Wednesday 22 / January / 2025
SOHAR: The Oman International Rally kickstarts another season of Middle East rallying when it gets underway from the Sohar Entertainment Centre (SEC) on Thursday afternoon.
Organised by the Oman Automobile Association (OAA), the opening round of the 2025 FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) has attracted a field of 16 teams and competitors from nine countries, in addition to six crews competing in the Oman National Championship.
The event is being run under the chairmanship of Brigadier Jamal Said Al-Tai, organising panel member Suleiman Al-Rawahi and Rally Director Anwar Al-Zadjali. Three recent Middle East champions head a star-studded regional field, who will tackle 13 special stages and 232.39 competitive kilometres over the coming three days.
The MERC event has moved to the Al-Batinah North Governorate and the city of Sohar for the first time, although a national event did stages in the region 12 years ago. All six gravel stages to the west of Sohar are brand new but have not lost the legendary fast and flowing nature of the stunning terrain on offer in the Sultanate.
As Chris Hodgson, the Chairman of the Organising Committee, explained: “This is a completely new route but it is very typically Oman, with wadis, hills and loose gravel. The stages are located half way between Muscat and Dubai. Sohar is the main shipping centre for Oman and, perhaps, the fastest growing city in the country.
“The stages may look easy but they aren’t. There are a lot of places that could catch people out. In places, it is quite narrow and punctures are always a risk out there. We are the Oman Automobile Association and not the Muscat Automobile Association and we wanted to take the sport to the people.
“The Sohar Municipality have been massively supportive and have done everything they can to make it happen. We have worked closely with them and called upon their support for the supply of around 2,500 tonnes of recycled gravel for stage grading.”
Top seed Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari finished his first ever Dakar Rally in fourth place in the Challenger category last week, but the defending regional champion will need to revert to special stage mode quickly this weekend. He wheels out a QMMF-backed Citroën C3 and has recruited the services of Irish co-driver Lorcan Moore.
Likewise, Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah took part in the recent Dakar Rally and finished fourth with his French navigator Edouard Boulanger. The pair retain their partnership for the Qatari’s quest for a record eighth win in Oman in an Autotek Motorsport-run Škoda Fabia RS. Boulanger is making his MERC debut.
Oman’s Abdullah Al-Rawahi and his Jordanian co-driver Ata-Hmoud are also running an Autotek Škoda, as the local hero and 2023 regional champion attempts to complete a hat-trick of wins on his home rally.
The QMMF has also supported an entry for Rashed Al-Muhannadi and he runs a Peugeot 208 Rally 4 with backing from the Qatar Motorsports Academy. Irishman Gary Mcelhinney has competed in countries as diverse as the USA, Spain, Tanzania, Zambia and Barbados and will read the pace notes for the Qatari for the first time.
Rakan Al-Rashed is one of the leading rally drivers in the Middle East but has carved his recent reputation away from the MERC. The 35-year-old Saudi teams up with Portugal’s Hugo Magalhães in a new Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2, as he tries to upset the regular contenders in the series on his return to regional action. In 2024, the duo tackled rallies in Sweden, Portugal, Finland and Latvia and won the Finnish Jari-Pekka Ralli outright in their Printsport Toyota.
A fifth Rally 2 machine will be in the hands of Qatari veteran Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya and his Lebanese co-driver Ziad Chebab.
Six teams will be chasing MERC2 honours in a fleet of Subarus and Mitsubishis. The Jordanian duo of Shadi Shaban and Issa Al-Shorafa lead the way against Oman’s Abdullah Al-Zubair and Zakariya Al-Aamri, Lebanon’s Ahmad Khaled and India’s Mohamed Mansoor Parol.
Shadi El Fakih wheels out last year’s MERC5-winning Renault Clio and Rally 4 competition for Al-Muhannadi comes from the Indian pairing of Payyaakkal Panikkaveettil and Musa Sherif in their Ford Fiesta.
There are also a pair of eligible T4 Can-Ams in the field for Saudi Arabia’s Ibrahim Al
Muhanna and Yosra Jazzar.
Neither Hamza Bakhashab nor Issa Abu Jamous registered for the pre-event reconnaissance sessions, although they were present on the original entry list.
Tomorrow (Thursday), the official pre-event press conference (15.00hrs) precedes the ceremonial start at the Sohar Entertainment Centre (15.30hrs). The start will take place indoors for the first time under the giant dome on site. Competitors will then tackle the opening 2.55km Super Special stage, starting at 16.43hrs.
2025 Oman International Rally – updated entry list:
1. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Lorcan Moore (IRL) Citroën C3 Rally 2
2. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Edouard Boulanger (FRA) Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2
3. Abdullah Al-Rawahi (OMN)/Ata Al-Hmoud (JOR) Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2
4. Rashid Al-Muhannadi (QAT)/Gary McElhinney (IRL) Peugeot 208 Rally 4
5. Rakan Al-Rashed (SAU)/Hugo Magalhães (PRT) Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2
6. Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya (QAT)/Ziad Chehab (LEB) Ford Fiesta Mk II Rally 2
7. Shadi Shaban (JOR)/Samer Issa (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
8. Ihab Al-Shurafa (JOR)/Ahmad Jankout (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
10. Abdullah Al-Zubair (OMN)/Taha Al-Zadjali (OMN) Subaru Impreza
11. Ahmad Khaled (LEB)/ Samer Sfeir (LEB) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
12. Zakariya Al-Aamri (OMN)/Mohammed Al-Mazroui (OMN) Subaru Impreza
14. Shadi El Fakih (LBN)/Joseph Kmeid (LBN) Renault Clio Rally 5
15. Mohamed Mansoor Parol (IND)/Joseph Lenin (IND) Subaru Impreza
16. Payyaakkal Panikkaveettil (IND)/Musa Sherif (IND) Ford Fiesta Rally 4
17. Ibrahim Al-Muhanna (SAU)/Faisal Al-Suwayh (SAU) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T4)
18. Yosra Jazzar (SAU)/TBA Can-Am Maverick X3 (T4)
2025 Oman Rally Championship – entry list:
101. Haitham Al-Zadjali (OMN)/TBA Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII
102. Zakariya Al-Ofi (OMN)/Ammar Al-Balushi (OMN) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
103. Salim Al-Tauqi (OMN)/Issa Al-Wardi (OMN) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII
104. Bashar Al-Qassmi (OMN)/Bassam Al-Qassmi (OMN) Toyota Yaris
105. Mus’ab Al-Zadjali (OMN)/Nasr Al-Qassmi (OMN) Kia Rio
106. Muhanna Al-Salmi )OMN)/Saif Al-Hinai (OMN) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII
