Al Attiyah Finishes 4th in Cyprus Rally

Qatar's ace driver Nasser bin Saleh al Attiyah suffered an unfortunate flat tyre in the 13th and final stage and finished fourth in the Cyprus Rally, the fourth round of the European Rally Championship and the second round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship, on Sunday.

Attiyah and co-driver Matthieu Baumel climbed to the top of the overall classification after Stage 12, were forced to stop and change the punctured tyre, losing precious time. As a result, they slipped to the fourth spot in the rally, which was won by Cyprus' Simos Galatariotis on board a Skoda Fabia R5.

However, there was something to smile about for Attiyah as he topped in the MERC category, posting his second victory. Attiyah said he had to stop and change the tyre"otherwise we would destroy the car." Galatariotis won after ten years in the closest battle ever recorded in the history of the Cyprus Rally and European Rally Championship. He won by just 0.6 seconds in front of the Portuguese Bruno Magalhaes, also driving a Skoda Fabia R5.

Magalhaes' win gives new hopes in his bid for the ERC title after ERC drivers championship leader Alexey Lukyanuk retired in the rally's first leg. Hungary's Herczig and Ferencz finished in third overall completing a Skoda Fabia R5 1-2-3.

This year's Cyprus Rally confirmed its reputation as probably the most nerve-braking rally in the ERC calendar, as the top spot changed hands six times in course of the event.