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The 2012 Dubai Rally concluded on Saturday in the UAE.
Qatar's Nasser Al Attiyah again reigned supreme after taking victory in the season-ending
rally and scooping the top prize to secure the FIA Middle East Championship.
Needing only a top-five finish to seal his eighth title, the Qatari led from start to
finish in his Ford Fiesta RRC, partnered by Italian co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini.
He completed Saturday's second leg with a three minute, 38.9 second winning margin over
the UAE's Sheikh Abdullah Al Qassimi - who was promoted from third place after Qatar's
Abdulaziz Al Kuwari made an agonising exit with mechanical problems on the rally's last
special stage.
Partnered by Irish co-driver Killian Duffy in a Mini JWC RRC, Al Kuwari lost four minutes
at the start of the stage and eventually came to a grinding halt as a result of a broken
alternator.
Despite the setback, he finished runner-up in the championship.
Giving the UAE another place on the podium, Rashid Al Ketbi took his Ford Fiesta RRC to
third place, finishing another five minutes and 47.4 seconds adrift of Al Qassimi.
The completion of the Rally saw Al Attiyah take his sixth successive Dubai Rally victory
- allowing him to wrap up an eighth FIA Middle East Championship.