Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah stormed to a comfortable victory in the 29th Oman International Rally on Saturday.
Partnered by Spanish navigator Candido Carrera who sealed his sixth MERC victory alongside the Qatari Al Attiyah won 10 of the event’s 13 gravel stages on his way to a 92nd career MERC win and a record-breaking ninth success in Oman to follow his sensational sixth Dakar Rally success just seven days ago.
His Autotek Škoda Fabia RS suffered three slow punctures during the course of the three-day Sohar-based opening round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) through the awe inspiring Al Hajar Mountains. But time-consuming flat tyres for his Omani rival Abdullah al Rawahi gave Al Attiyah a winning margin of 2min 08.8sec.
Al Attiyah said, “Another record. I hope there will be a lot of records. We are very happy to be here in Oman and to help the Middle East Championship and to continue. We did a great race without any mistakes. We saved the tyres on the first two stages this afternoon to push on the Power Stage.”
A delighted Carrera added, “I am happy with this win. Every time here we win, only missing in Lebanon last year. The feeling with Nasser is amazing. I loved this rally and I really like these stages. It was a very good week and a good start to the year.”
Al Rawahi and his Jordanian co driver Ata Al Hmoud won the third, 11th and 12th stages and pushed Al Attiyah close on several other speed tests, despite the two time event winner being out of the sport for over half a year through injury. Three costly punctures ruined the Omani’s challenge but he managed to finish as runner-up.
Al Rawahi said, “I think we had a good pace. We didn’t have much time to prepare for the new car and, coming back from injury, I wasn’t quite ready. I didn’t want to miss this rally. I’m quite disappointed to lose time with punctures but we can be satisfied with the comeback.”
Veteran Nasser bin Khalifa al Atya is attempting to defend his FIA MERC Master Driver title. He and co-driver Ziad Chehab got their campaign off to the perfect start with the final place on the podium in a Motortune Ford Fiesta.
Jordan’s Shaker Jweihan and Mustafa Juma finished fourth and dominated the MERC2 category in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. They finished 11min 16.5sec in front of the fifth placed Kuwaiti crew of Jassim al Muqahwi and Sulaiman al Helal.
The Jordanian pairing of Sami Fleifel and Ibrahim Ali was sixth and second of the registered MERC2 crews. Mohammed al Shorafa and Yazan Juma completed all 13 stages to earn seventh.
Hamza Bakhashab returned to action under the Rally2 ruling on Saturday. He and his Irish team mate Lorcan Moore set competitive times on the final day after crashing and breaking the suspension on the Toyota GR Yaris on Friday. The Saudi said,“The goal was to finish and learn as much as possible. It was a nice rally. The stages were amazing. A lot of very high speed and technical, a mix of both. It was a very good opportunity to learn here.”
Shadi El Fakih had suffered fuel pump problems on the opening super special, missed the rest of the opening leg and returned with Joseph Kmeid in his Renault Clio to make the finish in a distant ninth.
Overnight leader Zakariya al Aufi stopped in the first stage of the morning and his demise lifted Saif al Harthy into the lead in the Oman National Rally. The Can Am Maverick driver held on to earn a flattering winning margin of 7min 07.sec over Salim Al Touqi’s Mitsubishi. Fahad al Balushi rounded off the podium finishers in a Can Am.
The event ran with invaluable support from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, the Al Batinah North Governorate and Toyota Oman.
Action in the MERC resumes with the Qatar International Rally on February 4th to 7th.
2026 Oman International Rally – positions after SS13:
1. Nasser bin Saleh al Attiyah (QAT)/Candido Carrera (ESP) Škoda Fabia RS Rally 21hr 55min 41.1sec
2. Abdullah al Rawahi (OMA)/Ata Al Hmoud (JOR) Škoda Fabia RS Rally 21hr 57min 49.9sec
3. Nasser bin Khalifa al Atya (QAT)/Ziad Chehab (LBN) Ford Fiesta Mk II Rally 22hr 14min 53.2sec
4. Shaker Jweihan (JOR)/Mustafa Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X2hr 17min 22.8sec
5. Jassim al Muqahwi (KUW)/Sulaiman Al Helal (KUW) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X2hr 28min 39.3sec
6. Sami Fleifel (JOR)/Ibrahim Ali (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo2hr 33min 32.0sec
7. Mohammed al Shorafa (JOR)/Yazan Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX2hr 57min 50.9sec
8. Hamza Bakhashab (KSA)/Lorcan Moore (IRL) Toyota GR Yaris Rally 23hr 02min 09.4sec
9. Shadi El Fakih (LBN)/Joseph Kmeid (LBN) Renault Clio Rally 53hr 40min 02.8sec
Zakariya al Aamri (OMA)/Mohammed al Mazroui (OMA) Subaru Impreza WRX STiRETIRED – after SS10
2026 Oman National Rally – positions after SS13 (SS7 cancelled):
1. Saif al Harthy (OMA)/Saif al Hinai (OMA) Can Am Maverick2hr 13min 06.0sec
2. Salim al Tauqi (OMA)/Issa al Wardi (OMA) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII2hr 20min 13.5sec
3. Fahad al Balushi (OMA)/Jaber al Siyabi (OMA) Can Am Maverick2hr 21min 08.3sec
4. Emad al Balushi (OMA)/Harib al Maymani (OMA) Can Am Maverick2hr 25min 35.3sec
5. Hafidh al Naamani (OMA)/Mohamed al Sawafi (OMA) Can Am Maverick2hr 59min 38.7sec
6. Bashar al Qassmi (OMA)/Nasr al Qassmi (OMA) Toyota Yaris3hr 03min 01.3sec
Ghaith al Qassmi (OMA)/Bassam al Qassmi (OMA) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIIIRETIRED – after SS12
Musab al Zadjali (OMA)/Sultan al Battashi (OMA) Kia RioRETIRED – after SS12
Mohammed al Harthy (OMA)/Ahmed al Mamari (OMA) Can Am MaverickRETIRED – after SS10
Zakariya al Aufi (OMA)/Ammar al Balushi (OMA) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IXRETIRED – SS8
Hamood al Tauqi (OMA)/Hazza al Touqi (OMA) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIIIRETIRED – before SS8
Haitham Soomar (OMA)/Taha al Zadjali (OMA) Toyota YarisRETIRED – before SS8
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