Al Attiyah continues perfect start in Jordan Rally
DEAD SEA,JORDAN: Nineteen-time FIA Middle East Rally Champion Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah and his Spanish co-driver Candido Carrera will be aiming to extend their perfect winning start to the season with victory in this weekend's Jordan Rally.
The fourth round of the regional rally series gets underway from the Royal Automobile Club of Jordan (RACJ) in Amman on Thursday evening. Spectators are welcome to attend from 18.00hrs with a display of drift and competition cars also on
site before the ceremonial start gets underway at 19.15hrs.Al Attiyah and Carrera are chasing a fourth successive win this season after victories
in Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. While Carrera chases a maiden regional rally title, Al Attiyah will be hoping that a staggering 90 th MERC event win would also net him a
record-breaking 17 th success in the Hashemite Kingdom and yet another win with an Autotek-run Škoda Fabia RS. The Qatari arrived in Amman from South Africa, via a brief pit stop in Doha, and has
been mentally preparing himself in Amman away from the punishing heat at the Dead Sea. The team carried out a brief shakedown test on Tuesday afternoon, although the Qatari is aware that he has strong competition over a dozen
challenging gravel stages in the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea areas this weekend. Fresh from a strong result at the recent WRC Rally of Portugal, Rakan Al Rashed will be hoping to build upon that experience to continue his push for a first ever MERC event win in a Toyota GR Yaris. The Saudi and his Portuguese co-driver Hugo Magalhāes picked up points for second place in Oman and Saudi Arabia and fourth in Qatar to hold second in the title race, albeit 31 points behind Al Attiyah and Carrera. Oman's Abdullah al Rawahi won the event outright on his way to the regional title in 2023 and will also benefit from the experience of local co-driver Ata Al Hmoud this
weekend. Al Rawahi is third in the Drivers' Championship with points for second place in Qatar being his best result of the season so far.
Shadi Shaban in action at last year's Jordan Rally.
Al Hmoud said: 'We have one target and that is to win the rally. It will not be easy, especially with Nasser in the Škoda RS and Rakan with his Toyota Yaris and Abdulaziz
with the Citroën. 'We have the experience in Jordan. Hopefully, we can be the top level of the game. The Dead Sea at this time of year is very hot. Weather conditions could be a tough
one. I missed Jeddah (Rally Saudi Arabia) because my wife delivered two babies, two young angels, a baby girl and a baby boy. Now I have a bigger family. We will do our best to win this event.'
Abdulaziz Al Kuwari is the defending regional champion and also won last year's Jordan National Championship. The Qatari has enjoyed more seat time this season in rallies and cross-country events and showed with a pair of third-place finishes in Qatar and Saudi Arabia that his Citroën C3 is more than capable of challenging for the win. Consistent finishes have lifted Nasser Khalifa Al Atya into fourth in the points' standings in his Ford Fiesta, although the Qatari veteran is also chasing glory in the inaugural FIA Master MERC Championship for Drivers. Three maximum points scores
have given Al-Atya a 42-point cushion in that new championship.
Shaikh Bader Al Fayez, Ihab Al Shorafa and Bassel Abu Hamdan complete the line-up of drivers in the Rally2 category in three Škoda Fabias. The Omani duo of Zakariya al Aamri and Abdullah al Zubair are separated by 15 points in their current duel for FIA MERC2 honours. Both Subaru drivers are hoping to follow in the footsteps of last year's champion Shaker Jweihan and lift the region's secondary championship title, although Jweihan is one of several regional drivers aiming to stop the two Omanis running away with the title.
Jweihan said: 'A new stage and it's the first of the rally. This is a long and important one. I think whoever succeeds there will carry that on throughout the rally. The car feels good and the preparations have gone well. We will see how this rally goes and how the other guys (Zakariya and Abdullah) fit in. We will look at the results and carry on for the experience.'
Action in the Jordan Valley in 2024.
Kuwait's Jassim Al Muqahwi, Lebanon's Shadi Al Fakih and Palestine's Hamada Uda are also chasing MERC2 honours. The QMMF confirmed the late withdrawal of young Qatari Mohammed Al Marri because of business commitments. But 21 cars are expected to attend pre-event scrutineering at the Dead Sea on Thursday morning, in addition to nine more solely eligible for the opening two rounds of the Jordan National Championship.
Rashid Al-Mohannadi has a commanding 45-point lead in the FIA MERC4 category. With Al Marri's absence this weekend, the Peugeot 208 driver faces resistance from Qatari academy rookie Saad Al Harqan and Indian driver Payyaakkal 'Saneem' Panikkaveettil in his two-wheel drive Ford Fiesta. The Jordanian duo of Shadi Shaban and Mohammed Al-Shorafa and Lebanese Joanna Hassoun are also eligible to score MERC points in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IXs.
This year's Jordan Rally is supported by Zain Jordan, Guarantee Travel Group, Hala and Bliss FM, Markazia and Toyota Gazoo Racing Jordan.
2025 Jordan Rally – updated entry list:
1. Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah (QAT)/Candido Carrera (ESP) Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2
2. Rakan Al Rashed (KSA)/Hugo Magalhães (POR) Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2
3. Abdullah al Rawahi (OMA)/Ata Al Hmoud (JOR) Škoda Fabia R5 Rally 2
4. Nasser Khalifa Al Attiyah (QAT)/Ziad Chehab (LBN) Ford Fiesta Mk II Rally 2
5. Abdulaziz Al Kuwari (QAT)/Lorcan Moore (IRL) Citroën C3 Rally 2
6. Sheikh Bader Al Fayez (JOR)/Vili Oslaj (SLO) Škoda Fabia Rally 2
7. Ihab Al Shurafa (JOR)/Ahmad Jankhout (JOR) Škoda Fabia Evo Rally 2
8. Bassel Abu Hamdan (KSA)/Firas Elias (LBN) Škoda Fabia R5 Rally 2
9. Abdullah al Zubair (OMA)/Taha al Zadjali (OMA) Subaru Impreza N14
10. Shaker Jweihan (JOR)/Aisvydas Paliukenas (LTU) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
11. Jassim Al-Muqahwi (KUW)/Suleiman Al-Helal (KUW) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
12. Shadi El Fakih (LBN)/Joseph Kmeid (LBN) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
13. Zakariya al Aamri (OMA)/Mohammed al Mazroui (OMA) Subaru Impreza N14
14. Salem Al Dhafeeri (KUW)/Waleed Al Dhafeeri (KUW) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X*
15. Hamada Uda (PAL)/Mustafa Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
16. Rashid Al-Muhannadi (QAT)/Gary McElhinney (IRL) Peugeot 208 Rally 4
17. Payyaakkal 'Saneem' Panikkaveettil (IND)/Musa Sherif (IND) Ford Fiesta Rally 4
19. Saad Al Harqan (QAT)/Pierre Delorme (FRA) Peugeot 208 Rally 4
20. Shadi Shaban (JOR)/Samer Issa (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX (NAT)
21. Mohammed Al Shorafa (JOR)/Yazan Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX (NAT)*
21. Joanna Hassoun (LBN)/Sami Fleifel (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX (NAT)
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