Latest news with #AbdullahAlRawahi
Times of Oman
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Times of Oman
Second place for Oman Rally Team's Al-Rawahi after tyre issues in Jordan
Muscat: A puncture on the first special stage of the final morning proved to be mightily expensive for the Oman Rally Team's Abdullah Al-Rawahi and it ultimately cost him the chance to threaten the 19-time FIA Middle East champion Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah for victory at the Jordan Rally at Dead Sea in Jordan. Al-Rawahi and his Jordanian co-driver Ata Al-Hmoud pushed as hard as they could when conditions permitted but they were always running the risk of collecting a flat tyre on the day's six demanding gravel special stages in the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley areas of the Hashemite Kingdom. Another time delay with a flat tyre on the 10th stage eventually decided the outcome in Al-Attiyah's favour and Al-Rawahi had no alternative but to bring his Autotek Škoda Fabia R5 to the finish in second overall. Nevertheless, his day's result also netted a second Jordan National Championship event win of the weekend. Al-Rawahi said: 'It was a long two days for us. The first day was quite good, especially with the pace and we were very close to Nasser. Unfortunately, today we had some punctures and we lost some time. Overall, we are very happy with our performance. It has been the closest we have been to him in the battle. 'We don't really have enough seat time in the car. After this rally I have three months off not really driving my car. My car is also an older generation and there is experience difference between me and Nasser. That is why it is good that he is in the championship. He helps us to push and get closer to him. It is still good. We wanted to win but we are still happy.' A first pass through the iconic Panorama stage of 17.12km opened proceedings on the final morning. Outside temperatures were already up to 31°C at the start of the stage with a peak of 37°C in the afternoon. Surface cleaning was evident on the opener but Al-Attiyah laid down the gauntlet with a time of 11min 38.0sec. Al-Rawahi dropped 32.3 seconds with tyre damage on a front-right wheel and that enabled Al-Attiyah to extend his lead to 45.8 seconds. The first pass through Suwayma was next in the itinerary. Al-Attiyah stopped the clocks in 5min 47.0sec and was able to extend his advantage over Al-Rawahi to 52.5 seconds with another stage win. Wadi Nar was the last stage of the loop. Al-Attiyah made it a clean sweep of morning stage wins and headed for the midday service and regroup with an advantage over Al-Rawahi of 53.1 seconds. He beat the Omani by just six-tenths of a second in the special. After the opening loop of three stages, Al-Rawahi said: 'The first stage this morning we got a puncture and lost over 30 seconds. When you try to keep up and push this can happen sometimes. We were able to continue but the gap is bigger. It's not impossible but it was closer before. Now we are trying to maintain our speed. We have three more stages to go.' A second delay occurred in the afternoon with another puncture but the Omani held on to take second place and maintain his push for a podium finish in this year's FIA Middle East Rally Championship. 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. The FIA Middle East Rally Championship continues in Lebanon on September 5th-7th. 2025 Jordan Rally – positions after SS12 (unofficial): 1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Candido Carrera (ESP) Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2 2hr 13min 47.7sec 2. Abdullah Al-Rawahi (OMA)/Ata Al-Hmoud (JOR) Škoda Fabia R5 Rally 2 2hr 16min 42.5sec 3. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Lorcan Moore (IRL) Citroën C3 Rally 2 2hr 19min 01.3sec 4. Bassel Abu Hamdan (KSA)/Firas Elias (LBN) Škoda Fabia R5 Rally 2 2hr 33min 25.3sec 5. Abdullah Al-Zubair (OMA)/Taha Al-Zadjali (OMA) Subaru Impreza N14 2hr 37min 26.0sec 6. Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Ziad Chehab (LBN) Ford Fiesta Mk II Rally 2 2hr 38min 58.3sec 7. Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez (JOR)/Vili Oslaj (SLO) Škoda Fabia Rally 2 2hr 40min 34.9sec 8. Zakariya Al-Aamri (OMA)/Mohammed Al-Mazroui (OMA) Subaru Impreza N14 2hr 41min 53.0sec 9. Shadi Shaban (JOR)/Samer Issa (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX (NAT) 2hr 42min 10.2sec
Times of Oman
29-05-2025
- General
- Times of Oman
Daunting new Tal Hilali stage to kickstart Jordan Rally on Friday
DEAD SEA (JORDAN): A first pass through the daunting new 32km Tal Hilali special stage will kickstart the action at the 2025 Jordan Rally on Friday morning. Competitors led by 16-time event winner Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and his Spanish co-driver Candido Carrera will then tackle a further 11 gravel stages over two days before the ceremonial finish at the lowest place on earth on Saturday afternoon. Twenty-one FIA cars and an additional seven crews competing only in two separate national rallies will compete this weekend. The event was officially flagged away from a new start venue at the Royal Automobile Club of Jordan (RACJ) after the pre-event press conference on Thursday evening. Teams had put their cars through customary technical scrutineering at the Dead Sea where a couple of potential front-runners were upbeat about their chances for the weekend. Oman's Abdullah Al-Rawahi won the event outright in 2023 on his way to the MERC title. He said: 'This year has been very tough for us. We haven't had the results I was expecting. We have been trying really hard to push and close the gap to Nasser in terms of pace. Every year we try to learn more and more. The first three rallies didn't go as expected, especially in Oman. The first day we had to retire, in Qatar we got faster and faster and then we had punctures in Saudi Arabia. 