AMMAN, JORDAN – The Jordan Rally, one of the most iconic events on the FIA calendar, starts with a press conference (18:15) and ceremonial start (18:45) at the Dead Sea on Thursday evening.
Round three of the 2023 FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) has drawn 25 crews from seven nations, with 19 also registered for round two of the Jordan Rally Championship. Clerk of the Course George Khoury confirmed a route similar to 2022, with minor changes to the middle of the 40.79km Jordan River stage and a new short 3.48km Dead Sea stage on Friday afternoon. The 13 stages total 208.04 competitive kilometres in a 589.85km route.
Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and Andorra-based co-driver Mathieu Baumel have won the last seven Jordan Rallies since 2015 (2020 was cancelled). Al-Attiyah has a record 15 wins in Jordan and 83 MERC wins since 2003, and Baumel has 31 regional wins, making them clear favourites.
Oman’s Abdullah Al-Rawahi and Jordanian co-driver Ata Al-Hmoud won their home event in January for a second time, but retirement in Qatar left Al-Rawahi joint second in the standings in his Škoda Fabia R5.
Kuwait’s Meshari Al-Thefiri is level with Al-Rawahi after a podium in Oman and points in Qatar, and leads MERC2 by 15 points after two class wins. His co-driver Nasser Al-Kuwari is tied second among co-drivers with Giovanni Bernacchini.
MERC2
Sixteen MERC2 entrants include 15-time Rally of Lebanon winner Roger Feghali and Joseph Matar in their Motortune Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X. His son Alex finished second here in 2022; Roger and Al-Attiyah have won two each of their last four asphalt battles in Lebanon.
Kuwait’s Yousef Al-Dhafeeri and Jordan’s Shadi Shaban are Al-Thefiri’s nearest MERC2 rivals. Jordanian challengers include Shaker Jweihan, Issa Abu Jamous, Ameer Nassif, Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez, Fadi Darshan, Sami Fleifel, Ihab Al-Shorafa and young Mustafa Al-Atari. Jweihan and Al-Dhafeeri were second and third in Oman, Al-Dhafeeri second in Qatar and Al-Shorafa third there. Palestine’s Hamada Odeh, Lebanon’s Ahmad Khaled, Kuwait’s Salem Al-Dhafeeri and Oman’s Zakariya Al-Aamri complete the MERC2 list.
National-only entrants Feisal Al-Ghammaz and Nancy Al-Majali (Mitsubishi), Ibrahim Al-Ali and Asem Aref (Subaru), Hashem Kalbouneh (Black Iris), Ghaith Qubti (Range Rover) and Ziad Miqdad (Renault) run behind the FIA field.