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Qatar Tribune
04-05-2025
- Automotive
- Qatar Tribune
Al-Attiyah wins inaugural Rally Saudi Arabia
JEDDAH: 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. His Autotek Škoda Fabia RS suffered one time-consuming puncture on the second stage of the final day, but Al-Attiyah hit back to win his third successive MERC event with Carrera by 1min 37.4sec. Al-Attiyah said: 'It was nice to win the rally. But the good thing was that we had the rally back here in Saudi Arabia. I cannot wait for the next one in November. I want to do it in a Rally1 car!'
Qatar Tribune
03-05-2025
- Automotive
- Qatar Tribune
Al Attiyah and Carrera coast to record 89th career MERC rally win at Rally Saudi Arabia
Tribune News Network Jeddah 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. His Autotek Skoda Fabia RS suffered one time-consuming puncture on the second stage of the final day but Al-Attiyah hit back to win his third successive MERC event with Carrera by 1min 37.4sec. Al Attiyah said: 'It was nice to win the rally. But the good thing was that we had the rally back here in Saudi Arabia. I cannot wait for the next one in November. I want to do it in a Rally1 car!' Finn Juho Hanninen and his co-driver Janni Hussi entered the event in a Toyota Yaris for test and research purposes on behalf of the Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT. But the duo won two stages and finished in a comfortable second position, although they were not registered for MERC points. Hanninen added: 'It was okay. We saw all the stages and we learned a lot. From that side it was a good journey. Nasser is the king of the Middle East. I knew that before coming here. The result was not that important. We learned so many things. It's nice to be second after Nasser. 'It was nice to see him again because we competed together many years ago.' Saudi driver Rakan Al Rashed teamed up with Hugo Magalhaes to finish on the final step of the podium with his Toyota and pick up valuable points in his quest to hunt down Al Attiyah with three rounds of the regional series still to run. Qatar's Abdulaziz Al Kuwari and his Irish team-mate Lorcan Moore moved briefly into third overall during the final morning before stopping to change a flat tyre mid-stage. That time loss pushed them back to fourth, a position they held to the finish to stay ahead of Oman's Abdullah Al Rawahi and his British co-driver Ross Whittock. Three punctures had cost Al Rawahi dearly on day one. Hamza Bakhashab switched from the cross-country discipline to tackle his first special stage rally in a Can-Am Maverick R and the Saudi finished sixth with Poland's Macin Pasek reading his pace notes. Nasser Khalifa Al Atya is chasing glory in this year's new FIA MERC Master Driver category and the Qatari guided his Ford Fiesta to seventh and a useful haul of championship points. Oman's Abdullah Al Zubair dominated the MERC2 category from the start in his Subaru Impreza and moved firmly into title contention against fellow countryman Zakariya Al-Aamri. Bassel Abu Hamdan returned to action after a lengthy lay-off to take ninth overall and Qatar's Rashed Al Mohannadi rounded off the top 10 in his Peugeot 208 and won the MERC4 category. Al Attiyah said: 'We enjoy a lot these three stages. We had a flat tyre from the beginning of stage eight. But we decided to push and not stop. If you change (the tyre) you lose the rally. There was damage to the rear right but we didn't lose too much time.' Third-placed Al Rashed said: 'It was a very challenging morning. The first stage was okay and we had a good time but we had a puncture in the second one. 'This was one of the most interesting stages of the rally. Then we had another puncture on the third one.' Al Kuwari said: 'A good start. We were second fastest on the first one and then fastest at the first split on the second one and then we had a puncture and had to stop and change the tyre.' Bakhashab moved up to sixth, Al Zubair continued to lead the MERC2 category and Al Muhannadi headed the MERC4 rankings. Jordan's Shaker Jweihan went off the track and got stuck in a ditch before retiring his Mitsubishi and Payyaakkal 'Saneem' Panikkaveettil also retired his Ford Fiesta. 'Very nice, very fast,' said Al Zubair. 'Overall, I am happy. It has been very challenging. You have to trust your notes on this rally.' Al Attiyah claimed the bonus points for winning the final Power Stage and secured a comfortable win to extend his lead in the Drivers' Championship. Al Rawahi picked up Power Stage points for the second quickest time but still finished fifth behind Hanninen, Al Rashed and Al Kuwari. Rally Saudi Arabia was hosted by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF) in collaboration with the Saudi Motorsport Company. It ran under the supervision of the FIA as an official candidate rally for the WRC under the Ministry of Sport. Round four of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship takes place in Jordan on May 29-31.
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
