DEAD SEA (JORDAN): Nineteen-time FIA Middle East Rally Champion Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and his Spanish co-driver Candido Carrera will be aiming to extend their perfect winning start to the season with victory in this weekend’s Jordan Rally.

The fourth round of the regional rally series gets underway from the Royal Automobile Club of Jordan (RACJ) in Amman on Thursday evening. Spectators are welcome to attend from 18.00hrs with a display of drift and competition cars also on site before the ceremonial start gets underway at 19.15hrs.

Al-Attiyah and Carrera are chasing a fourth successive win this season after victories in Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. While Carrera chases a maiden regional rally title, Al-Attiyah will be hoping that a staggering 90^th MERC event win would also net him a record-breaking 17^th success in the Hashemite Kingdom and yet another win with an Autotek-run Škoda Fabia RS.

The Qatari arrived in Amman from South Africa, via a brief pit stop in Doha, and has been mentally preparing himself in Amman away from the punishing heat at the Dead Sea. The team carried out a brief shakedown test on Tuesday afternoon, although the Qatari is aware that he has strong competition over a dozen challenging gravel stages in the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea areas this weekend.

Al-Attiyah: “Jordan is like a second home for me. My first race was in Jordan in 1989, and we are still 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.

“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 setup, 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.

Candido is a professional co-driver, and I have known him for a long time. He doesn’t just co-drive; he does all the planning for every race. I have been surprised by his performance.”

Fresh from a strong result at the recent WRC Rally of Portugal, Rakan Al-Rashed will be hoping to build upon that experience to continue his push for a first ever MERC event win in a Toyota GR Yaris. The Saudi and his Portuguese co-driver Hugo Magalhāes picked up points for second place in Oman and Saudi Arabia and fourth in Qatar to hold second in the title race, albeit 31 points behind Al-Attiyah and Carrera.

Oman’s Abdullah Al-Rawahi won the event outright on his way to the regional title in 2023 and will also benefit from the experience of local co-driver Ata Al-Hmoud this weekend. Al-Rawahi is third in the Drivers’ Championship, with points for second place in Qatar being his best result of the season so far.

Al-Hmoud said, “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.

We have experience in Jordan. Hopefully, we can be at the top level of the game. The Dead Sea at this time of year is very hot. Weather conditions could be tough. 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.”

Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari is the defending regional champion and also won last year’s Jordan National Championship. The Qatari has enjoyed more seat time this season in rallies and cross-country events and showed with a pair of third-place finishes in Qatar and Saudi Arabia that his Citroën C3 is more than capable of challenging for the win.

Consistent finishes have lifted Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya into fourth in the points standings in his Ford Fiesta, although the Qatari veteran is also chasing glory in the inaugural FIA Master MERC Championship for Drivers. Three maximum points scores have given Al-Atya a 42-point cushion in that new championship.

Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez, Ihab Al-Shorafa, and Bassel Abu Hamdan complete the line-up of drivers in the Rally2 category in three Škoda Fabias.

The Omani duo of Zakariya Al-Aamri and Abdullah Al-Zubair are separated by 15 points in their current duel for FIA MERC2 honours. Both Subaru drivers are hoping to follow in the footsteps of last year’s champion Shaker Jweihan and lift the region’s secondary championship title, although Jweihan is one of several regional drivers aiming to stop the two Omanis running away with the title.

Jweihan said: “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 with the experience.”

Kuwait’s Jassim Al-Muqahwi, Lebanon’s Shadi Al-Fakih, and Palestine’s Hamada Uda are also chasing MERC2 honours.

The QMMF confirmed the late withdrawal of young Qatari Mohammed Al-Marri because of business commitments. But 21 cars are expected to attend pre-event scrutineering at the Dead Sea on Thursday morning, in addition to nine more solely eligible for the opening two rounds of the Jordan National Championship.

