Khalid Al Qassimi
Rally driver
Biography
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The basics
Quick Facts
| Intro | Rally driver | |
| Places | United Arab Emirates | |
| is | Rally driver | |
| Work field | Sports | |
| Gender |
| |
| Birth | 18 February 1972, Abu Dhabi | |
| Age | 52 years | |
| Star sign | Aquarius |
The details
Biography
Sheikh Khalid bin Faisal bin Sultan Al Qassimi (Arabic: الشيخ خالد بن فيصل بن سلطان القاسمي) is a rally driver from the United Arab Emirates, and a member of the royal house of Al Qasimi who rule the Emirates of Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah. He is the current champion of the Middle East, and previously won the same title in 2004. Sheikh Khalid also competes in the World Rally Championship (WRC).
Career
Al Qassimi during the shakedown of the 2009 Cyprus Rally.
Al Qassimi driving a Ford Focus RS WRC 09 at the 2010 Rally Finland.
Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi won the FIA Middle East Cup for Drivers of Production Cars in 2002 and the FIA Middle East Rally Championship in 2004.
At the half way stage of the 2007 World Rally Championship season, a joint venture between the BP Ford World Rally Team and the Abu Dhabi Tourism Board was announced to bring a third official Focus RS WRC to the team's World Rally Championship campaign. With heavy sponsorship from the latter, Khalid was given a chance to drive alongside Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala in the extra car. Co-driven by Nicky Beech, Khalid Al Qassimi contested Rally Finland, Rallye Deutschland, Rally Catalunya and Rally Ireland. On his debut in Rally Finland, al-Qassimi drove consistently to finish in 16th place overall.
For the 2008 WRC season, he continued with BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT, contesting ten events, co-driven by Michael Orr. His best result was ninth at the Jordan Rally. For 2009, Khalid Al Qassimi and co-driver Michael Orr remain with the BP Ford World Rally Team. His season began with a first world championship point by finishing in eighth place on the Rally Ireland; he repeated this feat in Cyprus and Portugal.
At the 2011 Rally Australia, he finished with a career-best 5th place. After a sabbatical year, he returned to the World Rally Championship in 2013, switching to an Abu Dhabi-sponsored Citroën DS3 WRC, claiming two ninth places and a tenth. In 2014 he took tenth place at Sardinia. In 2015 he finished sixth at the Rally Argentina and tenth at Sardinia. He also entered the Middle East Rally Championship with a Citroën DS3 RRC winning at Dubai and finishing second at Qatar and Kuwait.
In 2016, he finished sixth at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.
Al Qassimi will enter the 2017 Dakar Rally with a customer Peugeot 2008 DKR.
Titles
| Year | Title | Car |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | FIA Middle East Cup for Drivers of Production Cars Champion | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 |
| 2004 | FIA Middle East Rally Championship for Drivers Champion | Subaru Impreza WRX STI |
WRC results
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Khalid Al Qassimi | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | MON | SWE | MEX | NZL | CYP | GRE 20 | TUR Ret | ARG | FIN | GER | JPN | GBR | ITA | FRA | ESP | AUS Ret | NC | 0 |
| 2005 | Khalid Al Qassimi | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | MON | SWE | MEX | NZL | ITA | CYP | TUR 33 | GRE | ARG | FIN | GER | GBR | JPN | FRA | ESP | AUS | NC | 0 |
| 2006 | Khalid Al Qassimi | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | MON | SWE | MEX | ESP | FRA | ARG | ITA | GRE 23 | GER | FIN | JPN | CYP 13 | TUR | AUS | NZL | GBR | NC | 0 |
| 2007 | BP Ford World Rally Team | Ford Focus RS WRC 06 | MON | SWE | NOR | MEX | POR | ARG | ITA | GRE | FIN 16 | GER 16 | NZL | ESP 14 | FRA | JPN | IRE 15 | GBR | NC | 0 |
| 2008 | BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team | Ford Focus RS WRC 07 | MON 16 | SWE 26 | MEX | ARG | JOR 9 | ITA 16 | GRE 12 | TUR | FIN 11 | NC | 0 | |||||||
| Ford Focus RS WRC 08 | GER 14 | NZL | ESP 21 | FRA 12 | JPN | GBR 16 | ||||||||||||||
| 2009 | BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team | Ford Focus RS WRC 08 | IRE 8 | NOR | CYP 8 | POR 8 | ARG | ITA 15 | GRE 6 | POL | FIN 9 | AUS 19 | ESP 14 | GBR 19 | 12th | 6 | ||||
| 2010 | BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team | Ford Focus RS WRC 08 | SWE 13 | MEX | JOR | TUR | NZL | POR 9 | BUL | FIN Ret | GER 8 | JPN Ret | FRA 13 | ESP 7 | GBR 11 | 12th | 12 | |||
| 2011 | Team Abu Dhabi | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | SWE 10 | MEX | POR 14 | JOR 8 | ITA 13 | ARG | GRE | FIN 14 | GER | AUS 5 | FRA 12 | ESP 12 | GBR | 14th | 15 | |||
| 2013 | Abu Dhabi Citroën Total WRT | Citroën DS3 WRC | MON | SWE Ret | MEX | POR 9 | ARG | GRE Ret | ITA 10 | FIN | GER 11 | AUS 9 | FRA | ESP 11 | GBR | 21st | 5 | |||
| 2014 | Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT | Citroën DS3 WRC | MON | SWE 16 | MEX | POR 13 | ARG | ITA 10 | POL | FIN | GER | AUS | FRA | ESP 15 | GBR | 29th | 1 | |||
| 2015 | Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT | Citroën DS3 WRC | MON | SWE | MEX | ARG 6 | POR 24 | ITA 10 | POL | FIN 16 | GER | AUS | FRA | ESP 15 | GBR | 13th | 9 | |||
| 2016 | Abu Dhabi Total WRT | Citroën DS3 WRC | MON | SWE 19 | MEX | ARG | POR 26 | ITA | POL | FIN 16 | GER | CHN C | FRA | ESP 12 | GBR | AUS | NC | 0 | ||
| 2017 | Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT | Citroën C3 WRC | MON | SWE | MEX | FRA | ARG | POR | ITA | POL | FIN | GER | ESP | GBR | AUS | - | - |
* Season still in progress.
PWRC results
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Khalid Al Qassimi | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | MON | MEX | ARG | GRE | JPN | CYP 3 | AUS | NZL | 11th | 6 |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Nasser Al-Attiyah | Middle East Rally Champion 2004 | Succeeded by Nasser Al-Attiyah |