DEAD SEA, JORDAN – Nineteen-time FIA Middle East Rally Champion Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and Spanish co-driver Candido Carrera aim to keep their perfect 2025 record going at this weekend’s Jordan Rally.
Round four of the regional series starts from the Royal Automobile Club of Jordan (RACJ) in Amman on Thursday evening. Spectators are welcome from 18:00, with drift and competition cars on display before the ceremonial start at 19:15.
A fourth win in a row?
After wins in Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Al-Attiyah and Carrera are chasing a fourth straight victory. Carrera is after a first regional title, while Al-Attiyah hopes a 90th MERC win would also be a record 17th in Jordan – and another for the Autotek-run Škoda Fabia RS.
The Qatari flew into Amman from South Africa via a brief stop in Doha and has been preparing away from the extreme heat of the Dead Sea. The team ran a short shakedown test on Tuesday afternoon, though he expects strong opposition over a dozen tough gravel stages in the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea areas.
Jordan is like a second home for me. My first race was in Jordan in 1989 and still we are coming to race here. We have seen from the recce that the organisers have done an amazing job. I will try my best to win the race again.
Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah
We started the season well with the new Fabia. We tested on Tuesday and it was a useful test. We changed a few things on the set-up but we had a good base to build on from last year. This is my favourite rally but we need to be clever. It’s going to be hot and maybe some people will struggle.
Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah
Candido is a really professional co-driver and I have known him a long time. He doesn’t just co-drive, he does all the plans for every race. I have been surprised about his performance.
Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah
The challengers
Fresh from a strong showing at the WRC Rally of Portugal, Rakan Al-Rashed wants a first MERC win in his Toyota GR Yaris. With Hugo Magalhães, the Saudi took second in Oman and Saudi Arabia and fourth in Qatar, and sits second in the standings, 31 points behind Al-Attiyah and Carrera.
Oman’s Abdullah Al-Rawahi won the event outright on his way to the 2023 title and is joined this weekend by experienced local co-driver Ata Al-Hmoud. He is third in the championship, with second in Qatar his best result so far this year.
We have one target and that is to win the rally. It will not be easy, especially with Nasser in the Škoda RS and Rakan with his Toyota Yaris and Abdulaziz with the Citroën.
Ata Al-Hmoud
We have the experience in Jordan. Hopefully, we can be the top level of the game. The Dead Sea at this time of year is very hot. Weather conditions could be a tough one. I missed Jeddah (Rally Saudi Arabia) because my wife delivered two babies, two young angels, a baby girl and a baby boy. Now I have a bigger family. We will do our best to win this event.
Ata Al-Hmoud
Defending champion Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, also last year’s Jordan national champion, has had more seat time this season, and two third places in Qatar and Saudi Arabia show his Citroën C3 can fight for victory.
Consistency has lifted Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya to fourth overall in his Ford Fiesta; three maximum scores give him a 42-point lead in the new FIA Master MERC Championship. Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez, Ihab Al-Shorafa and Bassel Abu Hamdan complete the Rally2 line-up in three Škoda Fabias.
MERC2 and MERC4
Omani Subaru drivers Zakariya Al-Aamri and Abdullah Al-Zubair are 15 points apart in the MERC2 fight, both hoping to follow last year’s champion Shaker Jweihan – who is among several drivers trying to stop the Omanis running away with it.
A new stage and it’s the first of the rally. This is a long and important one. I think whoever succeeds there will carry that on throughout the rally. The car feels good and the preparations have gone well. We will see how this rally goes and how the other guys (Zakariya and Abdullah) fit in. We will look at the results and carry on for the experience.
Shaker Jweihan
Kuwait’s Jassim Al-Muqahwi, Lebanon’s Shadi El Fakih and Palestine’s Hamada Uda also contest MERC2.
The QMMF confirmed young Qatari Mohammed Al-Marri’s late withdrawal due to business commitments, but 21 cars are expected at scrutineering on Thursday morning at the Dead Sea, plus nine more eligible only for the first two rounds of the Jordan National Championship.
Rashid Al-Mohannadi leads MERC4 by 45 points. With Al-Marri absent, the Peugeot 208 driver faces Qatari academy rookie Saad Al-Harqan and India’s Payyaakkal ‘Saneem’ Panikkaveettil in a two-wheel-drive Ford Fiesta. Jordan’s Shadi Shaban and Mohammed Al-Shorafa, and Lebanon’s Joanna Hassoun, can also score MERC points in Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IXs.
Leading entries
- Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT) / Candido Carrera (ESP) – Škoda Fabia RS Rally2
- Rakan Al-Rashed (KSA) / Hugo Magalhães (POR) – Toyota GR Yaris Rally2
- Abdullah Al-Rawahi (OMA) / Ata Al-Hmoud (JOR) – Škoda Fabia R5 Rally2
- Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya (QAT) / Ziad Chehab (LBN) – Ford Fiesta Mk II Rally2
- Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT) / Lorcan Moore (IRL) – Citroën C3 Rally2
- Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez (JOR) / Vili Oslaj (SLO) – Škoda Fabia Rally2
- Ihab Al-Shurafa (JOR) / Ahmad Jankhout (JOR) – Škoda Fabia Evo Rally2
- Bassel Abu Hamdan (KSA) / Firas Elias (LBN) – Škoda Fabia R5 Rally2
- Abdullah Al-Zubair (OMA) / Taha Al-Zadjali (OMA) – Subaru Impreza N14
- Shaker Jweihan (JOR) / Aisvydas Paliukenas (LTU) – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
- Shadi El Fakih (LBN) / Joseph Kmeid (LBN) – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
- Joanna Hassoun (LBN) / Sami Fleifel (JOR) – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX