Rally Saudi Arabia– May 1st-3rd, 2025

FIA Middle East Rally Championship, round 3

For immediate release
Wednesday, April 30th, 2025

Rally Saudi Arabia gets underway with ceremonial start on ROSHN Water Front in Jeddah on Thursday evening

  • MERC leader Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah leads 28-car entry into 12 gravel stages

JEDDAH (SAUDI ARABIA): The all-new Rally Saudi Arabia marks the Kingdom’s return to the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) after a 15-year absence this weekend.  The 12-stage event is based out of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit and is the third round of this year’s regional rally series.

The event is being hosted by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF) in collaboration with the Saudi Motorsport Company. It is being run under the supervision of the FIA and the chairmanship of H.R.H. Prince Khalid bin Sultan Abdulla Al-Faisal. Rally Saudi Arabia powered by Jameel Motorsports gets underway with a ceremonial start at the ROSHN Waterfront in Jeddah on Thursday evening.

Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah is chasing a record-breaking 20th regional title since 2003 and the Qatari tops a 28-car entry that includes nine Rally2 cars, six SSVs and 21 crews registered for MERC points. They will tackle six brand new gravel stages that will be repeated twice over the weekend. Sections of them are sure to be used in the inaugural WRC event later in the year.

This year’s FIA Middle East Rally Championship is being fought out over six rounds in Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon and Cyprus. The series began in 1984 and has seen several legendary names crowned as champion over the years, including the current FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem 14 times, Al-Attiyah on 19 occasions, the Saudi duo of Mamdouh Khayat (1992) and Abdullah Bakhashab (1995) and the UAE’s Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi (1994).

Al-Attiyah arrived in the Red Sea city with a 22-point cushion in the Drivers’ Championship following back-to-back wins with his Autotek Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2 in Oman and Qatar with new Spanish co-driver Candido Carrera. He will be chasing an astonishing 89th MERC event win this weekend and an MERC first in Saudi Arabia.

Rakan Al-Rashed is Al-Attiyah’s closest challenger as the MERC nears its mid-point. The Saudi Toyota driver is joined on an entry list that shows the Finnish pairing of Juho Hänninen and Janni Hussi taking their place alongside the regional regulars in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 entered by the Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team. Hänninen is not registered for MERC points but will be collecting vital data for Toyota in advance of the inaugural WRC event. Al-Rashed will be hoping to trim Al-Attiyah’s points’ lead on his home event.

Oman’s Abdullah Al-Rawahi was the joint 2023 regional champion and teams up with British co-driver Ross Whittock on this occasion, as he aims to close the gap on Al-Attiyah in the points’ standings. The pair worked together on two rounds of the FIA Junior World Rally Championship in Sweden and Sardinia last year.

Al-Rawahi said: “Our plan is to push and try and secure the win. It won’t be easy with the challenge from Nasser (Al-Attiyah) and other good drivers in the line-up. We will do our best and hopefully come out with a good result.”

Further Rally2 competition comes from the likes of the defending regional champion Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (Citroën C3), new FIA Master MERC Driver series leader Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya (Ford) and Jordan’s Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez (Škoda).

Oman’s Zakariya Al-Aamri is the early leader of the MERC2 section and faces competition from fellow countryman Abdullah Al-Zubair and Jordan’s defending champion Shaker Sweihan at the front of a posse of Subarus and Mitsubishis in the NR4 group.

Qatar fields three crews in French-built Peugeot 208 Rally4s with young academy drivers, Mohammed Al-Marri and Saad Al-Harqan, competing against the early MERC4 category front-runner Rashid Al-Muhannadi. Multiple MERC event-winning navigator Giovanni Bernacchini joins Al-Marri as his co-driver.

Six Saudi Arabian drivers boost the tail end of the field in various Can-Ams entered in the MERC’s SSV category. They include cross-country regulars Ibrahim Al-Muhanna, Hamad Al-Harbi, Hamza Bakhashab and Ahmed Al-Shegawi.

Rally Saudi Arabia is based at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit with the Rally HQ operational out of the Race Tower. Tomorrow (Thursday), competitors will be permitted to shakedown their cars on a short, designated stage of 2.77km from 10.31hrs (local time). They will then tackle 189.48 competitive kilometres in a total route of 839.29km over two days.

Friday’s action is centred around terrain to the east of Jeddah and features two passes through the new Buraiman (14.02km), Wadi Al-Matwi (12.94km) and Um Al-Jerem (21.07km) specials.

Saturday’s itinerary heads north and features two runs through the Al-Ghulal (11.70km), Asfan (26.55km) and Thahban (8.46km) stages. The second pass through Thahban also acts as the event’s Power Stage with bonus points available for the fastest crews from the start of 2025.

The stages on all gravel rounds of the regional rally series are meticulously prepared by rally officials to offer an arduous challenge to competitors without running the risk of damaging the cars. Points are awarded for finishing each day, in addition to points for the overall MERC, MERC2 and MERC4 classifications.

