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Observer
31-05-2025
- Automotive
- Observer
2nd Place for Al Rawahi on day 6 of Jordan Rally
DEAD SEA, Jordan: 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. 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.' Abdullah al Rawahi on day two in Jordan 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. Abdullah al Rawahi during the race 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. Shaikh 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 10. Rashid Al Muhannadi (QAT)/Gary McElhinney (IRL) Peugeot 208 Rally 4 2hr 46min 12.6sec, etc
Observer
26-05-2025
- Automotive
- Observer
Jordan Rally attracts 21 starters this weekend
AMMAN, Jordan: Twenty-one crews will tackle the opening two rounds of this year's Jordan National Championship that are being held In conjunction with days one and two of this weekend's Jordan Rally, round four of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC). Nine crews are eligible to score points in both the FIA event and the two national rallies with an additional 12 teams running at the rear of the field and solely targeting local championship points. Each of the two national events on Friday and Saturday will run over six gravel special stages in the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley areas. Oman's Abdullah al Rawahi is a former winner of the FIA event and is the top seed for national success, where he faces Rally2 opposition from Shaikh Bader al Fayez and Ihab al Shorafa, all three of whom drive Škoda Fabias this weekend. Defending MERC champion Abdulaziz al Kuwari and his co-driver Marshall Clarke won the Jordan National Championship last season, but the Qatari is not scoring points this year. He is solely targeting the FIA event in a Citroën C3. Al Fayez was the runner-up in the national series in 2024 with Shadi Shaban finishing third. Shaban also topped the standings in the NR4 group with Group MT success falling to Salama al Ghammaz and Hashim al Kalbouneh winning Group T in his Black Iris. Hashim al Kalbouneh Shaker Jweihan is the defending regional MERC2 champion and he will be aiming for national podium success in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. Palestine's Hamada Uda also drives the latest version of the Mitsubishi and there are a fleet of Evo IXs for Shaban, Mohammed al Shorafa, Lebanon's Joanna Hassoun, Issa Abu Jamous and Fadi Dhashan. Fayez al Ghammaz and Faisal al Ghammaz wheel out older versions of the all-conquering Mitsubishi. Oman's Zakariya al Aamri is the current leader of the FIA MERC2 category and is also chasing Jordan National Championship points in his Subaru. Bader al Helalat, Amjad al Sheikh and Asem Aref drive older versions of the renowned Impreza rally car. Al Kalbouneh returns to action with his Black Iris and last year's FIA Middle East Baja Cup's Stock champion Majed al Thunayyan is making the trip from Saudi Arabia to tackle the event in a Nissan Patrol. The Jordanian trio of Yahia Sobar (Toyota FJ), Karim Badawi (Suzuki) and Farah Zakaria (Can-Am) round off the impressive national field. This year's Jordan Rally is supported by Zain Jordan, Guarantee Travel Group, Hala and Bliss FM, Markazia and Toyota Gazoo Racing Jordan. Shaikh Bader al Fayez 2025 Jordan National Rally – Entry List: 3. Abdullah al Rawahi (OMA)/Ata Al-Hmoud (JOR) Škoda Fabia R5 Rally 2 6. Sheikh Bader al Fayez (JOR)/Vili Oslaj (SLO) Škoda Fabia Rally 2 7. Ihab al Shurafa (JOR)/Ahmad Jankhout (JOR) Škoda Fabia Evo Rally 2 10. Shaker Jweihan (JOR)/Aisvydas Paliukenas (LTU) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 13. Zakariya al Aamri (OMA)/Mohammed al Mazroui (OMA) Subaru Impreza N14 15. Hamada Uda (PAL)/Mustafa Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 20. Shadi Shaban (JOR)/Samer Issa (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 21. Mohammed al Shorafa (JOR)/Yazan Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 22. Joanna Hassoun (LBN)/Sami Fleifel (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 30. Issa Abu Jamous (JOR)/Saqer Abu Jamous (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 31. Fadi Dahshan (JOR)/Raed Dahshan (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 32. Fayez al Ghammaz (JOR)/Salameh al Ghammaz (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI 33. Bader al Helalat (JOR)/Amer Mousa (JOR) Subaru Impreza 34. Faisal al Ghammaz (JOR)/Mamdouh Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII 35. Amjad al Shaikh (JOR)/Abdullah Ibdah (JOR) Subaru Impreza 36. Asem Aref (JOR)/Musa Djiyerian (JOR) Subaru Impreza 37. Hashim al Kalbouneh (JOR)/Dergham Rustom (JOR) Black Iris Prototype 38. Majid al Thunayyan (KSA)/Fahed al Sufyani (KSA) Nissan Patrol Y61 39. Yahia Sobar (JOR)/Hamzeh Qabshoura (JOR) Toyota FJ Cruiser 40. Karim Badawi (JOR)/Walid Shabsogh (JOR) Suzuki Samarai 41. Farah Zakaria (JOR)/Bayan Zakaria (JOR) Can-Am Maverick
