M-Sport Fiesta S2000

Day one
Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and Khalid Al-Qassimi made the start by the skin of their teeth. Al-Attiyah had been able to cross the ceremonial start podium in his car on Thursday afternoon in Doha, but both of the new Ford Fiesta S2000s had been plagued with a niggling engine sensor problem. A Ford engineer flew into Qatar from the Monte Carlo Rally in the early hours of Friday morning and joined an M-Sport technician from the UK. They worked until just before dawn to ensure that both Fords were repaired and capable of reaching Al-Wakra.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RS

I am guessing it is because Ford will not have an official works backed team in IRC, they do not want their brand name at the mercy only of privateer drivers (it could look bad if they lose to Peugeot and Skoda)

It's because Ford's commitment is to the WRC not the IRC. Commercially it is in their interest to support the championship they compete in. If they registered as a brand in the IRC it would be as if they endorse the rival series.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simmi

Anyone got a retirement reason for the Al Qassimi car?

Day two – as it happened

Twenty-five of the original 32 starters were granted permission to start day two, including seven cars running under SupeRally. Of those, Michel Saleh and Amjad Farrah were reinstated in the top 12 after their eighth stage problems and Qatar’s Jaber Al-Marri moved back into his rightful sixth position once a timing error has been corrected on Friday evening.

Al-Attiyah set out into the 25km Al-Wakrah stage with a 32.6s advantage over Al-Qassimi. Al-Ketbi was a distant third and an eighth stage puncture had pushed Al-Marri behind Abdullah Al-Qassimi into fifth position. But the battle for the overall lead was thrown upside down through the treacherous Al-Wakrah stage when Al-Attiyah stopped for over three minutes with a puncture and Al-Qassimi coasted though to take the stage win and an outright lead of 2m 49.1s.

Jaralla Al-Marri’s brave run also ended with mechanical problems, Al-Ketbi lost his chance to overtake Al-Attiyah for second position when he punctured and Jaber Al-Marri also suffered a flat tyre and damaged his rear bumper on the rocky surface.

Al-Attiyah could not afford to hold back through the 10th stage and ran the risk of punctures trying to reduce Al-Qassimi’s overall lead. But Al-Qassimi also sustained a flat tyre on SS10 and the flailing tyre and damage broke the caliper and the disc. He finished the stage with three brakes and had to survive the 11th stage with limited stopping power before returning to service.

Team Abu Dhabi’s rally manager Ron Cremen confirmed that neither his team nor Ken Skidmore’s operation, who are running Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah, had the spare parts needed in Qatar to fully repair the Ford Fiesta S2000 and Al-Qassimi was running on a wing and a prayer through SS11.

Somehow the Emirati managed to keep going and recorded the fastest time in the Al-Negian stage when Al-Attiyah dropped 15.6s. Al-Qassimi headed into service at Al-Wakra with a 59.8s overall lead. Al-Ketbi held third and Al-Marri moved up to fourth when Abdullah Al-Qassimi hit trouble. Saudi Arabia’s Ahmed Al-Sabban and Qatar’s Jaber Al-Marri and Abdullah Al-Rabban all retired before the end of the first loop and Sheikh Hamed Bin Eid Al-Thani found himself up in fifth position of the 19 surviving cars.

The final runs through the three deteriorating stages promised to be fascinating and lady luck was shining on Al-Attiyah after last week’s Dakar Rally disappointment. Al-Qassimi’s mechanics had blocked off his offending brake line in service, but he was forced to stop and change a puncture that took just over four minutes and the Qatari regained a 3m 05s lead heading into the final two stages. Al-Ketbi stopped on the road section after the stage with oil leaking from the gearbox and Al-Marri was promoted to third.

But the broken stage surface eventually claimed Michel Saleh and Al-Qassimi and ended the fight for the overall win. The Emirati was carrying two spare tyres after the service, but he punctured again on two occasions in unlucky SS13 and was unable to continue without a third spare wheel. His demise handed second position to Al-Marri and ensured that Al-Attiyah began the final stage with an overall lead of 10m 21s. “There was no way that stage should have been run again,” reflected a disappointed Al-Qassimi.

There were no late dramas for Al-Attiyah and he held on to take a convincing victory, with Al-Marri and Al-Thani completing unlikely Qatar 1-2-3 finishes on the sun-drenched Corniche in Doha. Team Abu Dhabi’s Bader Al-Jabri was not so fortunate and a drive shaft failed on his Fiesta through the 13th stage and he hobbled out of the rally within sight of the finish.

Quote:

Originally Posted by milly

Does anybody know what the correct reason was for the retirement of the second Fiesta S2000 of Maurin in Monte Carlo?

Conrod broke and blew hole in engine....

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...0_20100122.jpg

Khalid al-Qassimi - 2010 Qtel Qatar International Rally

^^ Looks like a mean machine :D

Looks small..

How much higher is the set up for this one, compared to a normal gravel set up ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ProRally

Conrod broke and blew hole in engine....

This could have been caused by wrong downshifting.

Hopefully there might be more pics from members on here from the Middle East of the Fiestas that competed

I cant wait till models of the car comes out