DEAD SEA, JORDAN – The Jordan Rally gets underway from the HoverUp Park on the shores of the Dead Sea at 7pm on Thursday evening.
Seventeen crews from 10 nations are entered for the third round of the 2026 FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC), and they will be joined by 21 teams registered for points in two national rallies running on Friday and Saturday. Every competitor will tackle a dozen special stages in the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea areas, covering 196.80 competitive kilometres in a total route of 557.11km.
Al-Attiyah the top seed
Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah, a 20-time regional champion, is the top seed. Partnered by Spanish co-driver Candido Carrera, he wants to climb the standings after winning in Oman and suffering a surprise retirement on home soil in Qatar. Fourth in the championship in his Autotek Motorsport Škoda Fabia RS, he is chasing an unprecedented 18th Jordan Rally win since 2003.
Five Rally2 rivals will try to stop him on the dry, dusty Jordanian stages, where draining heat can quickly take its toll on drivers and cars at the lowest place on earth.
Bakhashab keeps exceeding expectations
Saudi Arabia’s Hamza Bakhashab continues to impress in his first full MERC season. The 22-year-old from Jeddah fought back from suspension damage on the first day in Oman in January to collect valuable points, then produced a career-best MERC result in Qatar by finishing second overall behind Al-Attiyah.
Those results with Irish co-driver Lorcan Moore in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 have earned him 42 points, just five behind championship leader Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya and his Lebanese co-driver Ziad Chehab, who have two podiums in their Motortune Ford Fiesta. Bakhashab is also aiming to follow his father Abdullah, who won the regional Drivers’ Championship in 1995.
Qatar was an important result for us and gave me and the whole team a lot of confidence. Every rally in MERC is a learning experience for me and Jordan will be another big challenge. The championship is very competitive this season, so the priority is to stay consistent, keep improving and score strong points.
Hamza Bakhashab
Al-Rawahi needs a strong score
Oman’s Abdullah Al-Rawahi won the Jordan Rally for the first time in 2023 and followed Al-Attiyah home in Oman in January to take second place. Like his rival, he retired in Qatar and needs a good haul of points to revive his bid for a second regional title. He again partners local co-driver Ata Al-Hmoud in an Oman Rally Team Škoda Fabia RS.
Local star Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez missed round two after engine problems at the season opener in Oman. He returns with Lebanese co-driver Joseph Matar in a third Škoda, while Bassel Abu Hamdan and Firas Elias complete the Rally2 field in a Volkswagen Polo.
MERC2, Rally4 and the rest of the field
Jordan’s Shaker Jweihan has dominated FIA MERC2 this year and is targeting a hattrick of class wins with Mustafa Juma in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. He also capitalised on a puncture for Bakhashab to win the recent Jordan national rally. His MERC2 rivals are Oman’s Zakariya Al-Aamri (Subaru), already 36 points behind, and Jordan’s Sami Fleifel (Mitsubishi).
Engine trouble wrecked the start of the season for Qatar’s Rashid Al-Muhannadi and Mohammed Al-Marri, who drive Sarrazin-run Peugeot 208 Rally4s entered by the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF). Both are yet to score after two rounds and are joined this time by co-drivers Szymon Gospodarczyk and Pierre Delorme.
Lebanon’s Shadi El-Fakih is chasing a third maximum score of the season in FIA MERC4 in his Renault Clio RS. Jordan’s Farah Zakaria, with Lebanon’s Dolyne Schlink, is registered for the championship in a Can-Am Maverick X3 in the SSV section.
Jordanians Shadi Shaban and Issa Abu Jamous drive two Mitsubishis, while Mohammed Al-Shorafa partners Lebanon’s Samer Sfeir in a third Mitsubishi and is registered for MERC points. Palestine’s Hamadeh Uda completes the field in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X with Jordanian co-driver Zeid Abu Zeid, but is not registered for the MERC.
Jordan National Rally Championship
Eleven of the 21 entries in rounds two and three of the Jordan National Rally Championship are also registered for the FIA event. Al-Rawahi is top seed in the national series, with Rally2 opposition from Al-Fayez and Abu Hamdan. Other entrants include Nancy Al-Majali, Fadi Dahshan, Sader Abu Jamous, Bader Al-Helalat and Ala Daabes in five Mitsubishis, Hashem Kalbouneh, Saif Al-Shaikh and Asem Aref in Subarus, plus Karim Badawi (Suzuki) and Yara Takriti (Can-Am).
The route
The rally is again based at the Mövenpick Resort and Spa Dead Sea. A new 4.83km Shakedown starts the action on Thursday. Friday’s revised schedule features two passes through Shuna (15.25km), Baptism (11.24km) and Ma’in (16.87km), with a midday service and regroup at the Dead Sea. Saturday brings two runs through Panorama (16.95km), Suwayma (11.12km) and Rawda (26.97km), before the ceremonial finish at the HoverUp Park from 18.30hrs.
2026 Jordan Rally entry list
- 1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT) / Candido Carrera (ESP) – Škoda Fabia RS Rally2
- 2. Abdullah Al-Rawahi (OMA) / Ata Al-Hmoud (JOR) – Škoda Fabia R5
- 3. Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez (JOR) / Joseph Matar (LBN) – Škoda Fabia RS Rally2
- 4. Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya (QAT) / Ziad Chehab (LBN) – Ford Fiesta Mk II Rally2
- 5. Hamza Bakhashab (KSA) / Lorcan Moore (IRL) – Toyota GR Yaris Rally2
- 6. Bassel Abu Hamdan (KSA) / Firas Elias (LBN) – Volkswagen Polo Rally2*
- 7. Shaker Jweihan (JOR) / Mustafa Juma (JOR) – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
- 8. Zakariya Al-Aamri (OMA) / Mohammed Al-Mazroui (OMA) – Subaru Impreza N14
- 9. Shadi Shaban (JOR) / Samer Issa (JOR) – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX*
- 10. Mohammed Al-Marri (QAT) / Pierre Delorme (FRA) – Peugeot 208 Rally4
- 11. Rashid Al-Muhannadi (QAT) / Szymon Gospodarczyk (POL) – Peugeot 208 Rally4
- 12. Mohammed Al-Shorafa (JOR) / Samer Sfeir (LBN) – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
- 13. Sami Fleifel (JOR) / Ameer Nassif (JOR) – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
- 14. Issa Abu Jamous (JOR) / Daoud Abu Jamous (JOR) – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX*
- 15. Shadi El Fakih (LBN) / Joseph Kmeid (LBN) – Renault Clio RS Rally5
- 16. Hamadeh Uda (PAL) / Zeid Abu Zeid (JOR) – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X*
- 17. Farah Zakaria (JOR) / Dolyne Schlink (LBN) – Can-Am Maverick X3
*Not registered for the MERC.
FIA MERC standings after round 2
- 1. Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya (QAT) – 47pts
- 2. Hamza Bakhashab (KSA) – 42pts
- 3. Shaker Jweihan (JOR) – 41pts
- 4. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT) – 35pts
- 5. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT) – 35pts
- 6. Abdullah Al-Rawahi (OMN) – 28pts
- 7. Jassim Al-Muqahwi (KUW) – 24pts
- 8. Shadi El Fakih (LBN) – 18pts
- 9. Christiano Gabbarrini (ITA) – 17pts
- 10. Zakariya Al-Aamri (OMN) – 16pts