In addition to acting as a round of the regional series for the first time since 2010, the loose surface rally will also act as the Kingdom’s official candidate event before it joins the FIA World Rally Championship for the first time at the end of November.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hosted a candidate event for inclusion in the MERC for the first time in 2008 out of Al-Khobar in the Eastern Province. The event was won by Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Mathieu Baumel in a Subaru Impreza. The duo then won the only ever Saudi round of the MERC in 2010 in a Peugeot 207 S2000 after no event took place in 2009.

Al-Rajhi is Saudi Arabia’s leading driver and the defending Dakar Rally champion. He said: “I’m immensely proud that the FIA Middle East Rally Championship is visiting Jeddah for the first time. The event has the exceptional support of H.R.H. Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and the Kingdom’s 2030 Vision. I wish the best of luck to the competitors and organisers of Rally Saudi Arabia.”

2025 Rally Saudi Arabia – entry list:

  1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Candido Carrera (ESP)                                                                                                                    Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2
  2. Abdullah Al-Rawahi (OMA)/Ross Whittock (GBR)                                                                                                                    Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2
  3. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Lorcan Moore (IRL)                                                                                                                    Citroën C3 Rally 2
  4. Juho Hänninen (FIN)/Janni Hussi (FIN)                                                                                                                    Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2*
  5. Rakan Al-Rashed (KSA)/Hugo Magalhães (POR)                                                                                                                    Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2
  6. Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Ziad Chehab (LBN)                                                                                                                    Ford Fiesta Mk II Rally 2
  7. Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez (JOR)/Emad Juma (JOR)                                                                                                                    Škoda Fabia Rally 2
  8. Ihab Al-Shurafa (JOR)/Ahmad Jankhout (JOR)                                                                                                                    Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2
  9. Bassel Abu Hamdan (LBN)/Firas Elias (LBN)                                                                                                                    Škoda Fabia Rally 2
  10. Shaker Jweihan (JOR)/Aisvydas Paliukenas (LTU)                                                                                                              Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
  11. Abdullah Al-Zubair (OMA)/Taha Al-Zadjali (OMA)                                                                                                                    Subaru Impreza WRX STi
  12. Zakariya Al-Aamri (OMA)/Mohammed Al-Mazroui (OMA) Subaru Impreza WRX STi
  13. Shadi El Fakih (LBN)/Joseph Kmeid (LBN)                                                                                                              Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
  14. Jassim Al-Muqahwi (KUW)/Suleiman Al-Helal (KUW)                                                                                                              Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
  15. Rashid Al-Muhannadi (QAT)/Gary McElhinney (IRL)                                                                                                                  Peugeot 208 Rally 4
  16. Saad Al-Harqan (QAT)/Pierre Delorme (FRA)                                                                                                                  Peugeot 208 Rally 4
  17. Mohammed Al-Marri (QAT)/Giovanni Bernacchini (ITA) Peugeot 208 Rally 4
  18. Payyaakkal ‘Saneem’ Panikkaveettil (IND)/Musa Sherif (IND) Ford Fiesta Rally 4
  19. Shadi Shaban (JOR)/Samer Issa (JOR)                                                                                                              Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX (NAT)
  20. Mohammed Al-Shorafa (JOR)/Yazan Juma (JOR)                                                                                                              Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX (NAT)*
  21. Joanna Hassoun (LBN)/Dolyne Schlink (LBN)                                                                                                              Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX (NAT)*
  22. Issa Abu Jamous (JOR)/Saqer Abu Jamous (JOR)                                                                                                              Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX (NAT)
  23. Ahmed Al-Shegawi (KSA)/Ali Mirza (UAE) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR (SSV)*
  24. Ibrahim Al-Muhanna (KSA)/Faisal Al-Suwayh (KSA) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR (SSV)
  25. Hamad Al-Harbi (KSA)/Yasser Al-Khuraif (KSA) Can-Am Maverick XRS Tubo RR (SSV)*
  26. Abdullah Al-Haydan (KSA)/Bader Al-Ajmi (KUW) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR (SSV)*
  27. Abdullah Al-Shegawi (KSA)/Raed Al-Assaf (KSA) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR (SSV)*
  28. Hamza Bakhashab (KSA)/Marcin Pasek (POL)                                                                                                                    Can-Am Maverick R (SSV)

*denotes not registered for the MERC

2025 FIA Middle East Rally Championship – positions after round 2:

  1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT) 70pts
  2. Rakan Al-Rashed (KSA) 48pts
  3. Abdullah Al-Rawahi (OMN) 43pts
  4. Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya (QAT) 38pts
  5. Rashid Al-Muhannadi (QAT) 32pts
  6. Shadi Shaban (JOR) 28pts
  7. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT) 24pts
  8. Denis Krotov (KGZ) 18pts
  9. Abdullah Al-Zubair (OMN) 16pts
  10. Zakariya Al-Aamri (OMN) 14pts, etc

2025 FIA MERC2 – positions after round 2:

  1. Zakariya Al-Aamri (OMN) 54pts
  2. Abdullah Al-Zubair (OMN) 30pts
  3. Jad Al-Aawar (LBN) 24pts
  4. Jassim Al-Muqahwi (KUW) 21pts
  5. Ahmad Khaled (LBN) 19pts, etc

Ends

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                            

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Published On: 30 April 2025