Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and French co-driver Matthieu Baumel set the fastest time of 3min 25.6sec on the opening 3.55km super special stage of the Oman International Rally, round one of the 2020 FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC), on Thursday afternoon.
After the ceremonial start at the Oman Automobile Association, crews tackled the first FIA stage in Oman for five years before the action moves to the famous winding gravel trails of the Al-Hajar mountains on Friday and Saturday.
Al-Attiyah took his Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 to a 5.9-second overnight lead, with Oman’s Abdullah Al-Ruwahi, partnered by Jordanian navigator Ata Al-Hmoud, second on his first outing in a Ford Fiesta R5.
Kuwait’s Meshari Al-Thefiri carried his recent MERC 2 dominance into the new season, setting the third-fastest time to lead the showroom section in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X. He and Irish co-driver Derek O’Brien were 10.9 seconds ahead of Oman’s Zakariya Al-Ofi, second in MERC 2 and fifth overall behind fourth-placed Qatari Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah and Italian co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini.
Lebanese pair Henry Kahy and Rony Maroun began the defence of Kahy’s title solidly, leading the two-wheel-drive section in their Škoda Fabia. Kuwait’s Jassim Al-Muqahwi was last of the international field after a jump-start penalty.
Zakariya Al-Amri was fastest in the National Rally, which ran before the FIA crews. The Omani clocked 3min 57sec in his Subaru Impreza STi to lead Ghaith Al-Qassimi by 8.7 seconds overnight.
After scrutineering, 11 crews started the FIA event and seven were allowed into the National Rally.
Friday
Crews face two loops of three special stages on Friday (February 7th), starting with the first run through the 19.20km Al-Misfah stage at 09.59hrs. The 16.1km Saal stage follows at 10.32hrs, then Madinat Al-Irfan (11.6km) from 11.20hrs. The stages are repeated in the afternoon.