Champion Nasser al Attiyah won his third MERC rally championship this year after Oman and Qatar rallies, when he added Saudi International rally tittle to his treasure, the third round of the Middle East Rally Championship, after finishing the two-day race in first place, followed by Saudi Rakan al Rashed in second place, then Qatari Abdulaziz al Kuwari who gained the third place, meanwhile our young champion Abdullah al Rawahi finished fourth.
Abdullah al Zubair and his navigator Taha Soomar snatched the title of the (N) category, Zakaria al Amri and his co-driver Mohammed al Mazrui came in third place behind the Lebanese Shadi al Faqih.
The rally, which returned to the Middle East calendar after a long absence, was described as a difficult and arduous rally, especially the first day’s stages. Three of the six stages were cancelled due various reasons, including safety issues and technical reasons. On the following day, six stages were held, and Al Attiyah was able to exchange the lead with the Finn, Juho Heinenen.
Omani rally driver Abdullah al Rawahi and his British co-driver Whittack tried to make up for their first-day deficit by putting in a strong race pace on the second day and more pressure, closing the gap to the leaders, especially in the final stages. However, this proved to be of little help, as he finished fourth in the Middle East Championship drivers' standings.
Abdullah al Zubair after finishing the rally confirmed that, “My thanks to my assistant Taha Soomar, the technical team and everyone who stood behind us in this race and supported us. This race was really tiring for everyone and seven competitors left the rally due to various breakdowns. We initially set a clear strategy and our goal was to win the category lead.”
Abdullah al Rawahi suffered from tire explosions on the first day and fell behind, however, he used his speed on the second day to improve his position and finished the race in fourth place, hoping to achieve a better result in the next race at the end of the month in the fourth round of the championship in Jordan.
On the other side, Zakaria al Amri explained that the stages were difficult and resulted in many tire blowouts, but he was pleased to have earned the additional points and third place in the category in this rally and hopes to deliver a better race in Jordan.
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