OMAN RALLY TEAM – MEDIA INFORMATION
For immediate release
Sunday, February 18th, 2024
OMAN RALLY TEAM’S AL-RAWAHI AND AL-HMOUD ACHIEVE THEIR GOAL AND FINISH GRUELLING RALLY SWEDEN AT FIRST ATTEMPT
UMEÅ (SWEDEN): Oman’s Abdullah Al-Rawahi and his Jordanian co-driver Ata Al-Hmoud fulfilled their objective of finishing Rally Sweden and getting their challenge for honours in the FIA Junior World Rally Championship (JWRC) off to a strong start in Umeå on Sunday.
The Oman Rally Team duo overcame a collision with a snowbank and a damaged radiator on Friday afternoon and a second similar stoppage late on Saturday – in what turned out to be unlucky stage 13 – to complete one of the most specialised and difficult rallies in the FIA World Rally Championship calendar at their first attempt.
Heavy snowfall and tricky road conditions made the going even more difficult early in the rally but the defending FIA Middle East rally champions persevered and got to grips with their M-Sport Poland Ford Fiesta Rally3 running on studded tyres to reach the finish in 14th place in the JWRC category.
Al-Rawahi said: “We made it to the finish., It was a great experience and tough at the same time. It was probably the toughest rally I have ever been to, especially with the condition changes. We struggled a lot with the set-up of the car. I wasn’t really comfortable. Every time I tried to push, we had a moment, hitting a lot of snow banks. We could restart every time. I guess it is part of the experience and hopefully we can come back and use what we have learned this year in the future.”
Al-Hmoud added: “Finally, we made it to the finish. Almost a crash on every stage. It was a really tough one. We had so many mistakes. For sure, the first time doing an event like this in such difficult weather and conditions, but at least we manage to complete the rally and see all the stages. We have good data for our next event or next year, hopefully. It was a dream participating on it and we have done it. We learned such a lot and gained good experience from it. Now we can focus on Croatia…”
Victory at the first round of the JWRC went to local driver Mille Johansson, who finished 48.9 seconds in front of Estonian Romet Jürgenson. Ireland’s Eamonn Kelly was a distant third.
After taking a time penalty and restarting on Saturday morning, following the collision with a snow bank on Friday, Al-Rawahi emerged unscathed from the first pass through the Vännäs, Sarsjöliden and Bygdsiljum specials and reached the service break in Umeå without dramas as he continued to gain winter experience and time behind the wheel of the M-Sport Fiesta Rally3. Johansson, meanwhile, extended his advantage over Estonian Romet Jürgenson to 37.5 seconds.
The three specials were repeated on Saturday afternoon before competitors tackled an additional 10.08km stage at Umeå in the evening that would also act as the Power Stage finale on Sunday.
Al-Rawahi was 11th through the re-run of Vännäs but hit trouble on the second pass through Sarsjöliden, when he again damaged the front of the car after an impact with a snowbank and incurred additional time penalties for missing the last two stages of the day.
Undeterred, and with the car repaired for the final two pushes through the 25.50km Västervik stage and a second run through the 10.08km Umeå special on Sunday morning, Al-Rawahi got down to the serious business of finishing the event to continue his rapid learning curve.
He set the 12th quickest time on SS16, completed the second run through Västervik safely and the Power Stage to return to Umeå and fulfil his objective of finishing Rally Sweden.
The FIA JWRC continues with Rally Croatia on April 18th-21st.
Ends