performance on the final day. They eventually finished the rally in 11th overall and second in the Group N category behind the Lebanese driver, Nassib Nassar.
"I broke a suspension arm on the fifth stage, but I could not see anything from the dust from one of the Citroëns in front of me," said Bin Jabr.
"The dust was in our faces and we had to stop three times in the stage because we lost our way. We started the rally as number 16 and we were surprised to see where we were seeded. But I drove well today and am delighted with the pace I was able to deliver on these stages."
Al Kuwari won all six of the day's stages to confirm second position and Khalid Al Suwaidi rounded off the top three.
Bin Jabr began the second day well and was fastest in the Group N category through Ekhaidir and Kadra, although he retained third place in the Group N category. Bin Jabr's superb form continued into the Mileiha stage and the Emirati was sixth quickest overall and, once again, the fastest of the Group N runners.
After the midday service and regroup, the three stages were repeated in the afternoon and Bin Jabr moved up to second place with the second quickest time in Group N.
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