'Jordan is where I started. It is different to other years but I love the terrain and the stages. They are tough. We need to be careful. It is very slippery and the notes have to be precise. We are coming here to try and take the win. I am prepared better than last year where we were leading and had to retire.' Defending regional champion Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari praised the condition of the rally tracks. The Citroën C3 driver said: 'I would like to thank the people who prepared the stages. They are amazing. The new stages and the old parts of stages are fantastic. I just worry a little bit about the grip on the first loop. Competition will be very high with eight Rally2s. We are looking forward to it. 'There is no pressure (being champion). I play other different sports, like padel, and people ask me why I don't ever feel pressure. I always try to enjoy. I am getting used to the new car, especially the last day in Saudi where we were much faster than the previous rallies. More kilometres and we will get even faster.' Thirty-five-year-old Rakan Al-Rashed is taking part in the event for the third time after retiring a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX in 2016 and 2017 alongside Finnish co-driver Jarkko Kalliolepo. He is aiming for a podium finish on Saturday evening to continue his quest to become the regional champion. Al-Rashed said: 'For me, I like these stages. They are hard. We will take care on the first stage, the long one, because of the risk of punctures because we have two more stages of around 11km each in the loop. A flat tyre there would be a big problem for me. My strategy is to finish the rally. Being in Portugal and having recent gravel experience should also help.' Rashid Al-Muhannadi could mathematically confirm the FIA MERC4 title this weekend with two rounds to spare in the absence of rookie rival Mohammed Al-Marri. The Qatari said: 'This is my first time in Jordan. The stages are nice but quite demanding and technical. I like the rally. I am looking to forward to it and I hope to win the championship.' This year's Jordan Rally is supported by Zain Jordan, Guarantee Travel Group, Hala and Bliss FM, Markazia and Toyota Gazoo Racing Jordan. Tomorrow (Friday), the opening Tal Hilali special starts at 09.44hrs and features a small section of the former Bahath special in the Jordan Valley and precedes runs through a high-speed Karameh (11.08km) stage and a special at the Baptism Site (11.34km) close to the Dead Sea.
Times of Oman
24-05-2025
- Automotive
- Times of Oman
Omani trio Al Rawahi, Al Amri and Al Zubair set for the new challenge in Jordan International rally
Muscat: The Omani rally drivers Abdullah Al Rawahi, Zakaria Al Amri and Abdullah Al Zubair, are all set and prepared to take part in upcoming challenge in Jordan International Rally, the fourth round of the Middle East Rally Championship, which will gear up on Friday and Saturday with wide participation from different countries and competitors, including championship's leader, Qatari Nasser Al Attiyah, and the Saudi Rakan Al Rashid who is second overall and the third in the championship Abdullah AlRawahi. The Dead Sea stages and Jordan valley host the rally this year as usual, which consists of 12 stages over two days in Baptism , Panorama, Suwyma, Karamah, Tal Hilal, and Wadi Nar, covering a distance of approximately 200 kilometers as Special Stages. The Jordan International Rally, which is considered one of the toughest rallies in the region and also one of the most enjoyable at the same time, will of course witness strong competition between the most prominent names, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Rakan Al-Rashed, the Omani Abdullah Al-Rawahi, and the Qatari Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, in addition to a group of Jordanian drivers. In Merc 2 group the competition will be strong between Omanis Abdullah Al Zubair and Zakaria Al Amri for the lead in the Merc 2 (N category), as Al Amri still leads the category by 15 points over Al Zubair. A quick review of this rally shows that competition will not be easy between Al-Attiyah and Al-Rawahi, as both have long experience in the Jordan International Rally, Al-Attiyah is the most successful driver there, meanwhile Al-Rawahi is building his ambitions to win the rally, given that he started his rally carrier in Jordan rallies and has won numerous titles there, both in the Jordan National Rallies and the International Rallies including the MERC championship in 2023. Al-Rawahi, who will be accompanied by Jordanian Atta Al-Hamoud in the navigation seat, and on board a Skoda Fabia, explained that he will do his best in terms of effort and work inside the car to win this time and remove the bad luck that has plagued him in the past three rallies this year, despite many differences in