MERC – Local star Al-Rawahi wins opening round at Oman Rally for the second time

Czech Petr Kačirek held off Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah to finish second. Kuwait’s Meshari Al-Thefiri sealed MERC2 victory with fourth overall.

The Oman Rally Team’s Abdullah Al-Rawahi and Jordanian co-driver Ata Al-Hmoud clinched victory in the Oman International Rally for the second time in three years on Saturday.

After pre-event favourite Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah crashed on the opening super special stage, Al-Rawahi hit the front on the first of a dozen gravel stages in the Sultanate of Oman and stayed clear of major trouble, punctures aside, to guide his Škoda Fabia Evo to victory by the margin of 6min 35.6sec. The feat meant the Omani became one of only 15 drivers ever to win more than one round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC).

“It was a great feeling to win my home rally for the first time two years ago and to do it again is very special,” said Al-Rawahi. “This is a perfect start to the championship for us and I would like to thank Ata for his efforts and the team for giving me such a strong car on what was a difficult rally.”

The fastest time on the final stage enabled Petr Kačirek and Petra Řiháková to see off a late challenge from Al-Attiyah for second overall and the Czech crew duly sealed the runner-up spot in their Duck Racing Škoda Fabia.

Al-Attiyah and Andorra-based co-driver Mathieu Baumel won 11 of the 13 special stages, but the costly error on the first stage damaged the Volkswagen Golf’s radiator and a subsequent time penalty for a seat belt infringement meant the task was ultimately too much for the Qatari to challenge for the win.

Al-Attiyah reached the finish at the Muscat Drift Arena in third overall to keep the defence of his regional title firmly on track. He may well have caught Kačirek and snatched second had he not suffered a rear right puncture and driven 17km on the shredding tyre to the finish of the final stage. With Kačirek not being registered for the MERC, Al-Attiyah earned points for being the second registered competitor.

“After what happened on Thursday, I suppose I am happy enough with the result,” said Al-Attiyah. “But I am disappointed to have the puncture on the last stage when second place was achievable. That’s rallying. I drove for 17km on a rear right puncture.”

Meshari Al-Thefiri and his Qatari co-driver Nasser Al-Kuwari were passed by Al-Attiyah on the afternoon’s loop of stages but the Kuwaiti managed to finish fourth overall and confirm victory in the MERC2 category in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X. He had led the event outright on Thursday evening after winning the opening super special stage.

Al-Attiyah’s cousin Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya teamed up with Giovanni Bernacchini to round off the top five in a Ford Fiesta R5, while the Jordanian duo of Shaker Jweihan and female co-driver Nancy Al-Majali finished sixth and second in MERC2.

Kuwait’s Yousef Al-Dhefiri overhauled Jordan’s Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez to claim seventh overall and third in the showroom category.

Jordanian Ihab Al-Shorafa was deprived of a finish after stopping in the final stage.  The Mitsubishi driver’s demise lifted fellow countryman Shadi Shaban into ninth place and Lebanon’s Ahmad Khaled rounded off the top 10. The Omani crew of Abdullah Al-Zubair and Taha Soomar were the last of the finishers in 11^th.  

Ghaith Al-Qasmi and Ahmed Salim sealed victory in the day’s round of the Oman National Championship. The Mitsubishi crew beat Faisal and Yaqdhan Al-Rashdi by 2min 15.8sec. Mutasim and Nofel Al-Balushi came home in third place.

The previous day’s winners, Issa Abu Jamous and Yazan Juma, missed out on second place after shedding time in the 12^th stage.  The Jordanian crew finished fourth, well clear of fifth-placed Abdullah Al-Toqi and his Austrian co-driver Ilka Minor.

With the exception of Haitham Al-Zadjali, nine national entrants began the one-day round of the Oman National Championship. Salim Al-Toqi and Saif Al-Harthy fell by the wayside after the eighth stage and Mohammed Al-Mazroui retired his Yamaha on stage nine. Musab Soomar was the next retirement on SS11.

Action in the regional rally series continues in Qatar on February 16^th-18^th.

2023 Oman International Rally – positions after SS13: