Qatar’s Nasser Al Attiyah yesterday won the Pharaons Rally by a comfortable margin and in the process closed the gap to FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies championship leader Vladimir Vasilyev of Russia.

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The Qatari began the final day with a cushion of 10 minutes over Vasilyev, adopting a cautious approach on the final 339km to ensure there were no hiccups on his way to victory before the pyramids in Cairo.

Al Attiyah said: “Easy game today. We controlled the race and didn’t any mistake. It was a nice and fast stage, but finally the average speed was very high during the whole race. I love this rally, and love to come back to Egypt.”

The stage was won by day one leader, Yazeed Al Rajhi of Saudi Arabia, who was forced to surrender the lead on day two after his Toyota Hilux got stuck in a basin between two towering dunes.

Championship leader Vasilyev also adopted a cautious approach over the five days of the event, happy in the knowledge that he has enough of a cushion not to compromise his position with some rash driving.

The Russian leads Al Attiyah in the standings by a margin of 35 points, with Erik Van Loon of The Netherlands continuing to hold on to third overall on 68 points.