The FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) moves into its final phase as the penultimate round is held this weekend in Cyprus. Competing in the DS3 RRC of the Abu Dhabi Citroen World Rally Team, Khalid Al-Qassimi and Scott Martin are ready to tackle this demanding, mixed surface event.
Having claimed a podium-finish at the first three rounds of the season, Khalid Al-Qassimi and Scott Martin return to the MERC at the Cyprus Rally. After missing the last event, which was held in Lebanon, the DS3 RRC crew has therefore not competed in the MERC for five months.
“We are going to take part in the Cyprus and Dubai rallies and we’ll be aiming to end the season with some positive results,” explained Khalid. “We have done a lot of work with the team to adapt the set-up of the DS3 RCC to the specific features of the championship. Every event is different, with different conditions, but we are making progress, bit by bit. Given that I missed the last round, my chances of winning the title are virtually non-existent and that’s why I’m determined to finish the season on a high.”
The Cyprus Rally is certainly not short on specific features. Since 2009, the last time the rally featured on the WRC calendar, the stages are run on mixed surface roads. The cars use a gravel configuration and tyres, but the proportion of time spent on tarmac is such that the set-up must be adapted. The breakdown of Saturday’s leg illustrates the challenge facing the competitors perfectly, with a loop of stages featuring Kellia (10km, 80% of which is on gravel), Kalo Chorio (15km, 60% of which is on gravel), Alassa (23km on tarmac) and Kornos (13km on gravel). All together, the loop features 60km of timed stages, evenly split between the two surfaces! Day two looks like it will be slightly easier, insofar as there are fewer tarmac sections.
In order to prepare as effectively as possible for this event, Khalid Al-Qassimi, Scott Martin and the Abu Dhabi Citroen World Rally Team did some testing on the island at the start of the week. The rally gets underway on Saturday, with the drivers expected at the finish on Sunday evening around 5pm local time, after completing 17 stages and a total distance of 242km.
It should be noted that the drivers usually competing in DS3 R3s on behalf of Abu Dhabi Racing will not be taking part in the Cyprus Rally. Mohamed Al-Mutawaa and Mohamed Al-Sahlawi will, however, be competing in the WRC at RallyRACC – Rally de Espana in what promises to be an excellent opportunity to develop their experience.
