Qatar's Nasser Saleh al Attiyah and his Italian co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini clinched a start-to-finish victory in the Kuwait International Rally. Al Attiyah's 31st regional rally victory coincided with the 150th event in the 26-year history of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship, even as Qatar's Misfer al Marri and his Ulster co-driver Chris Patterson secured the runner-up position.
Al Attiyah, the defending champion, made a successful return to driving a Subaru Impreza after winning January's Qatar International Rally in a Mitsubishi Evolution X, and now holds a six-point lead in the seven-round series. Meanwhile, Sheikh Khalid al Qassimi and his Ulster co-driver Michael Orr began the day in 12th, although the UAE driver was 48 seconds off a top 10 placing and determined to climb up the leaderboard. He soon found himself well up the leaderboard in fourth overall.
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