After finishing as runners-up in Qatar and Kuwait, Khalid Al-Qassimi and Scott Martin (Citroen DS3 RRC) took third overall in the Jordan Rally, which concluded the first half of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship. The Abu Dhabi Citroen Total World Rally Team also won the two-wheel drive category thanks to the efforts of Mohammed Al-Mutawaa and Stephen McCauley.

Contested in the mountains overlooking the Dead Sea, the Jordan Rally stages played host to the third round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship. The leading contenders dispensed with any preliminaries, and headed into a tense scrap for supremacy right from the word go.

Just two tenths off the top time on SS1, Khalid Al-Qassimi started at a strong pace. The Abu Dhabi driver then had to deal with the problems of sweeping loose gravel faced by the early starters and rapid tyre wear, but he managed to keep in touch with the leader: The set-up we defined was pretty good at the start of the rally. SS2 was very slippery and I had to back off a little bit after a couple of scares. The heat is aggravating the tyre degradation, but Im fairly pleased with start of the race.

Hit by differential problems in the afternoon, Khalid gradually fell further back and ended the first leg over a minute adrift of the lead.

The next morning, the DS3 RRC was unable to hold off a stirring comeback from Roger Feghali, who grabbed second overall after SS11. Khalid didnt let his level drop and continued to attack, managing to close the gap to the Lebanese driver to nine seconds before of the final stage.

Khalid Al-Qassimi ended up third overall, enabling him to secure precious points for the MERC: Its not an ideal outcome, but it means we have consolidated our second position in the overall standings. We did a lot of work with the team to try and resolve the problems we had on Friday afternoon, but I still felt the car wasnt working perfectly on day two. We also chose to play it a bit safely in taking a second spare wheel. We really had to score well at this rally, so we have therefore achieved that target.

The weekends most striking image went to Mohammed Al-Sahlawi, whose DS3 R3 came perilously close to falling into a steep ravine on SS1: I wasnt really pushing as it was a blind corner, so I knew it was a potential hazard. We ended up with the front right wheel hanging over the edge. We were worried the car would fall off, but the marshals and spectators came to our assistance. Thanks to everyone who helped, as well as to all those who sent us messages from around the world!

Mohammed Al-Sahlawi and his co-driver Allan Harryman were able to rejoin the rally on Saturday under Rally2 rules and they made it to the finish without further incident. The two-wheel drive category win went to their team-mates Mohammed Al-Mutawaa and Stephen McAuley, who enjoyed a much less eventful rally!

As summer temperatures in the Middle East exceed those seen in Jordan, where it was already stiflingly hot, the MERC now takes a four-month break. The season resumes on 6-7-8 September, on the Rally of Lebanons tarmac roads.

OVERALL STANDINGS

1 Al-Attiyah / Bernacchini  Ford Fiesta  2:51:53.1

2 Feghali / Matar Ford Fiesta +1:42.2

3 K. Al-Qassimi / Martin Citroen DS3 RRC +2:00.6

4 Al-Kuwari / Duffy Ford Fiesta +4:24.7

5 A. Al-Qassimi / Lancaster Ford Fiesta +15:04.6