Latest news with #QatarInternationalRally
Observer
10-02-2025
- Automotive
- Observer
Al Amri finishes top, Al Rawahi claims 3rd place
QATAR: Rally champion Abdullah al Rawahi recorded a successful return to the podium in the Middle East Rally Championship in its second round, finishing third in the Qatar International Rally. Meanwhile, rally driver Zakaria al Amri secured victory in the Merc 2 class (Group N). Abdullah al Zubair was unfortunate this time, withdrawing on the second day after leading the Merc 2 class on the first day and the morning stages of the second day due to gearbox issues. Drivers competing in the Qatar International Rally, the second round of the Middle East Rally Championship, faced challenging stages, with frequent tyre punctures caused by the terrain and the presence of small rocks. Zakaria in stage Omani drivers Al Rawahi, Al Zubair and Al Amri all suffered from these difficulties during the first and second days. At the end of the race, Nasser al Attiyah secured the rally title after intense competition with Finnish racer Mads Ostberg, Omani Abdullah al Rawahi and Qatari Abdulaziz al Kuwari. Abdullah al Rawahi was a strong contender among the front-runners, recording the second-fastest times in several stages behind Al Attiyah or Ostberg. He initially finished fourth behind Al Kuwari, but the championship organising committee imposed an additional time penalty on Al Kuwari, ensuring Al Rawahi earned a well-deserved third place after his distinguished performance. Meanwhile, Zakaria al Amri, alongside his well-known navigator, Mohammed al Mazroui, secured the lead in the Merc 2 category after finishing first in his class and tenth overall. With this victory, Al Amri remains at the top of the championship standings heading into the next round in the Kingdom of Saudi al Zubair and his co-driver, Taha Soomar, demonstrated strong race pace on the first day, leading the Merc 2 category. He continued to perform well on the second day, particularly in the morning stages, but a sudden mechanical failure in the gearbox forced him to withdraw. He said, "We had a clear strategy, and on the first day, we topped the category. However, we faced a gearbox problem in the second period of the second day, leaving us no choice but to withdraw from the rally. I want to congratulate my colleague Zakaria al Amri for topping the category." Champion Abdullah al Rawahi expressed his happiness at securing third place and returning to the podium for the second consecutive year in the Qatar Rally. Al zubair in action He explained that the race was challenging due to the intensity of competition, the difficult stages and the frequent tyre punctures. However, he was pleased with his result, thanked everyone for their support, and looked forward to competing in the Saudi Rally. Zakaria al Amri also expressed his joy at leading the category, stating that he will continue to approach the championship with the same determination.
Muscat Daily
09-02-2025
- Automotive
- Muscat Daily
Oman's Abdullah al Rawahi delighted with third-place finish in Qatar International Rally
Muscat – Oman's Abdullah al Rawahi was delighted to have won the final spot on the podium of the Qatar International Rally in Lusail on Saturday after Abdulaziz Al Kuwari was handed a time penalty of five seconds. Al Kuwari and Lorcan Moore were able to fend off a fierce late challenge from Al Rawahi and Ata Al Hmoud in their Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2 to claim the final place on the podium and a vital haul of MERC points in their Citroën C3 by just 3.3 seconds. But the Qatari was handed a five-second penalty on Saturday evening, dropping him to fourth place. Al Rawahi expressed his happiness at finishing third. He said the race was not easy due to the intensity of the competition and the tough stages. 'We were quite good on the first stage,' said Al Rawahi, pleasantly surprised to gain third place after the finish. 'Then we tried to push on the second one and there was a place with a lot of dust coming to a hairpin. I tried to take it flat so I don't lose time and I lost the track and around 15 seconds. That was a pity. We started the last stage and tried to push again and managed to get 10 seconds on Abdulaziz. 'We pushed like crazy, just three seconds away (before the penalty for Al-Kuwari). Unfortunately, we lost some time on one stage and we had a lot of punctures on the first day, Anyway, I am happy with this performance. The pace is there but I got some penalties and I was quite unlucky with the punctures,' said the Omani. Meanwhile, another Omani, Zakaria al Amri and his co-driver Mohammed al Mazroui won the MERC2 category and finished 10th overall. AlAmri was happy with his performance said he would continue the championship with the same strategy. Abdullah al Zubair and his co-driver, Taha Soomar, had a strong start and was able to lead the MERC2 category. He continued to put up impressive performances on the second day, in the morning stages, but he was unable to finish the race after a sudden mechanical failure in the gearbox led him to withdraw from the rally. 'We were taking well and a clear strategy, and on the first day we topped the category, but we faced a problem with the gearbox in the second period of the second day, and we had no choice but to withdraw from the rally. I want to congratulate my colleague Zakaria Al Amri for topping the category,' said Al Zubair.
