05-02-2025
Omani trio Al Rawahi, Al Zubair and Al Amri raring to go at Qatar International Rally
Muscat – Oman's Abdullah al Rawahi, Zakaria al Amri and Abdullah al Zubair will be fighting for honours in the second round of the Middle East Rally Championship will begin this weekend in Qatar.
After the first leg of the championship in Sohar won by Qatar's Nasser al Attiyah, Al Rawahi occupies eighth place in the overall championship standings. Al Zubair leads the MERC2 group with 30 points, while Al Amri has 24 points.
Al Rawahi hopes to return to the podiums this time in Qatar after he was forced to withdraw from the first day of the rally in Sohar. He was able to enter the rally on the second day via the Super Rally and achieved the fastest time in four of the six stages the next day.
Al Amri also faced problems with his car from the first day, especially in the turbo system.
He said, 'We have complete knowledge of the Qatar Rally and its stages. There are some differences in the stages and some difficulty in navigation, but our goal is to win the category so that we can go to the third round in Saudi Arabia, and we are at the top of our category. I have a good and well-known navigator, Mohammed al Mazroui, and we have previously competed in many races together. We wish success to everyone. We say thank you to all who supported us in the championship'.
Al Rawahi said he wanted to win in his country's rally, but circumstances forced him out on day one of the competition.
Al Rawahi said: 'For Qatar rally, it is more difficult for us than the local drivers. They are more familiar to the type of stages, for example, Nasser Al Attiyah and other locals, they enter and exit stages their own ways, you have to take careful notes of the stages.
'We hope that the organising committee will be more careful and strike about this point in the stages, last year we finished third in Qatar and we are hoping to do better this time.'
