Middle East motor sport action returns next weekend (May 14th-16th) with the Jordan Rally, the third round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) being organised by Jordan Motorsport.
The two-day event has attracted 17 starters and competitors from 10 nations. They will tackle a dozen special stages in the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea areas of the Hashemite Kingdom. In a total route of 557.11km, 196.80km will be timed against the clock.
Qatar’s record-breaking 20-time regional champion Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah is the top seed. He teams up with Spanish navigator Candido Carrera in a bid to move up the points’ standings after a win in Oman and a surprise retirement at his home event in Qatar. The Qatari is currently fourth in the rankings with his Autotek Motorsport Škoda Fabia RS, as he chases an unprecedented 18th victory in Jordan since 2003.
Carrera arrives in the Middle East straight from competing alongside Dani Sordo as a member of the Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team in Portugal.
Five Rally2 rivals will be gunning to prevent Al-Attiyah achieving success on the dry and dusty Jordanian stages. Energy-sapping heat can easily take its toll on man and machine and sharp stones often cause punctures among the later runners and on the second pass through the scenic Dead Sea stages at the lowest place on earth.
Oman’s Abdullah Al-Rawahi won the Jordan Rally for the first time in 2023 and shadowed the Qatari to the finish in Oman back in January to pick up points for second. Like his rival, he retired in Qatar and needs a useful points score to rekindle his challenge for a second regional title. Al-Rawahi again teams up with local co-driver Ata Al-Hmoud in an Oman Rally Team Škoda Fabia RS.
Veteran Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya is the early leader of the championship after two third-place finishes in Oman and Qatar. The former series runner-up is partnered by Lebanon’s Ziad Chehab in a Motortune Ford Fiesta.
Saudi Arabia’s Hamza Bakhashab will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of his father Abdullah (1995 MERC champion) and challenge for the overall regional title. The Jeddah driver is currently second in the points’ standings and again pairs up with Irishman Lorcan Moore in a Toyota GR Yaris. He trails Al-Atya by five points in the Drivers’ Championship.
Local star Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez suffered engine issues during the opening round in Oman and was forced to miss round two as a result. He returns with Lebanese co-driver Joseph Matar to crew a third Škoda. Bassel Abu Hamdan and Firas Elias round off the Rally2 field in a Volkswagen Polo.
Jordan’s Shaker Jweihan has been the dominant force so far this season in the FIA MERC2 category and will be aiming for a hattrick of class victories with Mustafa Juma in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. Competition comes from Oman’s Zakariya Al-Aamri (Subaru) and Jordan’s Sami Fleifel (Mitsubishi). Al-Aamri is already 36 points adrift of the young Jordanian.
Engine-related issues ruined the start of the season for the Qatari duo of Rashid Al-Muhannadi and Mohammed Al-Marri in a pair of Sarrazin-run Peugeot 208 Rally 4s entered by the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF). Both drivers are pointless after two rounds and team up with co-drivers Szymon Gospodarczyk and Piere Delorme on this occasion.
Lebanon’s Shadi El-Fakih will be chasing a third maximum points score of the season in FIA MERC4 in his Renault Clio RS. Jordanian female driver Farah Zakaria teams up with Lebanese Dolyne Schlink and is registered for the championship in a Can-Am Maverick X3 entered in the SSV section.
There are also entries for the Jordanian duo of Shadi Shaban and Issa Abu Jamous in a pair of Mitsubishis, while Mohammed Al-Shorafa teams up with Lebanon’s Samer Sfeir to drive a third Mitsubishi and is registered for MERC points.
Palestine’s Hamadeh Uda rounds off the field in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X with Jordanian co-driver Zeid Abu Zeid. He is not registered for the MERC.
The event is again based at the Mövenpick Resort and Spa Dead Sea.
A new Shakedown stage of 4.83km kickstarts the competitive action on Thursday, May 14th. A maximum of two passes per driver will be permitted.
A revised Friday (May 15th) timetable laid on by Clerk of the Course George Khoury and his team features two passes through the Shuna (15.25km), Baptism (11.24km) and Ma’in (16.87km) stages, split by a return to the Dead Sea for a midday service and regroup.
Saturday’s (May 16th) modified timetable includes two runs through the Panorama (16.95km), Suwayma (11.12km) and Rawda (26.97km) specials in the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea areas before the ceremonial finish takes place in the Hover-Up Park at the lowest place on earth from 18.30hrs.
The Rawda special is the longest of the entire event and will provide a classic sting in the tail. It also acts as the Power Stage finale, with additional MERC points available for the fastest crews.
