Abdullah Al Zubair brings smiles on the faces of Oman rally fans
MUSCAT: Local rally driver Abdullah Al Zubair earned the coveted MERC2 title along with his co-driver Taha Al Zadjali at the 28th Oman International Rally, the first round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC), which concluded in Sohar on Saturday.
Driving a Subaru Impreza, the Al Zubair and Al Zadjali did the host nation proud with overall sixth place and top honours in the MERC2 category.
Qatar's Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah and his new Spanish co-driver Candido Carrera cruised to the overall title win in 6min 13.6sec victory. The Qatari secured a record-breaking eighth win in the Sultanate in his Škoda Fabia RS and a staggering 87th career victory in the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) with a seventh different co-driver. He won nine of the 13 special stages, including the Power Stage finale.
Al Zubair's return to competitive rallying was marked by his determination to excel in the N category. Prior to the rally, he emphasised the challenges posed by the new stages in Sohar, noting that success would require "effort, patience, caution, and experience."
He also expressed gratitude to his sponsor, Ara Petroleum Company, highlighting the importance of corporate support in the demanding sport of rallying.
Al Zubair's extensive rally experience includes participation in the Middle East Rally Championship, the Jordan National Rally Championship, the World Desert Rally Championship, and various Baja events across Europe. The experience stood out handy as he claimed MERC2 success while navigating the demanding routes in Sohar.
Rakan Al Rashed returned to the series in impressive style by taking second overall with Portugal's Hugo Magalhães in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2. The Saudi overcame a couple of flat tyres on Friday's opening stage and measured his pace well once Abdulaziz Al Kuwari had blotted his copybook on the last stage of the first day.
Qatar's Nasser Khalifa Al Attiyah and his Lebanese co-driver Ziad Chehab went largely under the radar to deliver a polished performance to snatch the final place on the podium in their Ford Fiesta.
Defending regional champion Abdulaziz Al Kuwari overcame a seventh stage accident and the resultant 10-minute penalty to retain third at the start of the final day in his QMMF-backed Citroën C3. But the luckless Qatari ground to a halt with suspension issues on the penultimate stage. Irishman Lorcan Moore performed well on the pace notes.
Al Kuwari's cruel demise lifted Rashid Al Muhannadi and Gary Mcelhinney into fourth place in the new Peugeot 208 Rally 4. They suffered late drama of their own when the car got stuck in the regrouping zone before the final stage and an attempt to pull it clear resulted in extensive damage to the front end.
Jordan's Shadi Shaban and Samer Issa secured a fine fifth place in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX followed by the Subaru Impreza crew of Al Zubair and Al Zadjali.
Saudi Arabia's Ibrahim Al-Muhanna (Can-Am) finished seventh and last year's winner and Oman's Abdullah Al Rawahi and Ata Al Hmoud benefited from four fastest times to lift themselves into an unlikely eighth in the second Autotek Škoda after a cruel retirement on the first stage on Friday morning.
Shadi El-Fakih (Renault), Yosra Jazzar (Can-Am) and Zakariya Al Aamri (Subaru) rounded off the FIA finishers in ninth, 10th and 11th positions after India's Saneem Payyakkal and Musa Sherif stopped in the penultimate stage.
Zakariya Al Aufi claimed victory in the Oman National Championship event with his co-driver Mutasim Al Balushi.
On the final day, a total of 15 crews graced the start list for the final leg of six special stages with both Al Rawahi and Al Kuwari returning to the fray and chasing as many points as possible. Only Mohamed Mansoor Parol's Subaru Impreza was missing from the list. All five crews competed in the Oman National Rally made the restart. Salim Al Tauqi and his navigator Issa Al Wardi in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII came second while the duo of Haitham Al Zadjali and Wail Al Shaibani, also in Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII, rounded the podium.
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