Iberian Tarmac Test for Emirati Driver’s Final WRC Outing of 2011

Having narrowly missed out on achieving his season’s primary objective of a top 10 drivers’ standings finish, Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team’s Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi remains defiant ahead of a nail-biting test of nerves and endurance in this weekend’s Rally Spain – the penultimate leg of the 13-event World Rally Championship (WRC) season.

In his last event of the season, running 20th-23rd October, Al Qassimi must finish in the points in his Ford Fiesta RS World Rally Car, and at least two positions above Federico Villagra to edge the Argentine out of 11th place in the drivers’ rankings. For the Emirati, who clinched a career-best fifth-place and ten points in Australia last month, anything is possible.