Muscat Daily
08-02-2025
- Automotive
- Muscat Daily
Al Attiyah win Qatar International Rally; MERC2 success for Oman's Al Aamri
Lusail, Qatar – Nasser al Attiyah and his Spanish co-driver Candido Carrera won five of the 13 special stages on the way to a resounding victory in the Qatar International Rally on Saturday. A second success of the Qatari's 2025 campaign to win a 20th FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) title also marked his 18th in Qatar from 25 starts and gives him a strong foundation on which to build this year's title challenge in his Autotek-run Škoda Fabia RS. The win was the 88th in his illustrious MERC career. A delighted Al Attiyah said: 'I am really happy to win this race. It is a home rally and we did a good job. I am happy with Candido and the team. It is a nice start for 2025. Just 0.8 (seconds) between me and Mads on the Power Stage. It was a good level.' On his fourth visit to the event, Mads Ostberg finished as runner-up for a third year in succession after failing to finish on his first appearance in 2022. Punctures on Friday put paid to an aggressive challenge by the Norwegian and his Romanian co-driver Sergiu Itu but the crew won eight of the 13 stages, including a clean sweep of six fastest times over the final day to finish 1min 12.8sec behind Al Attiyah. Abdulaziz al Kuwari and Lorcan Moore ceded second to Ostberg on the first stage of the morning but were able to fend off a fierce late challenge from Abdullah al Rawahi and Ata al Hmoud to claim the final place on the podium and a vital haul of MERC points in their Citroën C3 by just 3.3 seconds. Fourth-placed Al Rawahi said: 'We pushed like crazy, just three seconds away. Unfortunately, we lost some time on one stage and we had a lot of punctures on the first day, Anyway, I am happy with this performance. The pace is there but I got some penalties and I was quite unlucky with the punctures.' Rakan al Rashed enjoyed his first appearance in Qatar and managed his pace sensibly over the two days of high-speed action in the northern deserts to finish fifth overall in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2 with Portuguese co-driver Hugo Magalhães. Coupled with his runner-up spot at round one in Oman, Al-Rashed is now in a strong position to challenge championship leader Al Attiyah this season. The Saudi said: 'I am happy to be here. Obviously, it's unclear where my pace is. I am still getting confused. After this rally we are going to have to review all the weekend and see where we can improve. I'm happy that we finished and looking forward now to my home event.' Nasser Khalifa al Atya is chasing Masters Championship and MERC points with Lebanese co-driver Ziad Chehab in a Motortune Ford Fiesta. He surrendered sixth overall to a hard-charging Denis Krotov and Yury Kulikov in their SRT Škoda Fabia RS but earned a second win in the new Masters Championship and collected valuable MERC points to boot with seventh overall. Rashid al Muhannadi guided his Peugeot 208 Rally 4 to a second successive victory in the MERC4 category. The Qatari teamed up with Irishman Gary Mcelhinney again to finish eighth. The battle for supremacy in MERC2 developed into a showdown between the Omani duo of Abdullah al Zubair and Zakariya al Aamri. Mechanical issues sidelined Al-Zubair before the penultimate stage and that opened the door for Al Aamri to claim the win and 10th overall behind ninth-placed Jordanian driver Shadi Shaban. Jad al Aawar and Ahmad Khaled were second and fourth in MERC2 and 11th and 13th overall with Kuwait's Jassim al Muqahwi sandwiched between the Lebanese duo. His Excellency Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani, Minister of Sports and Youth, attended the start of the rally along with His Excellency Abdullah bin Hamad al Attiyah, Minister of Municipality.