Rashid Al-Mohannadi has a commanding 45-point lead in the FIA MERC4 category. With Al-Marri’s absence this weekend, the Peugeot 208 driver faces resistance from Qatari academy rookie Saad Al-Harqan and Indian driver Payyaakkal ‘Saneem’ Panikkaveettil in his two-wheel drive Ford Fiesta.

The Jordanian duo of Shadi Shaban and Mohammed Al-Shorafa, and Lebanese Joanna Hassoun are also eligible to score MERC points in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IXs.

This year’s Jordan Rally is supported by Zain Jordan, Guarantee Travel Group, Hala and Bliss FM, Markazia and Toyota Gazoo Racing Jordan.

2025 Jordan Rally – updated entry list:

*denotes not registered for the MERC

2025 Jordan National Rally – updated entry list:

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Crews will tackle a dozen special stages and 196.30 competitive kilometres in the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley areas. The event will also count towards the new Junior and Master Championships for Drivers.

Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and Candido Carrera head the field after winning the opening three rounds of the season in Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. They will be aiming to defend a 31-point lead over Rakan Al-Rashed and Hugo Magalhães in their respective MERC Drivers’ and Co-drivers’ Championships. The record 16-time winner of the event lays trust in his Autotek Škoda Fabia RS Rally2.

A total of eight Rally2 machines grace the entry list: defending regional champion Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, the 2023 MERC champion Abdullah Al-Rawahi, Qatari Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya, Bassal Abu Hamdan, and the Jordanian duo of Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez and Ihab Al-Shorafa complete the list. Both local drivers have entered Škoda Fabias.

Oman’s Zakariya Al-Aamri and Abdullah Al-Zubair are currently locked in their battle for supremacy in the FIA MERC2 category in a pair of Subarus, and they head a list of seven crews aiming for showroom class honours.

Local knowledge may favour the defending regional champion Shaker Jweihan, while Kuwait’s Jassim Al-Muqahwi and Salem Al-Dhafeeri, Lebanon’s Shadi Al-Fakih, and Palestine’s Hamada Uda round off the MERC2 field. All five challengers to the front-running Omani duo wheel out Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Xs.

Qatari Rashid Al-Mohannadi has a commanding lead in the two-wheel drive FIA MERC4 category after three rounds. He faces competition from young Qatar Academy drivers, Mohammed Al-Marri and Saad Al-Harqan, and Indian driver Payyakkal Panikkaveettil (Ford Fiesta). All three Qataris drive French-built Peugeot 208s.

The local duo of Shadi Shaban and Mohammed Al-Shorafa and Lebanon’s Joanna Hasoun round off the entry in a trio of Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IXs. All but two of the 22 entrants are registered for the MERC.

This year’s event is supported by Zain Jordan, Guarantee Travel Group, Hala and Bliss FM, Markazia, and Toyota Gazoo Racing Jordan.

2025 Jordan Rally – entry list:

1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Candido Carrera (ESP)                                     Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2

2. Rakan Al-Rashed (KSA)/Hugo Magalhães (POR)                                                Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2

3. Abdullah Al-Rawahi (OMA)/Ata Al-Hmoud (JOR)                                              Škoda Fabia R5 Rally 2

4. Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Ziad Chehab (LBN)                                          Ford Fiesta Mk II Rally 2

5. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Lorcan Moore (IRL)                                                 Citroën C3 Rally 2

6. Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez (JOR)/Vili Oslaj (SLO)                                                     Škoda Fabia Rally 2

7. Ihab Al-Shurafa (JOR)/Ahmad Jankhout (JOR)                                                   Škoda Fabia Evo Rally 2

8. Bassel Abu Hamdan (KSA)/Firas Elias (LBN)                                                      Škoda Fabia R5 Rally 2

9. Abdullah Al-Zubair (OMA)/Taha Al-Zadjali (OMA)                                            Subaru Impreza N14

10. Shaker Jweihan (JOR)/Aisvydas Paliukenas (LTU)                                            Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

11. Jassim Al-Muqahwi (KUW)/Suleiman Al-Helal (KUW)                                     Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

