Dead Sea, May 17 (Petra) - Qatari driver Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah secured his 18th historic victory at the Jordan Rally on Saturday evening, concluding the third round of the Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) with a commanding performance.

His Royal Highness Prince Feisal Al Hussein, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Jordan Motorsport, led the official closing ceremony at the Hover-Up Park circuit in the Dead Sea region, crowning the top international contenders alongside the winners of the concurrent second and third Jordan National Rallies.

Al-Attiyah, driving a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 alongside his Spanish co-driver Candido Carrera, completed the 12-stage event in an official time of 2 hours, 14 minutes, and 26.1 seconds. This victory marks Al-Attiyah's 92nd career win in the Middle East Rally Championship and his seventh alongside Carrera in their second collaborative season.

Finishing 3 minutes and 53.7 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor, Al-Attiyah moved into the lead of the regional championship standings. He noted post-race that optimizing his vehicle's technical setup allowed the team to surpass their previous stage times despite sustained competitive pressure throughout the week.
Omani driver Abdullah Al-Rawahi and his Jordanian co-driver Atta Al-Hamoud recovered from initial tire selection errors and a morning puncture to lock in second place overall, finishing with a time of 2 hours, 18 minutes, and 19.8 seconds in their Skoda Fabia RS Rally2.

Third place went to Saudi Arabia's Hamza Bakhashab and Irish co-driver Lorcan Moore, who brought their Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 across the line at 2 hours, 27 minutes, and 1.0 second after managing two severe tire punctures on a highly abrasive, rock-strewn long stage.

Jordanian driver Sheikh Badr Al-Fayez and Lebanese co-driver Joseph Matar earned fourth place on a Skoda Fabia RS with a final time of 2 hours, 34 minutes, and 25.2 seconds. They placed just ahead of the Saudi-Lebanese pairing of Basil Abu Hamdan and Firas Elias, who completed the rally in fifth place at 2 hours, 34 minutes, and 18.3 seconds on a Volkswagen Polo GTI R, losing over three minutes in the final stretch due to a front-left suspension breakdown.

Local drivers maintained strong visibility throughout the upper classifications, with Shadi Shaban and Samer Issa securing sixth place in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX at 2 hours, 42 minutes, and 21.4 seconds, followed by Mohammad Al-Sharfa and Lebanese co-driver Samer Sfeir in seventh at 2 hours, 44 minutes, and 33.7 seconds.

Qatari veteran Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah overcame severe opening-day braking malfunctions to finish eighth overall with Lebanese co-driver Ziad Chehab in a Skoda Fabia at 2 hours, 44 minutes, and 38.1 seconds.

The grueling track caused multiple technical retirements across various categories. In the MERC2 class, Jordan's Shaker Jweihan saw his podium chances end following a combined turbocharger and oil pressure system failure that forced his immediate withdrawal.

Additional final placements included Palestinian driver Hamada Odeh and Jordanian co-driver Zaid Abu Zaid finishing ninth in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X at 2 hours, 49 minutes, and 07.7 seconds. Omani driver Zakariya Al-Aamri and co-driver Mohammed Al-Mazroui secured tenth place in a Subaru Impreza N14 at 2 hours, 53 minutes, and 11.1 seconds.

Jordan's Issa Abu Jamous and Dawoud Abu Jamous finished eleventh in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X at 2 hours, 55 minutes, and 39.4 seconds, while the female duo of Farah Zakaria and Lebanese co-driver Doolin Schlink rounded out the top twelve in a Can-Am Maverick with a time of 3 hours, 32 minutes, and 18.0 seconds.

The third Jordan National Rally run concurrently concluded with an identical top tier, seeing Abdullah Al-Rawahi and Atta Al-Hamoud take the top podium position, followed by Sheikh Badr Al-Fayez in second and Basil Abu Hamdan in third. Lower national positions went to Shadi Shaban in fourth, Mohammad Al-Sharfa in fifth, and Hamada Odeh in sixth.

Hashem Kalbouneh and Dirgham Ristem took seventh in a Subaru Impreza at 2 hours, 55 minutes, and 21.6 seconds, with Issa Abu Jamous in eighth. Alaa Dawood and Salamah Al-Qammaz placed ninth in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII at 2 hours, 59 minutes, and 57.9 seconds, followed by Saqr Abu Jamous and Fayez Al-Qammaz in tenth in an identical Evo VII at 3 hours, 02 minutes, and 09.2 seconds.

Saif Al-Sheikh and Imad Jumaah secured eleventh in a Subaru Impreza at 3 hours, 11 minutes, and 57.1 seconds, while Nancy Al-Majali and Yazan Jumaah finished twelfth in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI at 3 hours, 25 minutes, and 21.8 seconds, just ahead of Farah Zakaria in thirteenth. The Middle East Rally Championship is scheduled to resume in Lebanon from September 11 to 13.

//Petra// AA

17/05/2026 09:44:21