Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi wary of tests ahead at Rally Portugal

Gruelling 52km stage among the challenges awaiting the Abu Dhabi Citroen driver in the World Rally Championship event.

Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi makes his second World Rally Championship appearance of the season in Portugal.
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Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi is prepared for one of the toughest examinations of his World Rally Championship [WRC] career when Rally Portugal begins on Thursday.

Partnered by British co-driver Scott Martin in his Abu Dhabi Citroen Total World Rally Team DS3 WRC, Sheikh Khalid believes the fourth round on this year’s WRC calendar will be the most physically demanding of the season.

The biggest concern for Sheikh Khalid – and one shared by many of the other 70 drivers set to start Thursday’s qualifying stage – is a 52.3km long section which he must negotiate twice in just over four hours on Sunday’s final leg.

Bringing together the best of two special stages in last year’s route, the new Almodôvar stage will be one of the longest European gravel stages of the 2013 WRC campaign.

“In my entire rallying career I have never done a 52km stage,” said Sheikh Khalid, who underwent a day of testing in Portugal at the end of last month in preparation for the event.

“During testing, I tried to do a loop of 30km on a very technical, narrow road and by the end of it my hands had blisters and were really hurting.

“You have to be in very good shape and really focused to do a 53km stage twice in one day over a short period of time. Otherwise you are going to lose it for sure.”

Friday will be another demanding day in Portugal, with huge road sections to be completed either side of the evening super special stage in Lisbon which follows two standard special stages of just over 20km and 18km that are being run twice earlier in the day.

“After those first four stages, we hit the road to Lisbon about 250km away and as soon as we’ve done the super special stage there we go back another 300km to where the rally restarts the next day,” he added.

“The last time I was in Portugal they put the cars on trucks for that section but we have to drive it this time. It’s going to be a long day.”

Despite the high degree of difficulty and the fact this is only his second WRC event after a 15-month gap, Sheikh Khalid is targeting a third top-10 finish in Rally Portugal after placing eighth in 2009 and ninth in 2010.

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