12. Shadi El Fakih (LBN)/Joseph Kmeid (LBN)                                                        Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

13. Zakariya Al-Aamri (OMA)/Mohammed Al-Mazroui (OMA)                             Subaru Impreza N14

14. Salem Al-Dhafeeri (KUW)/Waleed Al-Dhafeeri (KUW)                                   Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X*       

15. Hamada Uda (PAL)/Mustafa Juma (JOR)                                                         Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X         

16. Rashid Al-Muhannadi (QAT)/Gary McElhinney (IRL)                                       Peugeot 208 Rally 4

17. Payyaakkal ‘Saneem’ Panikkaveettil (IND)/Musa Sherif (IND)                        Ford Fiesta Rally 4

18. Mohammed Al-Marri (QAT)/Giovanni Bernacchini (ITA)                                Peugeot 208 Rally 4

19. Saad Al-Harqan (QAT)/Pierre Delorme (FRA)                                                  Peugeot 208 Rally 4

20. Shadi Shaban (JOR)/Samer Issa (JOR)                                                              Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX (NAT)

21. Mohammed Al-Shorafa (JOR)/Yazan Juma (JOR)                                            Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX (NAT)*

21. Joanna Hassoun (LBN)/Sami Fleifel (JOR)                                                       Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX (NAT)

*denotes not registered for the MERC

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LUSAIL, QATRAR: The diminutive Italian Giovanni Bernacchini was officially confirmed as Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah’s co-driver during Tuesday’s administration checks for this weekend’s Qatar International Rally at the Lusail Sports Arena.

Twenty-three crews and competitors from 17 nations will take part in the opening round of the 2024 FIA Middle East Rally Championship.

Bernacchini replaces Andorra-based Mathieu Baumel, who has been a regular fixture alongside Al-Attiyah since the start of the 2015 season. Baumel cut his teeth in the FIA Middle East Rally Championship with Khalifa Al-Attiyah, Yazeed Al-Rajhi, and Abdullah Al-Kuwari. Together, he and Al-Attiyah won four Dakars, two W2RC titles, 30 MERC rallies, and nine regional FIA championships.

Fifty-year-old Bernacchini last competed with Al-Attiyah in 2014 and secured the fourth of his Qatar International Rally victories to add to wins in 2010, 2011, and 2013. In total, he has won 25 rallies in the MERC, a number equaled by Chris Patterson but still adrift of the record-holding Ronan Morgan (41) and Baumel (32). He will now co-drive for the Qatari on all five rounds of the regional rally series.

Al-Attiyah said: “It’s not a new challenge with Giovanni. He was with me for a long time and we won the championship together several times. This year I decided to have him again. For me, it was not working like what I wanted with Mathieu. Still, we have a good relationship and now he is free. I also have my decision for the next co-driver for the Dakar and cross-country (Edouard Boulanger).

At the moment I don’t know if we will do some more rallies. We will do the Middle East and, in the event of the sponsor Visit Qatar, I think they want to have three or four races in WRC, maybe WRC2. Maybe Portugal, Sardinia, Greece, basically the ones that I like. We will also be very busy with the new program of Dacia.

After several months with the cross-country car, this morning the car felt very slow. I did 30km of testing this morning and I adjusted myself and we changed a lot of things, just to be sure and to make a good start for the Qatar Rally.”

Bernacchini added: “It is a pleasure for me to come back after 10 years with Nasser. We won four times here together and I hope that this new adventure after 10 years can be as successful. It’s something that surprised me in a very good way but I hope our agreement can bring back the same victories. When I left Nasser, I still tried to win some races in the Middle East. Now I have the chance again. I hope to increase my number of victories.”

Bernacchini competed alongside Al-Attiyah’s cousin Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya last year in both the Oman and Qatar rallies and finished fifth and sixth overall. He has also co-driven in the region for Khalid Al-Suwaidi, Rashed Al-Ketbi, and Roger Feghali.

