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Qatar Tribune
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Qatar Tribune
Daunting new stage to kickstart Jordan Rally action
Tribune News Network 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. 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.' 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. 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.' On 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. The three stages will then be then repeated in the afternoon after a return to the Dead Sea for a midday regroup and service. Follow the race live:
Times of Oman
5 days ago
- 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.
Qatar Tribune
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Qatar Tribune
Al Attiyah leads impressive entry list for Jordan Rally
Tribune News Network Amman The upcoming Jordan Rally will be the fourth round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) and Jordan Motorsport has announced that 22 cars grace the official entry list for the event taking place on May 29 th -31 st . Crews will tackle a dozen special stages and 196.30 competitive kilometres in the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley areas. The event will also count towards the new Junior and Master Championships for Drivers. Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah and Candido Carrera head the field after winning the opening three rounds of the season in Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. They will be aiming to defend a 31-point lead over Rakan Al-Rashed and Hugo Magalhaes in their respective MERC Drivers' and Co-drivers' Championships. The record 16-time winner of the event lays trust in his Autotek Skoda Fabia RS Rally2. A total of eight Rally2 machines grace the entry list: defending regional champion Abdulaziz Al Kuwari, the 2023 MERC champion Abdullah Al Rawahi, Qatari Nasser Khalifa Al Atya, Bassal Abu Hamdan and the Jordanian duo of Sheikh Bader Al Fayez and Ihab Al Shorafa complete the list. Both local drivers have entered Skoda Fabias. Oman's Zakariya Al Aamri and Abdullah Al Zubair are currently locked in their own battle for supremacy in the FIA MERC2 category in a pair of Subarus and they head a list of seven crews aiming for showroom class honours. Local knowledge may favour the defending regional champion Shaker Jweihan, while Kuwait's Jassim Al Muqahwi and Salem Al Dhafeeri, Lebanon's Shadi Al Fakih and Palestine's Hamada Uda round off the MERC2 field. All five challengers to the front- running Omani duo wheel out Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Xs. Qatari Rashid Al Mohannadi has a commanding lead in the two-wheel drive FIA MERC4 category after three rounds. He faces competition from young Qatar Academy drivers, Mohammed Al Marri and Saad Al Harqan, and Indian driver Payyakkal Panikkaveettil (Ford Fiesta). All three Qataris drive French-built Peugeot 208s.
Qatar Tribune
03-05-2025
- Automotive
- Qatar Tribune
Attiyah wins inaugural Rally Saudi Arabia
Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah and his Spanish co-driver Candido Carrera secured a comfortable victory at the inaugural Jeddah-based Rally Saudi Arabia powered by Jameel Motorsports on Saturday. The Qatari won five of the day's six gravel stages to the north of the Red Sea city to earn a record-breaking 89th career MERC rally win, as he bids for a 20th FIA Middle East Rally Championship title.(TNN)page 12
