22 - 28 November 2001
Issue No.561
|
Al-Ahram Weekly Online 22 - 28 November 2001 Issue No.561 |
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
In the driver's seat
A first place finish in Australia put Oman's Al- Wahaibi in third place overall in the Team Cup event. Nashwa Abdel-Tawab reports
Oman's Arab World Rally Team driver Hamed Al- Wahaibi drove to a Team Cup victory in its last stage, the Rally of Australia, held in the western city of Perth.
The win gave Al-Wahaibi, who dedicated his Australian victory to all Arabs, a third place overall finish in the Teams Cup behind European champion Henric Lundgard of Denmark and Finn Passi Hagstrom, although the Omani star came out ahead of Lundgard and Hagstrom in Australia. Al-Wahaibi's win also placed him in a high 13th place among the best world's top 80 rally team drivers after just being behind the wheel for just five years as a professional.
Eleven teams compete in the six-race Team Cup, so- called because of the six countries the rally drivers race in -- Sweden, Portugal, Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Australia.
Quickly adapting to his debut in the Subaru Impreza World Rally Championship 2001, Al-Wahaibi had a trouble-free show in Australia, only his second rally of the season. A last-minute exit in Sweden due to mechanical failure, an engine which caught fire in Cyprus and a spate of tyre flats in Acropolis denied the Omani the Team Cup title outright. However, the Australian victory once again highlighted Al-Wahaibi's unique driving skills. Second place for six points in Portugal and 10 in Australia allowed him to come in third in the six events after Lundgard with 36 points and Hagstrom with 24. Saudi Arabia's Abdullah Bin Khashab should have come in third in the final stage of Australia after collecting 15 points from five races but dropped after hitting into a tree.
"It's a fine victory at the right time," said Al-Wahaibi. "I think we did a good job here and I am happy with the results as well as the times we posted," the Omani star said. "Thank God, we did very well and everyone now realises our worth. We posted fast times as we did in Acropolis and we will have some time outs before we sit down to chalk out our future plans," Al-Wahaibi added.
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||
| ARCHIVES Letter from the Editor Editorial Board Subscription Advertise! |
WEEKLY ONLINE: www.ahram.org.eg/weekly Updated every Saturday at 11.00 GMT, 2pm local time weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg |
 Al-Ahram Organisation |
Recommend this page