Several drivers, including Al-Attiyah and the trio of Mads Østberg, Pierre-Louis Loubet, and Mārtiņš Sesks (who are competing in Sports Racing Technology-run Skoda Fabia RS Rally2s) tested their cars in the desert to the north of Doha on Tuesday morning.

Loubet will be co-driven by Loris Pascaud this season in the WRC2 category of the FIA World Rally Championship. He and Pascaud, who has worked as an integral member of the Frenchman’s gravel crew for the last two seasons, will use the event in Qatar as an invaluable acclimatization exercise. After taking part in the Africa Eco Race at the start of January and claiming five stage wins in an Apache SSV, Loubet spent last weekend in the commentary box for Canal+ Sport at the Monte-Carlo Rally.

Sesks was testing at the helm of a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 in central Finland recently and Østberg was involved in testing for the recent Sigdalsrally in Norway. Both events were a far cry from the deserts of northern Qatar.

Tomorrow (Wednesday), competitors carry out a detailed reconnaissance of the dozen gravel stages that have been laid on by the QMMF through Qatar’s northern deserts.

The Waab Al-Mashrab stage is similar to 2023 but there have been minor changes to sections of both the Al-Waab and Umm Birka specials, with new tracks added into the middle part of both specials.

The Al-Khor stage features a new start section and will be run in the opposite direction to 2023, while the majority of the Ras Laffan and Al-Thakhira stages remain unchanged except for a new start and finish section for the Ras Laffan special and a short change near the end of Al-Thakira.

The 2024 Qatar International Rally gets underway from Lusail Boulevard at 19.00hrs on Thursday evening, before competitors tackle an exciting opening super special stage at the LCSC Karting Academy from 20.00hrs.

There is a chance of light rain on Thursday and blustery and less settled weather conditions on Friday and Saturday.

The post GIOVANNI BERNACCHINI REJOINS AL-ATTIYAH FOR NEW MERC SEASON appeared first on NRI News.

The QMMF has laid on a revised three-day format that offers 13 timed special stages and 199.95km competitive kilometers in a route of 622.49km. Scrutineering facilities will be based at the Lusail Sports Arena with media and administration based out of QMMF’s offices.

The pre-event press conference and ceremonial start will take place at Lusail Boulevard for the first time. Competitors will then tackle a floodlit 3.27km super special stage at the LCSC Karting Academy from 20.00hrs on Thursday evening.

Qatar’s demanding northern deserts will then host two days of frenetic action with two loops of three special stages scheduled for both Friday, February 2nd, and Saturday, February 3rd. One stage remains unchanged from 2023, another will be run in the opposite direction, and four feature minor tweaks for safety and sporting reasons.

The rally will be held under the chairmanship of QMMF President Abdulrahman Al-Mannai, senior committee member Abdulrazaq Al-Kuwari, and the QMMF’s Executive Director Amro Al-Hamad. Portugal’s Pedro Almeida will again work as the Clerk of the Course alongside his deputy Rashid Al-Sulaiti.

“We are delighted to be hosting the opening round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship this year,” said QMMF Executive Director Amro Al-Hamad. “Our event has consistently seen the strongest entry on any round of the championship, and we have seen some fantastic competition in the last couple of years. Our team has again laid on a challenging route, and I am sure that it will provide the perfect backdrop to the start of what we all hope will be an exciting season.“

Supplementary regulations and further details are available from www.qmmf.com, with first entries closing on Wednesday, January 3rd. A final cut-off date has been set for Wednesday, January 17th.

The QMMF has also announced a series of generous concessions for international and GCC competitors. International entrants will be given a $6,000 shipping allowance, with GCC teams receiving $3,000, subject to all vehicles passing scrutineering and administrative checks.

In addition, the QMMF will arrange economy class flight tickets for both driver and co-driver, once entry fees are paid, and supply one twin room with breakfast for five nights.

Start prizes will also be awarded: entrants who pass scrutineering and administrative checks and enter before the first cut-off date will receive QR 5000, and QR 4000 will be awarded to starters who enter after the early cut-off and before January 17th.

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