SUHAR: Nasser Saleh al Attiyah and Candido Carrera surged into the lead of the 29th Oman International Rally after the opening 2.52 km Suhar super special stage, which was held in dry and breezy conditions close to the Suhar Entertainment Centre on Thursday afternoon.
The Skoda Fabia RS crew stopped the clocks in 2min 30.7sec to take a lead of 8.1 seconds into the night halt. Local hero Abdullah al Rawahi and his Jordanian co-driver Ata al Hmoud were second quickest in a Skoda Fabia RS. Hamza Bakhashab and Lorcan Moore rounded off the top three in a Toyota GR Yaris.
Several competitors attended the afternoon’s pre-event press conference before crossing the start podium to kick start another season’s action in the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (Merc).
Al Rawahi has only driven around 100 km since his nasty accident in Lebanon last summer but the former regional champion is looking forward to his return. “Coming back from injury after the crash in Lebanon. It was a very bad one but I think I’m quite recovered. I didn’t want to miss this rally. It’s very important to me. It’s my home event.
“I’m not sure we are 100 per cent prepared. The car only arrived a week ago. We weren’t sure if we were going to participate or not. Now it’s here and I am very excited to be back. Let’s see how it goes. Last year we had good pace. We will try to do the same and push to at least win a few stages.”
Jordan’s Shaker Jweihan and Mustafa Juma headed the FIA Merc 2 runners in fourth overall in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX.
Defending FIA Merc Master Driver champion Nasser Khalifa al Atya finished the opening Suhar stage in fifth position. The Qatari said: “The stages are going to be very smooth. We were stretching on the shakedown this morning, just to build the pace. The car was good. We checked the brakes and the suspension and now we are looking forward to the real stages on Friday.”
Bakhashab survived a late scare after a transportation delay for his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 from Saudi Arabia. He was granted a late scrutineering slot on Thursday morning and was cautious on the opening stage as a result of the delayed arrival of further spare parts.
Rashid al Muhannadi got the better of his QMMF team-mate Mohammed al Marri to lead the Rally4 category in 10th place.
Lebanon’s Shadi El Fakih made a disappointing start in his little Renault Clio and lost around seven minutes with suspected fuel feed issues in the stage.
Zakariya al Aufi and Ammar al Balushi were the early leaders of the 13-strong Oman National Rally in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX.
The event is running with invaluable support from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, the Al Batinah North Governorate and Toyota Oman.
On Friday, competitors face two passes through three stages. Ar Rusays (15.69 km) opens proceedings at 09.13 hrs and precedes runs through Ar Rassah (19.22 km) and Al Uwaynah (13.99 km) from 09.56 hrs and 10.39 hrs.
The three speed tests will be repeated at 13.18 hrs, 14.01 hrs and 14.44 hrs after a return to Suhar for a late morning regroup and service.
2026 Oman International Rally – positions after SS1
1. Nasser Saleh al Attiyah (QAT)/Candido Carrera (ESP) Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2 — 2min 30.7sec
2. Abdullah al Rawahi (OMA)/Ata al Hmoud (JOR) Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2 — 2min 38.8sec
3. Hamza Bakhashab (KSA)/Lorcan Moore (IRL) Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2 — 2min 47.3sec
4. Shaker Jweihan (JOR)/Mustafa Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X — 2min 51.0sec
5. Nasser Khalifa al Atya (QAT)/Ziad Chehab (LBN) Ford Fiesta Mk II Rally 2 — 2min 53.5sec
6. Ihab al Shurafa (JOR)/Ahmad Jankout (JOR) Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2 — 2min 57.1sec
7. Mohammed al Shorafa (JOR)/Yazan Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX — 2min 59.1sec
8. Zakariya al Aamri (OMA)/Mohammed al Mazroui (OMA) Subaru Impreza WRX Sti — 3min 01.4sec
9. Jassim al Muqahwi (KUW)/Sulaiman al Helal (KUW) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X — 3min 04.5sec
10. Rashid al Muhannadi (QAT)/Gary McElhinney (IRL) Peugeot 208 Rally 4 — 3min 07.4sec
2026 Oman National Rally – positions after SS1
1. Zakariya al Aufi (OMA)/Ammar al Balushi (OMA) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX — 2min 54.6sec
2. Fahad al Balushi (OMA)/Jaber al Siyabi (OMA) Can-Am Maverick — 3min 02.1sec
3. Ghaith al Qasmi (OMA)/Bassam al Qasmi (OMA) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII — 3min 02.5sec
4. Saif al Harthy (OMA)/Saif al Hinai (OMA) Can-Am Maverick — 3min 02.8sec
5. Hafidh al Numani (OMA)/Mohammed al Sawafi (OMA) Can-Am Maverick — 3min 04.6sec
6. Salim al Touqi (OMA)/Issa al Wardi (OMA) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII — 3min 06.7sec
7. Emad al Balushi (OMA)/Harib al Maymani (OMA) Can-Am Maverick — 3min 14.3sec
8. Hamood al Touqi (OMA)/Hazza al Touqi (OMA) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII — 3min 14.4sec
9. Mohammed al Harthy (OMA)/Ahmed al Maamari (OMA) Can-Am Maverick — 3min 23.0sec
10. Musaab al Zadjali (OMA)/Sultan al Battashi (OMA) Kia Rio — 3min 25.5sec
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
