2026 Oman International Rally
FIA Middle East Rally Championship, round 1
January 22nd-24th, 2026
For immediate release
Wednesday, December 17th, 2025
SOHAR-BASED OMAN INTERNATIONAL RALLY TO KICKSTART 2026 FIA MIDDLE EAST RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP IN LATE JANUARY
- Sohar Entertainment Centre (SEC) to host rally for a second year
MUSCAT (OMAN): The Oman International Rally will be the opening round of the 2026 FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) for a second successive year on January 22nd-24th.
After the successful inaugural rally from a new base at the Sohar Entertainment Centre (SEC), the Oman Automobile Association (OAA) has again based one of the world’s most popular gravel rallies in the northern region.
Entries are now open for an event where officials have laid on 13 challenging special stages over 215.44 competitive kilometres in a route of 659.72km (subject to FIA confirmation).
Organised under the chairmanship of Brigadier Jamal Said Al-Tai, vice-chairman Suleiman Al-Rawahi, Rally Director Anwar Al-Zadjali and Clerk of the Course Hani Shaban, the event features the Sultanate’s traditionally fast and flowing gravel stages on tracks through the neighbouring mountains.
The event has invaluable support from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, the Sohar Governorate office and Toyota Oman.
Administration checks will be held at the Sohar Entertainment Centre on Tuesday, January 20th with crews also permitted to carry out their first day of reconnaissance. Scrutineering checks at the ROP Inspection Area in Sohar and the second full day of reconnaissance will be held on Wednesday, January 21st.
Crews will then be permitted to carry out final set-up checks on a planned 5.5km shakedown stage on Thursday morning (January 22nd) before the pre-event press conference (14.30hrs) and the official ceremonial stage (15.15hrs) take centre stage at the Sohar Entertainment Centre.
Competitors will then tackle the nearby opening 2.52km Sohar Super Special stage from 16.13hrs.
As was the case in 2025, there will be two passes through three timed tests on Friday, January 23rd. A shortened version of the Ar-Rusays (15.42km) stage opens proceedings at 09.13hrs and precedes runs through the Ar-Rassah (19.15km) and Al-Uwaynah (13.97km) specials from 09.56hrs and 10.39hrs, respectively.
The three speed tests will be repeated at 13.18hrs, 14.01hrs and 14.44hrs after a return to Sohar for a late morning regroup and service.
A further two passes through three other stages wrap up the competition on Saturday, January 24th. Al-Akak (25.25km) and Yanboa (13.81km) are both similar to the specials that were used in 2025 but the last stage of the loop will be at Rahab (18.86km).
They are scheduled to start at 08.43hrs, 09.21hrs and 10.24hrs and will be repeated in the afternoon from 13.07hrs, 13.45hrs and 15.18hrs, respectively, after another return to Sohar for service and regrouping. The second pass through Rahab will also act as the event’s Power Stage with additional points available for the fastest five drivers.
The post-event press conference is scheduled for 18.00hrs at Sohar in advance of the podium ceremony and prize giving, starting at 18.30hrs.
Sohar is the largest city in the Al-Batinah North Governorate in Oman and lies on the northeastern coast. It has been credited as being the birthplace of Sinbad the Sailor.
The rally is one of the oldest in the Middle East and dates back to 1979 when the inaugural event was won by Harri Kallström and Claes Billstam in a Datsun 160J/SSS. It was a round of the first ever MERC in 1984, an event that was won by Saeed Al-Hajri and John Spiller in a Porsche 911 SC RS.
Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah now has the record for the number of individual wins. He had been tied with FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem on seven wins apiece until he claimed an eighth title last January and a first with his then new co-driver Candido Carrera.
Local driver Abdullah Al-Rawahi has won the event twice in the last five years (2021 and 2023).
Entries close on Tuesday, January 13th. For further event information: Oman Automobile Association (OAA), Airport Heights, P.O. Box 2874, PC111, CPO Seeb, Sultanate of Oman, Tel: +968 24510239, Email: rally@omanauto.org.
Ends
For further media information: 2026 Oman International Rally, Mohammed Al-Raisi, Media Manager and PR Officer, Email: rally@omanauto.org.
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