Veteran rally racer Nasser Al-Attiyah won the event, but Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari clinched the Middle Eastern title.
Three Qatari drivers were on the podium at the Cyprus Rally 2024 as Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari won his first FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) title with co-driver Nasser Al-Kuwari on Sunday.
While Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah secured victory in Cyprus with his navigator Giovanni Bernacchini from Italy, a third-place finish was sufficient for Al-Kuwari to claim his maiden MERC championship.
The 51st edition of the Cyprus International Rally was MERC’s last race this season with the cancellation of the rallies in Lebanon and Oman.
Al-Kuwari’s victory prevented the 53-year-old Al-Attiyah from achieving a record-breaking 20th MERC title, as Al-Kuwari finished the season with 70 points, four points ahead of the veteran driver.
Al-Attiyah, however, had put on a dominating performance to win in Cyprus, completing the 12-stage competition in two hours and 47 minutes.
Al-Kuwari was off the winning position by almost 10 minutes and was also beaten by second-place Cypriot racer Panayiotis Yiangou, who finished more than eight minutes after Al-Attiyah.
His impressive performances in the previous two events, however, helped him become only the fifth Qatari rally racer ever to win the regional championship.
Despite not winning either the Qatar International Rally or the Jordan Rally earlier this year, Al-Kuwari had finished fourth and second respectively.
The 44-year-old joins the likes of Hamad bin Eid Al Thani, Saeed Al-Hajri, Misfer Al-Marri and Sunday’s winner Al-Attiyah in the list of Middle Eastern Champions to come out of Qatar.
Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, the president of the Qatar Olympic Committee, called the three Qataris “heroes” while congratulating them for the achievement.
“Congratulations to Abdulaziz Saadon [Al-Kuwari] and Nasser Saadon Al-Kuwari for winning the 2024 Middle East Rally Championship for the first time after a strong competition with the legendary Nasser Al-Attiyah,” Sheikh Joaan posted on X after the historic achievement.
“We wish all our champions success in the world rallies and we are proud of their achievements,” he added.
Al-Attiyah had also won the World Rally-Raid Championship, his third title, earlier in October.
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