Observer
07-02-2025
- Automotive
- Observer
Massive lead for Al Attiyah after seven stages
LUSAIL (Qatar): Nasser Saleh al Attiyah and his Spanish co-driver Candido Carrera forged into a comfortable lead of 1min 47.3sec after six challenging gravel stages through the northeastern desert at the Qatar International Rally on Friday. The Qatari crushed his rivals through the opening three speed tests that constituted the morning's loop and won two of the afternoon's repeat passes in his Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2. He said: 'Very good day. We did a good job and I am happy. We had only one puncture (SS5) and the rest was good. If you have a puncture, it will be a disaster. We try to keep the pace like this afternoon. We lose two or three seconds from our pace, but I am happy.' Abdulaziz al Kuwari admitted that it felt strange to be running as the first car on the road and he took some time to acclimatise. Along with Irish co-driver Lorcan Moore, the current regional champion guided his new Citroen C3 to second place overnight. Al Kuwari said: 'I think this is my first proper rally in the Citroen. I am very happy. It is a good car and the feeling was good. Lorcan did a very good job. It is not easy to read the roads at that speed in Qatar. I am getting confidence every kilometre. The pace is very high to be honest. Nasser's pace is crazy high. I am really shocked when I see the stage times. Sometimes when I do almost no mistakes in a stage...I need to improve a lot. That's all I can say...' A double puncture during the morning and then a sixth-stage flat tyre ruined Mads Ostberg's chance of applying pressure on Al Attiyah with his Romanian co-driver Sergiu Itu. The Norwegian fought back from fourth place to hold third and is well-placed to attack Al Kuwari on Saturday. Ostberg said: 'Another puncture (SS6) this afternoon. It's going a bit wrong this time, basically. We tried to be smarter from the start and it just kicked us the other way around. I think this race is about luck or no luck sometimes. With experience, like Nasser, you can see he has no punctures. He knows what he is doing. At least, for me, it makes no difference if I am pushing or not pushing, so I might as well just go...' Mads Ostberg flying to third in Qatar AL RAWAHI REMAIN IN CONTENTION Abdullah al Rawahi and Ata al Hmoud sustained two slow punctures on the first stage of the morning and then two more flat tyres during the afternoon on their Skoda Fabia RS. The Omani remained in contention for the podium, however, and held fourth place. He said: 'Another two punctures, four in total. I am just happy we made it back here and we are still in a good position to fight for at least second place. One puncture on the second stage of the loop, three kilometres from the end, and the other was on the last stage.' Rakan al Rashed is making his debut in Qatar with a Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2 and Portuguese co-driver Hugo Magalhaes. He overcame two flat tyres during the afternoon to hold fifth. Nasser Khalifa al Atya is chasing Masters Championship and Merc points and he and Ziad Chehab were sixth after another solid performance. Denis Krotov and Yury Kulikov held seventh in their SRT Skoda Fabia RS and the Omani duo of Abdullah al Zubair and Taha al Zadjali were eighth and first in the Merc2 category in a Subaru Impreza. Rashid al Muhannadi guided his Peugeot 208 to ninth and the lead in Rally4, while Jordan's Shadi Shaban was 10th in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX. Outside the top 10, Oman's Zakariya al Aamri, Lebanon's Jad al Aawar, Qatar's Mohammed al Atteya, Kuwait's Jassim al Muqahwi and India's Mohammed Mansoor Parol and held 11th to 15th places and were classified second to sixth in Merc2. Saad al Harqan and Mohammed al Marri drove well on their first appearances in the Qatar Motorsport Sports Academy Peugeot 208s and were classified in 20th and 21st. All 28 crews survived the late night super special in Lusail, although Simone Temeroli was handed a 10-minute time penalty and plummeted to the foot of the rankings before the restart. Ostberg had one of his five-second penalties rescinded and was given the stage win and the overnight lead, as Al Kuwari led crews into the 16.94km of the opening Waab al Mashrab stage in the northeast of the country. