Oman Rally Team's Al-Rawahi eyes overall victory at Jordan Rally
DEAD SEA (JORDAN): Oman Rally Team star Abdullah Al-Rawahi is targeting a second victory in the Jordan Rally when he rekindles his FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) campaign at next weekend's event in blistering heat at the Dead Sea (May 29th-31st).
The 2023 regional champion won the event outright with local co-driver Ata Al-Hmoud in their title-winning season. The pair resume their partnership at the lowest point on earth after Al-Hmoud had been forced to miss the last round in Saudi Arabia while his wife gave birth to twins. In Al-Hmoud's absence, Al-Rawahi teamed up with British navigator Ross Whittock to finish fifth in his Autotek Škoda Fabia RS. He now holds third in the Drivers' Championship with three rounds to run in Jordan, Lebanon and Cyprus.
Speaking ahead of starting his two-day recce of the route, Al-Rawahi said: 'Jordan Rally is a really important one for me. This is where I started my journey. It is like my home rally. I think we have a huge chance to maybe fight for the win. Last year, we were leading and I went off the track and we were not able to continue. This year, I am hoping we are ready. We will give our best.
'Ata is back with me. That will add a lot of value. We have a long relationship since I started rallying. It is going to be tough. Jordan Rally is always tough, slippery and very narrow and, in some cases, no place for error. I am hoping for the best and we will keep pushing.'
An upbeat Al-Hmoud added: '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 competing in the MERC with his Toyota Yaris and Abdulaziz with the Citroën. We saw in Portugal last weekend that all those three cars are at the top level (WRC2).
'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.'
Competitors will tackle a dozen special stages and 196.30 competitive kilometres in the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley areas.
Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah heads the 22-car FIA field after winning the opening three rounds of the season in Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. He will be aiming to defend a 31-point lead over Rakan Al-Rashed in the Drivers' Championship.
Al-Rawahi faces competition from seven Rally2 machines. Other rivals include defending regional champion Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya, Bassal Abu Hamdan and the Jordanian duo of Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez and Ihab Al-Shorafa.
The Oman Rally Team has backing from Al-Manar Investments, the Oman Automobile Association, WMS, Zamakan, OQ, Strike, Size, the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture of Oman and National Finance.
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