Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi achieved this excellent result despite his Peugeot 3008 DKR Maxi suffering a broken suspension just 50km into the stage, but after inspecting the damage, the Abu Dhabi Racing-Peugeot Middle East driver went about his business of negotiating the stage where the terrain varied between sand dunes, loose soil and vegetation.

While the primary goal of the day was to improve upon his overall ranking, Sheikh Khalid's progress was slightly hampered by the delay following the broken suspension, but the Abu Dhabi Racing driver nevertheless drove on with determination in an attempt to make up on lost time. Finally he became 8th in the SS11 and 7th in the overall rankings.

Sheikh Khalid said: "We started well with the top cars and posted some surprising times. However, the rough roads led to the impact on the rear suspension during the first few kilometers of the stage. My co-driver and I inspected the damage to the car and decided to continue the rally in order to reach the service area."

"We drove about 257km with a broken suspension and lost valuable time, but thank God we are still among the top-ten maintaining our 7th position in the overall rankings. I must thank the boys at PH Sport for the amazing job they are doing on maintaining the car and preparing a very competitive vehicle. Two days and the rally ends and I hope the best for us."

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