Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah built a huge 8min 32.1sec lead after Friday’s opening leg of six tough Jordan Rally stages, run in punishing heat that thinned the field.
The Qatari and Andorra-based co-driver Matthieu Baumel were never troubled and could manage their pace after building a comfortable lead on the first loop of three stages around the Dead Sea and Mount Nebo.
It was a good morning. We tried to push the first two stages. The other driver have some problems, punctures, but it is not an easy rally even for the experienced drivers. We know these nice roads. We have a good lead and now we try to manage.
Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah
The second loop was good. It was not easy and a lot of big rocks on the second stage. We managed without any problems. Now we just need to finish.
Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah
Kuwait’s Meshari Al-Thefiri was the Volkswagen Polo GTi driver’s closest rival and holds second in his Mitsubishi Lancer with a 40.8-second MERC2 lead.
Alex Feghali, son of 14-time Rally of Lebanon winner Roger, was third overall and second in MERC2 after a morning fight with Oman’s Abdullah Al-Rawahi, and closed on Al-Thefiri during the day.
The second loop was much better for us. We gained 15 seconds on Meshari. We have some problems with the diff, but we will push tomorrow and try and get second.
Alex Feghali
Al-Rawahi retired with engine trouble after overheating at the end of the first loop.
We had a puncture on the rear on the first stage, and then another one on the longer second one. It was really tough. I guess the rubber from the tyre cut a bit of the pipe on the radiator and we got a bit of a leak. The car over heated but we only knew after the third stage. It stopped. We managed to get back to service but the compression was low on the engine and we could not continue.
Abdullah Al-Rawahi
Leading Jordanian Shadi Sheban was fourth overall and won round one of the Jordan National Rally Championship, with round two on Saturday’s stages. Lebanon’s Shadi El-Fakih was fifth in his Mitsubishi, and Qatar’s Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya overcame two costly punctures and heat exhaustion to hold sixth in a Ford Fiesta.
After engine problems stopped defending champion Henry Kahy, local driver Asem Aref changed strategy to protect his Renault Clio RS and led MERC3 in eighth.
It was really difficult the second time around. More stones, so we had to be very slow. We were two minutes slower than the morning.
Asem Aref
Saudi Arabia’s Saleh Al-Saif started carefully on co-driver Feisal Al-Suwayh’s first rally and was fifth in his T4 Can-Am Maverick X3 before retiring after a ditch accident broke a drive shaft on SS5. Ahmad Khaled also retired on stage five with engine damage, while local driver Ihab Al-Shorafa was seventh in his Mitsubishi.
Friday as it happened
As expected, Al-Attiyah was fastest on all three stages of the first loop. He beat Al-Thefiri by 45.2 seconds on the short Syagha stage and stretched his lead to 3min 24.9sec on the first run through the new Adasiyah stage, where his rival had a puncture and lost turbo boost in the heat. He finished the loop 3min 46sec ahead.
Young Al-Rawahi and Feghali fought over third and fourth, half a second apart after three stages.
All okay so far. The second stage we had some brake problems. First time for me in the Evo X and second time doing the rally. It’s a great experience for me.
Alex Feghali
Henry Kahy retired his two-wheel-drive Škoda with engine trouble after the first stage, handing the MERC3 lead to Asem Aref. Al-Atya lost nine minutes on the second stage and fell to 10th, with both he and Al-Rawahi’s Jordanian navigator Ata Al-Hmoud suffering in the heat.
The temperature is too high for us. We started good, but the set-up was not good and the car was sliding a lot in the stages. After a puncture, we dropped back a little bit and really suffered with the temperature. It was almost more than 60 (°C) in the car and to change a tyre in this heat was really terrible. My cousin Nasser (Al-Attiyah) support me with some liquid.
Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya
Ihab Al-Shourafa dropped to last on stage three after getting stuck, but continued with help from Al-Saif.
Al-Rawahi led the Jordan National Rally from Shaban. Of 11 eligible cars, Khaled Juma was the first retirement and Ziad Miqdad also dropped out.
The second stage we had problem in the fuel, a linkage in the fuel tank.
Khaled Juma, third-fastest national driver after the first stage
Al-Attiyah extended his lead to 4min 33.5sec on SS4, but Al-Rawahi’s podium bid ended before the stage with overheating, also costing him the chance of winning round one of the National Championship. The leader was 23 seconds quicker on his second run through the long stage, which ended the rally for Al-Saif and Ahmad Khaled, then fifth and seventh. Amjad Al-Anasweh and Sami Fleifel also dropped out of the national section, as Al-Attiyah won SS6 to sweep every stage.
The event is supported by Zain Jordan, Guarantee Travel Group and Nestlé Waters Jordan.
Saturday
Crews face two runs through the punishing Jordan River (31.57km) and Joufeh (26.01km) stages before the ceremonial finish and post-event press conference by the Dead Sea.