the participating teams in terms of capabilities, technical teams and support. He said,"First, I would like to thank the supporters and sponsors , the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, the Oman Automobile Association, OQ Group, National Finance, Al Manar ,wms ,strike , size and Zamakan for standing behind us in this championship'. He added that as everyone knows, the Jordan Rally is difficult especially in the Dead Sea and Jordan valley, in the hot weather and varied terrain, the other competitors' cars are better and newer than mine, but will not stop me from working on the stages and focusing on the race, and we will leave the results until the end. As for the competitor Zakaria Al Amri and his navigator Mohammed Al Mazrui, on board a Subaru Impreza (N14), he has classified the rally as one of the most rugged rallies in some places, but we are now focused on maintaining the lead in the category and we are working on that in this rally. "I am ready with my colleague Mohammed and we look forward to continuing the lead in the category and presenting a strong race. "I would like to thank the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, the Oman Automobile Association and Al Fayhaa Real Estate Development for their support of this championship. Our other competitor, Abdullah Al Zubair, and his well-known co-driver, Taha Soomar, are also participating in the rally in a Subaru Impreza." He is currently in second place in the Merc 2 category behind Zakaria Al Amri, and is aiming to reach the podium after his strong and distinguished performance in the Saudi Rally.
Times of Oman
24-05-2025
- Automotive
- Times of Oman
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.
Times of Oman
19-02-2025
- Automotive
- Times of Oman
OQ sponsors motorsport racers Ahmad Al Harthy and Abdullah Al Rawahi for 2025 Season
Muscat: OQ Group has signed two sponsorship agreements to support prominent Omani motorsports athletes in international competitions throughout 2025. The agreements underscore OQ's commitment to advancing Omani sport and recognising the achievements of national athletes on the world stage as OQ Brand Ambassadors. OQ will be the sponsor for Omani motorsport racer Ahmad Al Harthy during the 2025 World Endurance Championship season. A separate sponsorship agreement will support Abdullah Al Rawahi, winner of the opening round of the Middle East Rally Championship, throughout his rally season this year. These sponsorships reflect OQ's ongoing dedication to promoting Omani sport and encouraging athletes who achieve top rankings in international competition. The agreements were signed by Eng. Ali Mohamed Al Lawati, Chief People & Technology Officer at OQ, Ahmad Al Harthy, and Abdullah Al Rawahi. Eng. Ali Al Lawati stated: 'We take great pride in supporting racers Ahmad Al Harthy and Abdullah Al Rawahi in their international competitions, in line with OQ's strategy to advance Oman's sports sector and empower athletes to represent the nation at local and regional levels. This sponsorship aligns with the visionary leadership of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik—may Allah protect him—and his commitment to nurturing Omani youth, enabling them to achieve their aspirations and reach their full potential. We remain dedicated to fostering meaningful and effective partnerships that support the growth of these talents.' Ahmad Al Harthy expressed his gratitude, saying: "I am incredibly grateful to OQ Group for their continued support in 2025. This sponsorship will be instrumental in my pursuit of top positions in the FIA World Endurance Championship." He added that OQ's continued support of his international racing career has greatly contributed to the successes he has achieved in global motorsport, significantly enabling him to reach his current standing. It has also played a key role in showcasing Oman on the international stage in world-class racing competitions. Abdullah Al Rawahi expressed his gratitude to OQ Group for sponsoring his international racing participation, which reflects its commitment to encouraging Omani sports and champions who achieve advanced positions in international sports forums, noting that this sponsorship will contribute to enabling him to participate in races and their requirements to enhance his competition. Ahmad Al Harthy was awarded the Royal Commendation Medal by His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik in recognition of his sporting achievements in 2024. Ahmad Al Harthy's notable achievements include second place in the Jeddah round of the GT World Challenge Europe, a historic overall victory at Monza, Italy, and a recent win in the GT3 Pro-Am class at the Michelin 24 Hours of Dubai. The 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship comprises eight rounds, beginning in Qatar and visiting Italy, Belgium, France, Brazil, the United States and Japan before the season concludes in Bahrain. Abdullah Al Rawahi made history in 2023 by becoming the first Omani and youngest racer to win the Middle East Rally Championship, an achievement for which he was recognised by the FIA. He recently added to his success with a third-place finish in the second round of the 2025 championship, held in Qatar. Al Rawahi now looks ahead to the remaining rounds, which will take place in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon and Cyprus.
