KUWAIT INTERNATIONAL RALLY, March 5th-7th 2009
FIA Middle East Rally Championship, round two
For immediate release
Tuesday, February 10th, 2009
KUWAITI ORGANISERS ANNOUNCE CHALLENGING
AND COMPACT ROUTE FOR NEW KUWAIT RALLY
·Punishing specials planned at Alatraff, Al-Samli and Metlaa
·Spectator stage to be held at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Circuit
KUWAIT CITY (Kuwait): The Kuwait Motor Sport Club (KMSC) has released the route and timetable for the second round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship, which fires into life on March 5th-7th in the deserts around Kuwait City.
Kuwait’s return to the FIA regional series, after an absence of 13 years, will feature 14 timed special stages and a total of 250.32 competitive kilometres, split equally between legs one and two.
Leg one gets underway on Thursday, March 5th with the traditional ceremonial start of the 150th event in the history of the regional FIA rally championship taking place under the world famous Kuwait Towers from 4pm.
Competitors will then head straight into a purpose-built 3.5km timed spectator stage at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Circuit from 4.30pm. Footage will be televised live by a leading local network, before crews return to the Kuwait Shooting Club for the overnight halt.
The second section of leg one features a further six timed special stages in the Kuwait desert, split by the main service and regroup at around midday on Friday, March 6th. Teams will tackle the heavily-revised Al-Salmi, Alatraff and Shooting Club specials on two occasions during the day, with the longer Alatraff test likely to provide a stiff test throughout its challenging 29.30km. Teams will return to the Kuwait Shooting Club from 3.40hrs for the overnight halt.
Leg two on Saturday, March 7th offers a further seven special stages and gets underway from 8am. Surviving teams will face their first passes through the Sulibikhat and Al-Metlaa specials from 9am and then a third pass through the Alatraff stage at 10.22hrs, which retains much of the stage distance used for the candidate event in 2008. The Sulibikhat and Al-Metlaa stages are also similar to 2008.
A final regrouping and lunchtime service precedes a repeat of the morning’s three specials and the competitive action reaches a conclusion with a second sprint through the spectator stage at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Circuit from 4.15pm. The ceremonial finish will take place under the Kuwait Towers from 5.30pm.
The 2009 Kuwait International Rally will run under the patronage of Lieutenant General Faisal Al-Jazzaf, chairman and general manager of the public authority for youth and sports in the State of Kuwait, and under the presidency of Sheikh Ahmad Al-Dawood Al-Sabah, president of the KMSC and chairman of the organising committee.
"Our team have found some challenging special stages and retained a compact format for the rally," said Sheikh Ahmad Al-Dawood Al-Sabah, President of the KMSC. "Both legs offer a similar competitive distance and we are also looking forward to offering an exciting spectator stage after the start and just before the finish under the Kuwait Towers."
The KMSC will offer international and GCC competitors six nights’ hotel accommodation in Kuwait, although entries will close on Friday, February 20th. For further information, please contact the Kuwait Motor Sport Club, PO Box 29, Salmiya, 22001 Kuwait, Tel: + (965) 253 55511 and 25355522, Fax: + (965) 253 55566, E-mail: admin@q8racing.com or q8racingclub@yahoo.com, www.q8racing.com
Ends
For further media information:
Neil Perkins, International Media Liaison Officer, 2009 Kuwait International Rally, NDP Publicity Services, Mobile: + 44 7831 123153, E-mail: NDPPublicity@compuserve.com, www.ndp-publicity.com (press releases)