BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT 'third' driver
Khalid Al Qassimi will re-start on the Rallye Monte Carlo on Saturday under the SupeRally format.
Al Qassimi had been running in tenth place overall until he went out on Friday in SS6 - the repeat run through the 29.52 kilometre St Pierreville-Col de la Fayolle stage. He lost it in the last corner of the stage when he slide wide under breaking and hit the bank on the outside of the corner. The impact damaged the suspension on his Focus RS WRC car and he was not able to continue.
Speaking at the end of day 2,
prior to confirmation he would rejoin the fold from 26th place, he conceded it was just a simple error and one he made while trying to move up to P9.
"This afternoon we were trying some different tactics and we had ninth in front of us and were chasing that position. We were doing well in SS6, if you look at the split times and ninth place looked achievable. Then, as we approached the flying finish of the stage, the final corner had gravel across it and the car simply broke away from me," he explained.
"We hit a rock by the side of the road and it took the left front suspension corner off the car. It's a shame but any driver in that situation would push to gain a place. However, something like this can happen at any time and it is all part of the learning process. As long as the car is repairable, we will try some new techniques tomorrow [Saturday], to try to get closer to the pace of the other drivers."
Ahmed Hussein, deputy director general of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, was disappointed to see 'his' man go off and end day 2 prematurely.
"We are sad for Sheikh Khalid, as he was running a very good event, representing Abu Dhabi directly. However, this kind of thing is always possible and part of what makes the WRC such an exciting sport and one in which Abu Dhabi chose to be involved," he added.
