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Dead Sea, Jordan: The UAE's Shaikh Khalid Al Qasimi and British co-driver Nick Beech clinched a famous victory after 18 timed special stages of a pulsating Jordan Rally in the Dead Sea area of the Hashemite Kingdom yesterday.
They entered the final stage 16.9 seconds behind Jordanian rallying newcomer Amir Najjar and co-driver Nicola Fanous, but the Jordanian dramatically crashed mid-way through the Dead Sea and Shaikh Khalid was handed a dramatic win in thrilling circumstances.
Shaikh Khalid duly took maximum FIA Middle East rally championship points in his Subaru Impreza WRX STi and extended his lead in the eight-round series to six points over second-placed Jordanians Amjad Farrah and Nicola Arena.
Farrah has fallen away from a thrilling two-way battle for victory over the closing stages.
Royal enthusiasts
Some of the day's rallying action had royal approval and was witnessed by a visiting King Abdullah II of Jordan, his wife Queen Rania and Prince Faisal Bin Al Hussain, chairman of Jordan Motorsport.
"The priority for me was to finish the rally and take maximum points in the championship," said an ecstatic Shaikh Khalid. "That was the objective and we have fulfilled that in a fantastic way.
"Now I am in a very strong position to win the title for the second time. The outcome is in my own hands. The pressure will be on Nasser Al Attiyah not to make a mistake on the next four rallies."
The 31-year-old Najjar, who is a sprint and hillclimb champion tackling his third ever rally, said: "I thought that the best strategy was to push as hard as I could this morning and put my rivals under pressure.
"I was confident that a Jordanian would win this event and I wanted it to be me. I am so disappointed."
Shaikh Khalid's team manager Ron Cremen confirmed that the UAE driver had been prepared to play a wait-and-see game in the penultimate stage.
"If Shaikh Khalid was close enough to challenge Amir after Special Stage 17, he was going to go for it in the last one," said the Australian.
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