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah has a comfortable lead after seven stages of the Qatar International Rally. The reigning regional champion stopped the clocks in 10min 05.3sec but a flying Al Attiyah was 18.7 seconds quicker than his rival and 17 faster than Al Rawahi, who had a slow puncture. Ostberg was also no match for the Qatari and lost his miniscule lead after dropping 7.5 seconds on the stage. Al Rashed was a distant fifth. Abdullah al Zubair led the Merc 2 runners and all 28 crews completed the stage. The last stage of a rapid-fire morning loop was Al Khor (17.25km). Al Attiyah stopped the clocks in 9min 14.2sec to take another fastest time and headed for the regroup and service in Lusail with a stunning lead of 1min 01.9sec over Al Kuwari after Ostberg dropped 1min 27sec to the leader with a double puncture and slipped behind Al Rawahi into fourth. Al Rashed retained a distant fifth and Ahmad Khaled gained a slender Merc2 advantage. Al Attiyah said: 'We push. It was not easy because I know Mads is very fast as well. But it was a good plan. We win all three stages. I am happy with the set-up of the car. The afternoon will be rougher but we will try to do our best.' The three specials were repeated in the afternoon. Al Kuwari shaved 1.7 seconds off his morning's run but still ceded 13.3 seconds to Al Attiyah, who suffered a flat tyre. Ostberg snatched the stage win and closed the gap on Al Rawahi in the battle for third place. Al Zubair regained the advantage over Khaled and Zakariya al Aamri in a tense Merc2 tussle. Italy's Simone Temeroli did not start the second loop after engine issues and Mirko Carrara stopped in the stage. Al Attiyah was slightly slower on his second run through Al Waab but he still managed to take the stage win and increase his overall lead over Al Kuwari to 1min 31.2sec. Ostberg punctured, was second quickest and moved to within one-tenth of a second of Al Rawahi in the duel for third. Khaled ground to a halt midway through the stage and lost six minutes and Al Zubair was able to extend his lead in Merc2. Al Khor 2 was the final stage of the day and Al Attiyah stayed clear of trouble to clock the fastest time and reach the overnight halt with a massive lead of 1min 47.3sec. Ostberg was second and managed to overhaul Al Rawahi and move into third overall. Marco Marotta retired in the last stage. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari holds second overall after seven stages. 2025 Qatar International Rally – positions after SS7 1. Nasser Saleh al Attiyah (QAT)/Candido Carrera (ESP), Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2, 1hr 00min 40.5sec 2. Abdulaziz al Kuwari (QAT)/Lorcan Moore (IRL), Citroen C3 Rally 2, 1hr 02min 27.8sec 3. Mads Ostberg (NOR)/Sergiu Itu (ROU), Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2, 1hr 02min 32.3sec 4. Abdullah al Rawahi (OMA)/Ata al Hmoud (JOR), Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2, 1hr 02min 43.9sec 5. Rakan al Rashed (KSA)/Hugo Magalhaes (POR), Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2, 1hr 06min 36.3sec 6. Nasser Khalifa al Attiyah (QAT)/Ziad Chehab (LBN), Ford Fiesta Mk II Rally 2, 1hr 07min 11.4sec 7. Denis Krotov (KGZ)/Yury Kulikov (CYP), Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2, 1hr 07min 37.4sec 8. Abdullah al Zubair (OMA)/Taha al Zadjali (OMA), Subaru Impreza 1hr 15min 15.0sec 9. Rashid al Muhannadi (QAT)/Gary McElhinney (IRL), Peugeot 208 Rally 4, 1hr 15min 39.1sec 10. Shadi Shaban (JOR)/Samer Issa (JOR), Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX, 1hr 15min 41.8sec 11. Zakariya al Aamri (OMA)/Mohammed al Mazroui (OMA), Subaru Impreza N14, 1hr 15min 54.5sec 12. Jad al Aawar (LBN)/Vicken Kanledjian (LBN), Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, 1hr 17min 25.8sec
