DEAD SEA, Jordan — Qatar's Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah, partnered by Italian co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini, secured a hard-earned sixth victory in the Jordan Rally, the fourth round of the 2012 FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC), which finished at the Dead Sea Saturday. Al-Attiyah claimed his 43rd MERC career success but he was pressured all day by the Lebanese duo of Roger Feghali and Joseph Matar. A 10-second penalty for a jump-start cost the 10-time Lebanon Rally winner dearly and he settled for second position in his Motortune Ford Fiesta S2000 after winning five of the 16 timed special stages. Al-Attiyah's winning margin was 34.7 seconds and the triumph also marked Bernacchini's 14th MERC victory and his second in Jordan. “This was a fantastic rally and I enjoyed a great competition with Roger and Yazeed Al-Rajhi,” said Al-Attiyah, who won six special stages. “It was never going to be easy to win from the front when I was cleaning the roads, but I had a good lead overnight and I managed to drive well today. Now I am in a good position with the championship.” Saudi driver Al-Rajhi and Ulster co-driver Michael Orr set the fastest time in five special stages and reached the finish in third position on their return to the regional championship. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari maintained his advantage in the championship with fourth overall in his Mini S2000. The official FIA results were incorrect before the Jordan Rally and Al-Kuwari duly started the event with a nine-point lead over Al-Marri. The Qatari now holds a similar advantage over a tying Al-Attiyah and Feghali heading to the remaining two rounds in Cyprus and Dubai. The UAE's Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi used the event as a shakedown before a full program of events in 2013. In an unbranded Ford Fiesta, the Emirati managed to finish fifth with British co-driver Marshall Clarke and had no recurring problems after recent leg and knee surgery. Lebanon's Nick Georgiou won the Group N category and confirmed sixth overall in his Mitsubishi with Jordanian co-driver Ata Al-Hmoud. Sharjah's Sheikh Abdullah Al-Qassimi and Steve Lancaster finished seventh, but Qatar's Misfer Al-Marri and Italian navigator Nicola Arena were never able to recover from massive first day delays and slipped to fourth in the MERC after finishing eighth. Jordanian national speed champion Husam Salem was classified ninth and finished as the leading local driver. The Jordanian duo of Ala'a Rasheed and Zied Dahshan, Saudi Arabia's Saeed Al-Mouri and Egypt's Ahmad El-Kabany completed the list of finishers, but Qatar's Khalid Al-Suwaidi left the road and retired on the penultimate special stage.
