The Oman Automobile Association (OAA) will host the Oman International Rally, opening round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC), on January 26th-28th, 2023.
The Sultanate boasts some of the smoothest and most challenging gravel stages anywhere, and the Oman event has been one of the region’s most popular since it arrived on the international scene in 1979, becoming a round of the inaugural MERC in 1984.
The 2023 rally runs under the chairmanship of Brigadier (Retd.) Salim Ali Khalifa Al-Maskiry and features 13 special stages over two legs. Chris Hodgson is the new Rally Director, working with Clerk of the Course Ahmed Al-Zadjali and his deputies Saud Al-Rawahi and Younis Al-Balushi.
Format
Administrative checks take place at rally headquarters on Wednesday evening (January 25th), with scrutineering on Thursday morning at the OAA. The ceremonial start and opening super special follow from 15.00hrs on Thursday afternoon.
Friday features two passes through the Al-Khoud, Jafnayn and Sa’al stages, split by a midday service and regroup, while Saturday uses two passes of Murayrat, Misfah and Mulinah.
The OAA hosts the prize-giving (17.30hrs) and post-event press conference (18.30hrs) on Saturday afternoon (January 28th) after two days of action on the surrounding gravel trails.
We are delighted to be hosting the opening round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship again in 2023. We invite drivers and teams from around the world to take up the challenge of racing on our country’s varied gravel and sandy stages.
Suleiman Al-Rawahi, OAA managing director
Past winners
Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah has been the most successful driver in Oman in recent seasons, with the Qatari defending regional champion collecting seven wins over 21 years between 2003 and 2022.
Current FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem also won the event seven times between 1986 and 1998, and Saeed Al-Hajri won three in a row (1983-1985).
The late Björn Waldegård (1988), Tony Georgiou (1992), Michel Saleh (1993), Khalid Al-Qassimi (2007), Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (not an MERC round, 2014) and Abdullah Al-Rawahi (2021) have each won once in more recent history.
Entries close on Wednesday, January 9th.