Al-Attiyah and Carrera Dominate to Win the Saudi Rally
Supported by Jameel Motorsport in Jeddah
Qatari driver Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah, alongside his Spanish co-driver Candido Carrera, achieved a commanding victory at the Saudi Rally—supported by Jameel Motorsport—held in Jeddah as part of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC).
Al-Attiyah won five of the six gravel stages held on Saturday north of the Red Sea city of Jeddah, setting a new record by securing his 89th win in the MERC. He is now on course to claim his 20th championship title in the regional series. Although he lost valuable time due to a puncture in one of his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 tires during the second stage of the final day, he came back strong and secured his third consecutive win in the current season with Carrera.
Al-Attiyah commented:
“Thank God, this is a beautiful win. I must thank the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Sports, the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation, and especially HRH Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal.”
He added:
“Frankly, we’ve missed having this rally for a long time. Saudi Arabia’s return to the MERC is vital, especially with it also hosting a round of the World Rally Championship in November. I aim to participate in that WRC round, God willing.”
“The organization was excellent. The routes were technically challenging, but the rally was very successful with it being hosted in Jeddah for the first time. I’m sure the federation will work on developing it further, and we are ready to support them by providing a full report on what can be improved to develop motorsports.”
Hänninen Collects Data, Finishes Second
Finnish driver Juho Hänninen, with co-driver Janni Hussi, competed in a Toyota GR Yaris as part of a test program to collect data for Toyota Gazoo Racing ahead of the WRC. They won two stages and finished second, although they were not eligible for MERC points.
Hänninen said:
“The performance was good, and I’m happy with the result. We managed to complete all the challenging stages and gathered plenty of useful data. It was a fun journey for me.”
He added:
“Nasser is currently the master of Middle East rallying. I knew it wouldn’t be easy to compete with him. Our priority was not the result, but collecting as much information as possible—which we achieved.”
Podium Completed by Rakan Al-Rashed
Saudi driver Rakan Al-Rashed, with his Portuguese co-driver Hugo Magalhães, took third place in a Toyota GR Yaris, earning valuable points in his chase of Al-Attiyah with three rounds remaining this season.
Qatari driver Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, who had climbed to third with Irish co-driver Lorcan Moore, dropped to fourth after a puncture cost him precious minutes in the final morning stages. Omani driver Abdullah Al-Rawahi and British co-driver Ross Whittock finished fifth after suffering three punctures on day one, which heavily impacted their overall result.
Category Highlights
Hamzah Bakhashab from Saudi Arabia moved from cross-country rallies to MERC, finishing sixth in the Side-by-Side (SSV) category with co-driver Marcin Pasik in a Can-Am Maverick R.
Veteran Qatari Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah finished seventh and is chasing the Masters Category title.
Oman’s Abdullah Al-Zubair dominated the MERC 2 category in a Subaru Impreza, entering a tight title race with fellow Omani driver Zakaria Al-Amri.
Lebanon’s Basel Abu Hamdan returned to competition, finishing ninth, while Qatar’s Rashid Al-Muhannadi rounded out the top 10 and won the MERC 4 class in a Peugeot 208.
Morning Stages Summary
Saturday’s stages were held in:
Al-Ghawla (11.70 km)
Asfan (26.55 km)
Dhahban (8.46 km)
22 competitors started the opening stage of the day, including Qataris Saad Al-Harqan and Mohammed Al-Marri, who rejoined after retiring on Day 1.
Al-Attiyah aimed to widen the gap to Hänninen and succeeded by clocking the fastest time, pushing the lead to 41.8 seconds. Al-Kuwari briefly overtook Al-Rashed for third place, but Al-Rashed reclaimed the position after Al-Kuwari lost three minutes due to another puncture.
Midday Service Update
Al-Attiyah finished the first Dhahban stage as the fastest again and returned to the service park in Jeddah Corniche with a 23.6-second lead over Hänninen.
“I really enjoyed the three morning stages. I had a puncture at the start of stage eight but decided to keep pushing without stopping. Stopping would’ve cost me the rally. We had rear-right damage but didn’t lose much time,” said Al-Attiyah.
Al-Rashed said:
“The morning was tough. The first stage went well, but we had a puncture in the second. It was one of the most exciting stages of the rally. Then we had another puncture in the next stage.”
Al-Kuwari added:
“We started well, posted the second-fastest time in Stage 1, and led the first section of Stage 2. But then we had a puncture, stopped to change it, and lost valuable time.”
Afternoon Repeat and Final Push
The three morning stages were repeated in the afternoon. Al-Attiyah lost a few seconds in Al-Ghawla but still beat Hänninen by 19.6 seconds, extending his lead to 43.2 seconds.
Hänninen confirmed that the focus remained on data collection and testing car setups for Toyota’s WRC prep.
Al-Attiyah set the fastest time again in Special Stage 11, pushing his lead to 55.5 seconds ahead of the final power stage. Al-Kuwari lost a minute but held fourth place after Al-Rawahi lost two minutes due to tire problems. Jordan’s Badr Al-Fayez retired near the end of the stage.
Organizers and Upcoming Rounds
The rally was hosted by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation in collaboration with Saudi Motorsports Company, chaired by HRH Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal, under FIA supervision. This round serves as a qualifier for Saudi Arabia’s WRC round in November, supported by the Ministry of Sports.
The next round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship will be held in Jordan from May 29 to 31, 2025.
Provisional Results – Saudi Rally 2025
Position Driver / Co-driver Car Time
1 Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) / Candido Carrera (ESP) Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 1:34:05.5
2 Juho Hänninen (FIN) / Janni Hussi (FIN) Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 1:35:42.9*
3 Rakan Al-Rashed (KSA) / Hugo Magalhães (POR) Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 1:39:08.9
4 Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT) / Lorcan Moore (IRL) Citroën C3 Rally2 1:40:06.4
5 Abdullah Al-Rawahi (OMA) / Ross Whittock (UK) Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 1:43:11.8
6 Hamzah Bakhashab (KSA) / Marcin Pasik (POL) Can-Am Maverick R (SSV) 1:47:11.7
7 Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah (QAT) / Ziad Shehab (LBN) Ford Fiesta Rally2 1:49:56.9
8 Abdullah Al-Zubair (OMA) / Taha Al-Zadjali (OMA) Subaru Impreza WRX STI 1:55:18.9
9 Basel Abu Hamdan (LBN) / Firas Elias (LBN) Škoda Fabia Rally2 2:00:43.5
10 Rashid Al-Muhannadi (QAT) / Gary McElhinney (IRL) Peugeot 208 Rally4 2:02:18.0
*Hänninen was not eligible for MERC points
