· Al-Rawahi and Al-Kuwari in second and third; Al-Zubair on top in MERC2
DEAD SEA (JORDAN): Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and his Spanish co-driver Candido Carrera became embroiled in a fascinating battle for supremacy with Oman’s Abdullah Al-Rawahi and his Jordanian co-driver Ata Al-Hmoud on the first six stages of the Jordan Rally on Friday.
Al-Rawahi led by 0.8 seconds after the morning’s loop of three speed tests in the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley areas but Al-Attiyah was able to benefit from a cleaning stage surface in the afternoon and set-up changes on his Autotek-run Škoda Fabia RS to snatch a 13.5-second overnight advantage.
Al-Attiyah: “It was very interesting. It was hard today to push all the time because of tyre damage on the long one. We knew if we pushed, we would destroy the tyres for the last two stages. The rhythm was good but we had a little high temperature. There could be a problem with the radiator cooling but we change it now. I am quite happy to have a lead. Abdullah is doing an amazing job. We need to be smart to win this race.”
Al-Rawahi, who had a slow puncture at the end of the fourth stage, said: “I think this rally overall is very tough and it is not easy to challenge Nasser over these stages. He has won it (Jordan) 16 times. Being just behind him and able to take some time, I am above happy. Tomorrow, is another day. We must also remember that I have an older car. I think we should be happy with the result today. I think we are on the limit. I don’t think we can push any harder and we don’t want mistakes.”
The two drivers were the class of the field with Al-Rawahi also winning the opening round of the Jordan National Championship. Qatar’s Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari and his Irish co-driver Lorcan Moore were a distant third in their Citroën C3.
Al-Kuwari said: “It was a tough day. We tried our best but it was not our day. There is a big gap behind me. We will try to change some things on the car to make it more driveable. We were not as fast as Nasser and Abdullah. Let’s see, we have one more day here.”
Teams and officials were visited by H.R.H. Prince Feisal Al-Hussein, Chairman of Jordan Motorsport, and his daughter Princess Sarah bint Feisal at the Dead Sea service park after three stages. His young sons, H.R.H Prince Abdullah Ibn Feisal and H.R.H. Mohammed Ibn Feisal, were also present.
Rakan Al-Rashed and his Portuguese co-driver Hugo Magalhāes overcame a couple of time delays to hold a solid fourth place in their Jameel Motorsport Toyota GR Yaris.
Lebanese driver Bassel Abu Hamdan held fifth in his Škoda Fabia and Oman’s Abdullah Al-Zubair was the class of the MERC2 field in a fine sixth position in his Subaru Impreza
Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya was well on course for another strong finish in his Ford Fiesta, as the seventh-placed Qatari chased FIA MERC Master Driver points. Shadi Shaban was eighth and finished second in the opening round of the Jordan National Championship behind Al-Rawahi.
Oman’s Zakariya Al-Aamri kept up the pressure on Al-Zubair in ninth and local driver Ihab Al-Shorafa rounded off the top 10. 11th-placed Rashid Al-Mohannadi remains on course to win the FIA MERC4 category in his Peugeot 208 with two rounds to spare.
Friday - as is happened
Tal Hilali was the longest stage of the entire event and provided the early wake-up call for drivers. It featured part of the old Bahath stage and new sections and could provide a significant advantage to someone prepared to push from the outset.
Al-Attiyah was carrying out road-sweeping duties but still went on the attack and posted a time of 24min 59.0sec. But Abdullah Al-Rawahi was up for the challenge and a mere six-tenths of a second separated the duo. Al-Kuwari was third, 36.3 seconds off the lead but a cautious Al-Rashed was already cut adrift in fourth.
Defending MERC2 champion Shaker Jweihan succumbed to a cruel mechanical failure and was sidelined. Abdullah Al-Zubair snatched the early advantage in the MERC2 section but Kuwait’s Jassim Al-Muqahwi also hit trouble and lost time.
The first pass through the 11.08km of Karameh was next on the agenda. Al-Attiyah averaged 88km/h on his way to a time of 7min 33.3sec but the remarkable duel between himself and Al-Rawahi continued. He beat the Omani by just one-tenth of a second with the duo separated by just 0.7 seconds after two stages and 43km of racing.
Al-Rashed was back on the pace and beat Al-Kuwari by 9.1 seconds but the Qatari remained in third place.
The Baptism Site stage completed the morning’s loop and a time of 5min 57.9sec enabled Al-Rawahi to return to the Dead Sea for a service and regroup with a lead of 0.8 seconds over his great MERC rival. It had been a scintillating start to the event. Al-Kuwari and Al-Rashed consolidated third and fourth places and Bassel Abu Hamdan and Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez held fifth and sixth.
Joanna Hassoun went OTL and Mohammed Al-Shorafa was delayed with mechanical issues.
