2023 Oman International Rally
2023 FIA Middle East Rally Championship, round 1
January 26th-28th, 2023
For immediate release
Thursday, January 26th, 2023
KUWAIT’S MESHARI AL-THEFIRI SNATCHES SHOCK EARLY LEAD IN OMAN RALLY
• Pre-rally favourite Nasser Al-Attiyah damages radiator in opening stage
• Oman’s Abdullah Al-Rawahi and Abdullah Al-Zubair hold third and fourth
MUSCAT (OMAN): Kuwait’s Meshari Al-Thefiri made the ideal start in his bid to win back the FIA MERC2 crown by taking a shock overall lead with the fastest time on the opening 3.01km super special stage of the Oman International Rally on Thursday afternoon.
But the major news from the first stage of round one of the 2023 FIA Middle East Rally Championship was the surprise accident that befell pre-rally favourite Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and his Andorra-based co-driver Mathieu Baumel.
Their Autotek Motorsport-run Volkswagen Golf GTi was sporting a new livery for the 2023 season but Al-Attiyah uncharacteristically crashed in the super special stage, damaged the radiator and will have to restart under the Super Rally ruling from 13th overall on Friday with 10 minutes of penalties added to his time.
Leader Al-Thefiri and his Qatari co-driver Nasser Al-Kuwari stopped the clocks in 2min 51.4sec to hold a stunning 4.1-second outright lead over the Czech crew of Petr Kačirek and Petra Řiháková in their Duck Racing Škoda Fabia.
Despite picking up a 10-second time penalty for a jump start, the Oman Rally Team’s Abdullah Al-Rawahi and Jordanian co-driver Ata Al-Hmoud held third overall.
Al-Thefiri also leads the MERC2 category by 6.8 seconds from Oman’s fourth-placed Abdullah Al-Zubair and Taha Soomar. The Jordanian duo of Shaker Jweihan and female co-driver Nancy Al-Majali were third in MERC2 and fifth overall. Qatar’s Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya and Italian team-mate Giovanni Bernacchini rounded off the top six.
Lebanon’s Ahmad Khaled and Jordan’s Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez were also penalised 10 seconds for jumping the start of the stage.
The event got underway with a traditional ceremonial start at Muscat Drift Arena before 13 FIA crews and 10 national teams headed to the opening stage. Jordanian driver Issa Abu Jamous dropped down to the Oman National Rally and Kuwait’s Mohammed Al-Zafiri was a non-starter.
Saif Al-Harthy claimed an early advantage of 1.7 seconds in the Oman National Rally, the local driver clocking a time of 3min 10sec. Haitham Al-Zadjali and Jordan’s Issa Abu Jamous held second and third overall.
Mohammed Al-Mazroui (Yamaha YXZ 1000 R) incurred a 10-second penalty for a jump start.
Friday
Crews will tackle two loops of three gravel stages on Friday, with the 21.98km of Al-Khoud getting the action underway from 09.30hrs. Jafnein (19.54km) follows at 10.12hrs and Saal (15.79km) rounds off the opening loop from 10.50hrs.
After a return to the Oman Automobile Association for a regroup and service stop, the three specials will be repeated from 13.13hrs, 14.15hrs and 14.56hrs, respectively.
2023 Oman International Rally – positions after SS1 (unofficial):
1. Meshari Al-Thefiri (KWT)/Nasser Al-Kuwari (QAT) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 2min 51.4sec
2. Petr Kačirek (CZE)/Petra Řiháková (CZE) Škoda Fabia 2min 55.5sec
3. Abdullah Al-Rawahi (OMN)/Ata Al-Hmoud (JOR) Škoda Fabia Evo 2min 56.1sec
4. Abdullah Al-Zubair (OMN)/Taha Soomar (OMN) Subaru Impreza STi 2min 58.2sec
5. Shaker Jweihan (JOR)/Nancy Al-Majali (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 3min 01.9sec
6. Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya (QAT)/Giovanni Bernacchini (ITA) Ford Fiesta R5 3min 02.1sec
7. Yousef Al-Dhefiri (KWT)/Carlos Hanna (LEB) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 3min 05.2sec
8. Zakariya Al-Aamri (OMN)/Mohammed Al-Aamri (OMN) Subaru Impreza STi 3min 13.7sec
9. Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez (JOR)/Emad Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 3min 14.9sec
10. Shadi Shaban (JOR)/Samer Issa (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 3min 15.0sec
11. Ihab Al-Shorafa (JOR)/Yousef Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 3min 19.7sec
12. Ahmad Khaled (LEB)/Samer Sfeir (LEB) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 3min 19.9sec
13. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Mathieu Baumel (AND) Volkswagen Polo GTI 12min 51.4sec
2023 Oman National Rally – positions after SS1 (unofficial):
1. Saif Al-Harthy (OMN)/Saif Al-Hinai (OMN) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 3min 10.0sec
2. Haitham Al-Zadjali (OMN)/Wael Al-Shabani (OMN) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII 3min 11.7sec
3. Issa Abu Jamous (JOR)/Yazan Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 3min 14.0sec
4. Salim Al-Touqi (OMN)/Issa Al-Wardi (OMN) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII 3min 17.1sec
5. Mutasim Al-Balushi (OMN)/Nofel Al-Balushi (OMN) Yamaha YXZ 1000 R 3min 21.8sec
6. Faisal Al-Rashdi (OMN)/Yaqdhan Al-Rashdi (OMN) Subaru Impreza Sti 3min 21.9sec
7. Ghaith Al-Qasmi (OMN)/Ahmed Salim OMN) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII 3min 22.4sec
8. Abdullah Al-Touqi (OMN)/Ilka Minor (AUT) Toyota Yaris 3min 31.2sec
9. Mohammed Al-Mazroui (OMN)/Sana Al-Shukaili (OMN) Yamaha YXZ 1000 R 3min 32.2sec
10. Musab Soomar (OMN)/Nasr Ibrahim Al-Qasmi (OMN) Kia Rio 3min 46.2sec
Ends
For further media information: 2023 Oman International Rally, Media Manager and PR Officer, Shahad Al-Taee, Email: shahad@omanauto.org and Neil Perkins, International Media Officer, E-mail: ndppublicity@gmail.com. Facebook group: MERC
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