DEAD SEA, JORDAN – Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and Candido Carrera cruised to a comfortable win at the Jordan Rally on Saturday.
The Autotek Motorsport Škoda Fabia RS driver won all 12 special stages in the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley areas, repeating a clean sweep of stage wins he last achieved in 2016. On that occasion, the 20-time FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) champion won 19 stages and took victory by 18 minutes.
This time, his record-breaking 18th Jordan Rally win came by 3min 53.7sec, and it lifted him into a narrow championship lead.
92 MERC wins and new stage records
The Qatari now has 92 career MERC rally wins. Carrera claimed his seventh win in his second season alongside Al-Attiyah, drawing the Spaniard level on seven MERC victories with rally organiser and former co-driver Khaled Zakaria in the championship’s history books.
Having broken Abdullah Al-Rawahi’s record on the Baptism stage on Friday, Al-Attiyah lowered his own record on Suwayma by three seconds on Saturday morning.
Absolutely, it was a good weekend. I was really surprised. We did the same stages as last year and we were even faster. It means that our set-up is really good. We worked very hard this weekend to get the maximum points. It’s nice to win all 12 stages. There was pressure there but we need to enjoy this victory.
Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah
Al-Rawahi secure in second
Oman’s Abdullah Al-Rawahi and Ata Al-Hmoud were never under threat in second place in their Oman Rally Team Škoda Fabia RS. Running medium-compound tyres on Friday’s first three stages proved a mistake, and Al-Rawahi picked up a puncture on the first pass through Rawda on Saturday. Apart from that, he followed Al-Attiyah from the start to collect valuable points.
Jordan is always a tough rally, especially because we are at the lowest point on earth. Let’s not forget that. It’s always hot. It’s not always easy with long stages and a lot of corners when it is very slippery. We tried to push but I gained a lot of experience from this rally so we can come back and do better next time.
Abdullah Al-Rawahi
Bakhashab overcomes punctures for podium
Saudi Arabia’s Hamza Bakhashab, in his first full MERC season in a Jameel Motorsport-supported Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, recovered from a five-minute loss caused by a double puncture on stage nine to complete the podium with Irish co-driver Lorcan Moore and stay firmly in the title fight.
I am so happy for this result. It has been a nice and very enjoyable rally. There were a lot of ups and downs and the last stage was very difficult. Yesterday was clean and the pace was good. Rawda was amazing. The first one we had two front punctures and the second one we had a rear-right puncture and the car was sliding all stage long.
Hamza Bakhashab
Power Stage drama for Abu Hamdan
Saudi Arabia’s Bassel Abu Hamdan grew more comfortable in his Volkswagen Polo as the rally went on and looked set for fourth with Firas Elias until the final Power Stage at Rawda. Damaged front-left suspension cost him three minutes there, and he was beaten to fourth by the Škoda of Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez and Joseph Matar by just 3.1 seconds.
Heartbreak for Jweihan
Shaker Jweihan‘s bid for a third straight maximum MERC2 score ended after stage eight. Well clear of his class rivals, the Jordanian had been fighting Abu Hamdan for fourth overall with Mustafa Juma in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, the pair swapping places on the first two stages of the day, but he retired before the first run through Rawda.
We were going really good and then, suddenly, we lost the turbo and the oil pressure in the car and it ended there. We are getting zero points now!
Shaker Jweihan
The rest of the field
Jordanians Shadi Shaban and Samer Issa finished strongly, climbing to sixth in their Mitsubishi, while Mohammed Al-Shorafa and Samer Sfeir took seventh in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX.
Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya and Ziad Chehab put a brake-troubled first day behind them and found a better rhythm on the final day in their Motortune Ford Fiesta. As rivals hit trouble, the current MERC Master Driver leader kept going and was rewarded with eighth overall.
Palestine’s Hamadeh Uda and Zeid Abu Zeid lost a couple of minutes on Saturday’s first stage in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X and dropped two places. They recovered to seventh before another delay on the final stage pushed them down to ninth. Uda won the NR4 class, although neither Shaban nor Uda was registered for MERC points.