Al-Attiyah said: “The strategy this morning was not easy. We open but we didn’t take any risks. We have a good pace. Now I would like to change a few things for the clean line and we try and push now.”
Leader Al-Rawahi said: “It was a good day for us so far. The stages are quite tough and very tricky. We had a few moments but the times are good overall and we are leading after the first loop. I think we just need to keep focused and try to do our best. We need to be very consistent with our performance. You have no other choice but to go flat out. This afternoon, the same.”
Al-Kuwari added: “The first stage was very difficult with a lot of rocks on the road. The other two cars left a lot of rocks. We tried to avoid them. The grip was also very low but we try to improve now on the second loop.”
Tal Hilali was repeated after the lunch break and Al-Attiyah was hopeful that he could mount an attack on the cleaning surface after making set-up changes at service. The Qatari shaved 37 seconds off his morning’s run and got the better of Al-Rawahi by 6.4 seconds to take a 5.6-second lead. Al-Rashed lost four minutes and Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez also ceded a lot of time.
The re-run of Karameh was the penultimate stage of the day. Al-Attiyah was eight seconds quicker than his first pass and he increased his lead over Al-Rawahi to 8.8 seconds. Al-Kuwari maintained a comfortable third. Al-Zubair continued to be the class of the MERC2 field.
A repeat of the famous Baptism Site stage brought the day’s action to a conclusion. Al-Attiyah earned his fifth stage win of the day to take a lead of 13.5 seconds over Al-Rawahi into the night halt.
This year's Jordan Rally is supported by Zain Jordan, Guarantee Travel Group, Hala and Bliss FM, Markazia and Toyota Gazoo Racing Jordan.
Saturday’s remaining three stages are repeated twice with action getting underway with a run though the Panorama stage from 09.09hrs. The first passes through the Suwayma and Wadi Nar speed tests complete the morning’s loop and the three timed tests are repeated in the afternoon before the post-event press conference and traditional ceremonial finish at the Dead Sea.
2025 Jordan Rally – positions after SS6 (unofficial):
1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Candido Carrera (ESP) Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2 1hr 16min 10.7sec
2. Abdullah Al-Rawahi (OMA)/Ata Al-Hmoud (JOR) Škoda Fabia R5 Rally 2 1hr 16min 24.2sec
3. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Lorcan Moore (IRL) Citroën C3 Rally 2 1hr 18min 29.6sec
4. Rakan Al-Rashed (KSA)/Hugo Magalhães (POR) Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2 1hr 23min 46.9sec
5. Bassel Abu Hamdan (KSA)/Firas Elias (LBN) Škoda Fabia R5 Rally 2 1hr 27min 24.3sec
6. Abdullah Al-Zubair (OMA)/Taha Al-Zadjali (OMA) Subaru Impreza N14 1hr 27min 43.4sec
7. Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Ziad Chehab (LBN) Ford Fiesta Mk II Rally 2 1hr 28min 01.5sec
8. Shadi Shaban (JOR)/Samer Issa (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX (NAT) 1hr 28min 47,6sec
9. Zakariya Al-Aamri (OMA)/Mohammed Al-Mazroui (OMA) Subaru Impreza N14 1hr 31min 25.9sec
10. Ihab Al-Shurafa (JOR)/Ahmad Jankhout (JOR) Škoda Fabia Evo Rally 2 1hr 32min 51.6sec
11. Rashid Al-Muhannadi (QAT)/Gary McElhinney (IRL) Peugeot 208 Rally 4 1hr 32min 57.0sec
12. Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez (JOR)/Vili Oslaj (SLO) Škoda Fabia Rally 2 1hr 33min 42.4sec
13. Payyaakkal ‘Saneem’ Panikkaveettil (IND)/Musa Sherif (IND) Ford Fiesta Rally 4 1hr 41min 45.0sec
14. Shadi El Fakih (LBN)/Joseph Kmeid (LBN) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 1hr 45min 00.1sec
15. Jassim Al-Muqahwi (KUW)/Suleiman Al-Helal (KUW) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 1hr 46min 32.3sec
2025 Jordan National Rally 1 – result:
1. Abdullah Al-Rawahi (OMA)/Ata Al-Hmoud (JOR) Škoda Fabia R5 Rally 2 1hr 16min 24.2sec
2. Shadi Shaban (JOR)/Samer Issa (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX (NAT) 1hr 28min 47,6sec
3. Ihab Al-Shurafa (JOR)/Ahmad Jankhout (JOR) Škoda Fabia Evo Rally 2 1hr 32min 51.6sec
4. Zakariya Al-Aamri (OMA)/Mohammed Al-Mazroui (OMA) Subaru Impreza N14 1hr 31min 25.9sec
5. Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez (JOR)/Vili Oslaj (SLO) Škoda Fabia Rally 2 1hr 33min 42.4sec, etc