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Dubai: Former champion Shaikh Suhail Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum teamed up with Wael Marjan to snatch a narrow two-second initiative at the end of the prologue for the 1,000 Dunes Rally on Thursday.
Run over a desert prologue stage along the Dubai-Hatta highway, Suhail and Marjan guided their City of Arabia-sponsored Land Rover to a time of 2 minutes, 40 seconds.
In close second was the pairing of Shaikh Hamad Bin Eid Al Thani and Adel Fayrooz in their Nissan Patrol with a time of 2:42, while Mark Powell and Glen Reid took Honda Buggy into third with an identical time of 2:42.
"All the action begins tomorrow and the day after. I want to do well here and see how I can progress to the Middle East Rally Championship this year," said the 1997 winner of the 1,000 Dunes.
"It's important to go all out on the first day and then see how the other cars are faring. If we get a good lead on the first day then we can relax a bit on the second," said Shaikh Suhail.
Another former champion Yahya Bil Hilli ended in an unfamiliar 18th place after punctured tyres made him lose precious time. "It is part of rallying. The only alternative is to go all out tomorrow," Bil Hilli stated.
The 445-km rally, classed in the 4x4 category, is being held under the patronage of Shaikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Al Maktoum.
The start of Leg One of the main rally will be at 9 am today.
Leg One, which will cover a distance of 232kms, will end at the Scouts Camp in Sharjah with the first car expected at approximately 5 pm. Leg One will consist of five special stages.
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