Abu Dhabi Racing junior driver Mohamed Al Mutawaa came away richer in experience and was happy to bring his Citroen DS3 R3 Max home safely at the end of Round 4 of the FIA Junior World Rally, the ADAC Rallye Deutschland.

Al Mutawaa began his campaign in Germany high on confidence after clocking the third fastest time during the shakedown and then pushing to stay in podium contention when unfortunately he suffered a puncture on Day 1 that pegged his progress and pushed him down to fifth in class.

Undaunted by the setback, Al Mutawaa continued to press ahead to retake his position among the top contenders but couldn’t find a good rhythm. The Emirati driver was nevertheless happy with the learning curve in the JWRC in Germany and also happy with the fact that he was able to bring home his car safely in sixth place and score some important points towards the championship.

He said: “Finished Rally Germany in sixth place and eight more points in the bag. Not the result that we were looking for. We were struggling to find the right rhythm on the stages, which hit our confidence a bit.

“But really loved the tarmac stages and the fans in Germany; loved the atmosphere!” Next for Al Mutawaa is Rally de France, which will be held September 29 to October 2.