Al attiyah record-breaking at Oman International Rally
Published: 05:01 PM,Jan 25,2025 | EDITED : 09:01 PM,Jan 25,2025
Nasser Saleh al Attiyah in action on Saturday at the
SUHAR: Nasser Saleh al Attiyah and his new Spanish co-driver Candido Carrera cruised to an emphatic 6 min 13.6 sec victory in the 28th Oman International Rally on Saturday.
The Qatari secured a record-breaking eighth win in the Sultanate of Oman in his Škoda Fabia RS and a staggering 87th career victory in the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) with a seventh different co-driver. He won nine of the 13 special stages, including the Power Stage finale.
Al Attiyah said: “It has been a very good weekend. I am still tired from Dakar. We enjoyed this a lot, the new location for Oman Rally. New co-driver and we have a new car this year and it has been a good start. We decide to go flat out on the Power Stage and we had a really good time. I am happy.”
Rakan al Rashed returned to the series in impressive style by taking second overall with Portugal’s Hugo Magalhães in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2. The Saudi overcame a couple of flat tyres on Friday’s opening stage and measured his pace well once Abdulaziz al Kuwari had blotted his copybook on the last stage of the first day.
Qatar’s Nasser Khalifa al Attiyah and his Lebanese co-driver Ziad Chehab went largely under the radar to deliver a polished performance to snatch the final place on the podium in their Ford Fiesta. The result marked a perfect start to the veteran’s quest to win the maiden MERC Masters Cup.
Defending regional champion Abdulaziz al Kuwari overcame a seventh stage accident and the resultant 10-minute penalty to retain third at the start of the final day in his QMMF-backed Citroën C3. But the luckless Qatari ground to a halt with suspension issues on the penultimate stage. Irishman Lorcan Moore performed well on the pace notes.
Saudi Arabia’s Ibrahim Al Muhanna (Can-Am) finished seventh and Abdullah al Rawahi and Ata al Hmoud benefited from four fastest times and late bad luck for some rivals to lift themselves into an unlikely eighth in the second Autotek Škoda after a cruel retirement on the first stage on Friday morning.
Shadi El Fakih (Renault), Yosra Jazzar (Can-Am) and Zakariya al Aamri (Subaru) rounded off the FIA finishers in ninth, 10th and 11th positions after India’s Saneem Payyakkal and Musa Sherif stopped in the penultimate stage.
Jordan’s Ihab a Shorafa and Ahmad Jankout were on course for seventh until the gearbox expired on their Mitsubishi after SS12.
Zakariya al Ofi claimed victory in the Oman National Championship event with his co-driver Mutasim al Balushi.
The MERC resumes in Qatar on February 6th-8th.
2025 Oman International Rally — positions after SS13 (unofficial @17.00hrs):
1. Nasser Saleh al Attiyah (QAT) 2hr 12min 27.3sec
2. Rakan al Rashed (SAU) 2hr 18min 40.9sec
3. Nasser Khalifa al Attiyah (QAT) 2hr 36min 32.9sec
4. Rashid al Muhannadi (QAT) 2hr 45min 51.5sec
5. Shadi Shaban (JOR) 2hr 48min 06.7sec
6. Abdullah al Zubair (OMN) 2hr 52min 30.6sec
2025 Oman National Rally – positions after SS13:
1. Zakariya al Ofi (OMN) 2hr 46min 48.8sec
2. Salim al Tauqi (OMN) 3hr 14min 22.8sec
3. Haitham al Zadjali (OMN) 3hr 30min 17.3sec
4. Bashar al Qassmi (OMN) 4hr 04min 57.8sec
Mus’ab al Zadjali (OMN) RETIRED — SS9
The Qatari secured a record-breaking eighth win in the Sultanate of Oman in his Škoda Fabia RS and a staggering 87th career victory in the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) with a seventh different co-driver. He won nine of the 13 special stages, including the Power Stage finale.
Al Attiyah said: “It has been a very good weekend. I am still tired from Dakar. We enjoyed this a lot, the new location for Oman Rally. New co-driver and we have a new car this year and it has been a good start. We decide to go flat out on the Power Stage and we had a really good time. I am happy.”
Rakan al Rashed returned to the series in impressive style by taking second overall with Portugal’s Hugo Magalhães in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2. The Saudi overcame a couple of flat tyres on Friday’s opening stage and measured his pace well once Abdulaziz al Kuwari had blotted his copybook on the last stage of the first day.
Qatar’s Nasser Khalifa al Attiyah and his Lebanese co-driver Ziad Chehab went largely under the radar to deliver a polished performance to snatch the final place on the podium in their Ford Fiesta. The result marked a perfect start to the veteran’s quest to win the maiden MERC Masters Cup.
Defending regional champion Abdulaziz al Kuwari overcame a seventh stage accident and the resultant 10-minute penalty to retain third at the start of the final day in his QMMF-backed Citroën C3. But the luckless Qatari ground to a halt with suspension issues on the penultimate stage. Irishman Lorcan Moore performed well on the pace notes.
Saudi Arabia’s Ibrahim Al Muhanna (Can-Am) finished seventh and Abdullah al Rawahi and Ata al Hmoud benefited from four fastest times and late bad luck for some rivals to lift themselves into an unlikely eighth in the second Autotek Škoda after a cruel retirement on the first stage on Friday morning.
Shadi El Fakih (Renault), Yosra Jazzar (Can-Am) and Zakariya al Aamri (Subaru) rounded off the FIA finishers in ninth, 10th and 11th positions after India’s Saneem Payyakkal and Musa Sherif stopped in the penultimate stage.
Jordan’s Ihab a Shorafa and Ahmad Jankout were on course for seventh until the gearbox expired on their Mitsubishi after SS12.
Zakariya al Ofi claimed victory in the Oman National Championship event with his co-driver Mutasim al Balushi.
The MERC resumes in Qatar on February 6th-8th.
2025 Oman International Rally — positions after SS13 (unofficial @17.00hrs):
1. Nasser Saleh al Attiyah (QAT) 2hr 12min 27.3sec
2. Rakan al Rashed (SAU) 2hr 18min 40.9sec
3. Nasser Khalifa al Attiyah (QAT) 2hr 36min 32.9sec
4. Rashid al Muhannadi (QAT) 2hr 45min 51.5sec
5. Shadi Shaban (JOR) 2hr 48min 06.7sec
6. Abdullah al Zubair (OMN) 2hr 52min 30.6sec
2025 Oman National Rally – positions after SS13:
1. Zakariya al Ofi (OMN) 2hr 46min 48.8sec
2. Salim al Tauqi (OMN) 3hr 14min 22.8sec
3. Haitham al Zadjali (OMN) 3hr 30min 17.3sec
4. Bashar al Qassmi (OMN) 4hr 04min 57.8sec
Mus’ab al Zadjali (OMN) RETIRED — SS9