Oman’s Zakariya Al-Aamri and Mohammed Al-Mazroui completed the top 10 in a Subaru Impreza and scored maximum MERC2 points.
The first pass through Rawda turned the Rally4 battle upside down. Mohammed Al-Marri retired from seventh with terminal mechanical problems, briefly handing the Rally4 lead to Qatari team-mate Rashid Al-Muhannadi, but he too hit trouble on the demanding stage and both QMMF Peugeot 208s were out. Al-Muhannadi had already lost seven minutes on an earlier stage and dropped to the bottom of the order.
Issa and Daoud Abu Jamous finished 11th in their Mitsubishi. Farah Zakaria and Dolyne Schlink rolled their Can-Am Maverick X3 on stage eight, losing 28 minutes, and finished 12th, the last of the FIA crews. Jordan’s Sami Fleifel and Ameer Nassif missed out on valuable MERC2 points with a retirement on the final stage, and Lebanon’s Shadi El-Fakih retired his Renault Clio RS on the morning’s first stage after restarting under Rally2 rules.
Al-Rawahi wins national round three
Al-Rawahi and Al-Hmoud dominated round three of the Jordan National Rally Championship, held over the day’s six stages. They finished well clear of Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez and Abu Hamdan, who took second and third. Fadi Dahshan and Asem Aref retired early, while Shaban and Al-Shorafa completed the top five.
The regional rally series continues in Lebanon on September 11th-13th.
Jordan Rally 2026: final positions after SS12 (unofficial)
- 1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT) / Candido Carrera (ESP), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 – 2hr 14min 26.1sec
- 2. Abdullah Al-Rawahi (OMA) / Ata Al-Hmoud (JOR), Škoda Fabia R5 – 2hr 18min 19.8sec
- 3. Hamza Bakhashab (KSA) / Lorcan Moore (IRL), Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – 2hr 27min 01.0sec
- 4. Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez (JOR) / Joseph Matar (LBN), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 – 2hr 34min 25.2sec
- 5. Bassel Abu Hamdan (KSA) / Firas Elias (LBN), Volkswagen Polo Rally2 – 2hr 34min 18.3sec
- 6. Shadi Shaban (JOR) / Samer Issa (JOR), Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX* – 2hr 42min 21.4sec
- 7. Mohammed Al-Shorafa (JOR) / Samer Sfeir (LBN), Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX – 2hr 44min 33.7sec
- 8. Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya (QAT) / Ziad Chehab (LBN), Ford Fiesta Mk II Rally2 – 2hr 44min 38.1sec
- 9. Hamadeh Uda (PLE) / Zeid Abu Zeid (JOR), Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X* – 2hr 49min 07.7sec
- 10. Zakariya Al-Aamri (OMA) / Mohammed Al-Mazroui (OMA), Subaru Impreza N14 – 2hr 53min 11.1sec
- 11. Issa Abu Jamous (JOR) / Daoud Abu Jamous (JOR), Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX – 2hr 55min 39.4sec
- 12. Farah Zakaria (JOR) / Dolyne Schlink (LBN), Can-Am Maverick X3 – 3hr 32min 18.0sec
- Retired: Sami Fleifel (SS12), Rashid Al-Muhannadi (SS9), Mohammed Al-Marri (SS9), Shaker Jweihan (SS8), Shadi El Fakih (SS7)
*Not registered for the MERC.
Jordan National Rally round 3: top five (unofficial)
- 1. Abdullah Al-Rawahi / Ata Al-Hmoud, Škoda Fabia R5 – 2hr 18min 19.8sec
- 2. Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez / Joseph Matar, Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 – 2hr 34min 25.2sec
- 3. Bassel Abu Hamdan / Firas Elias, Volkswagen Polo Rally2 – 2hr 34min 18.3sec
- 4. Shadi Shaban / Samer Issa, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX – 2hr 42min 21.4sec
- 5. Mohammed Al-Shorafa / Samer Sfeir, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX – 2hr 44min 33.7sec