Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah, winner of a record 17 FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) titles, heads the entry for Oman Rally Sohar International 2021, the final round of the regional series, next weekend (December 2nd-4th).
The six-time Oman winner partners regular French co-driver Matthieu Baumel (a two-time winner) before travelling to Saudi Arabia to try to add the 2021 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies to the 17th regional title he secured in an Autotek Motorsport Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 when the fifth round in Kuwait was cancelled earlier this month.
Al-Attiyah faces 11 FIA rivals, plus 11 more drivers contesting rounds two and three of the Oman Rally Championship, running directly behind the FIA field.
The challengers
Talented young Omani Abdullah Al-Ruwahi and experienced Qatari Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya are the top seed’s main rivals. Al-Ruwahi, runner-up to Al-Attiyah in 2020, again partners Jordan’s Ata Al-Hmoud in a Škoda Fabia Evo, while Al-Atya drives a Ford Fiesta with Giovanni Bernacchini.
Kuwait’s Meshari Al-Thefiri has dominated MERC2 for showroom Group NR4 cars in recent years and leads seven Mitsubishis and Subarus into the class battle. Opposition comes from Oman’s Zakariya Al-Aufi, Zakariya Al-Amry, Jarah Al-Touqi and Faisal Al-Rashdi, Lebanon’s Ahmad Khaled and Jordan’s Ihab Al-Shorafa.
Lebanon’s Henry Kahy again partners Carlos Hanna in a Škoda Fabia in the two-wheel-drive MERC3 class, and Jordan’s Asem Aref completes the international field in his Renault Clio RS.
Schedule and history
The service park and rally offices open on Monday, with recce of the fast, flowing gravel stages on Tuesday and Wednesday. Organised by the Oman Automobile Association, the rally starts from the seafront at Al-Qurm at 18.00hrs on Thursday, followed by 12 stages and 215.10 competitive kilometres in a 629.21km route on Friday and Saturday.
The Oman International Rally is one of the oldest motorsport events in the Middle East, dating back to 1979, when Sweden’s Harry Kallström and Claes Billstam won in a Datsun 160 J/SSS.
It joined the first FISA Middle East Rally Championship in 1984, when Qatar’s Saeed Al-Hajri and Britain’s John Spiller won in a Porsche 911 SC RS.
Defending champion Al-Attiyah has six Oman wins, while Dubai legend Mohammed Ben Sulayem holds the record of seven between 1986 and 1998. The rally only returned to the MERC calendar at the start of 2020 after a four-year absence.