Lusail [Qatar], February 5: Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah will be bidding for a record-breaking 19th victory from 26 starts when this weekend's Qatar International Rally gets underway from the Lusail Sports Complex on Thursday afternoon.
The in-form Qatari began his challenge for an unprecedented 21st FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) title with victory in Oman two weeks ago and has now switched his attention to securing a staggering 93rd career MERC rally win on the three-day event being hosted by the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF).
Al Attiyah and co-driver Candido Carrera top a 23-car field with strength in depth and will be looking to start their weekend's campaign with a strategic performance on the new Qualifying Stage on Thursday. This will determine the starting order for Friday's opening special stage.
The outcome of the Qualifying Stage will be the deciding factor to which of the Rally2 crews opens the road, acts as a road sweeper and faces the slight disadvantage of clearing loose sand and gravel off the racing line. In the past, the leader of the championship has opened the road regardless and Al Attiyah may well be able to take advantage of the new addition to the regulations to strengthen his challenge in an Autotek Skoda Fabia RS.
Abdullah Al Rawahi is back from serious injury and pushed Al-Attiyah hard in his native Oman last month. Punctures ultimately dropped him to second place and out of victory contention, but the Omani is better prepared for this rally and is hopeful that he has a good set-up on his Skoda Fabia RS to apply the pressure on Al Attiyah from the outset. The former regional champion teams up with Jordanian co-driver Ata Al Hmoud.
Local driver Abdulaziz Al Kuwari was not present at the opening round but stayed in match fitness with a strong performance at last weekend's Saudi Baja. He teams up with his brother Nasser in a Skoda Fabia RS and will be striving for the podium on a rally he won in 2012.
This will only be the third special stage rally in Hamza Bakhashab's short career but the Saudi showed in Oman that he has the pace to reach the podium. He admitted at the press conference on Tuesday evening that working efficiently with accurate pace notes had cost him dearly at the opening round when he crashed out of third place, but he and Irish co-driver Lorcan Moore are determined to come back even stronger this weekend in their Jameel Motorsport Toyota GR Yaris Rally2.
Engine issues sidelined Mohammed Al Marri in Oman but the QMMF-backed driver has switched to a Citroen C3 this weekend and will make his debut in the Rally2 class with Frenchman Pierre Delorme reading his pace notes.
Veteran Nasser Khalifa Al Atya began his 2026 campaign with a podium finish in Oman, as he tries to retain the FIA Master Driver trophy he won last season. The Qatari again teams up with Lebanese co-driver Ziad Chebab in a Motortune-run Ford Fiesta.
Jweihan aims to extend his FIA MERC2 advantage
Shaker Jweihan was the class of the MERC2 field at round one with his fellow Jordanian co-driver Mustafa Juma and the youngster is determined to maintain the momentum in Qatar. "We have made a strong start to the season and, yes, the goal is to keep it going and push for another win," said the Mitsubishi driver.
His closest rivals in Oman were the Kuwaiti duo of Jassim Al Muqahwi and Sulaiman Al Helal, who finished fifth overall and picked up points for second in MERC2. Jordan's Sami Fleifel was third and he teams up with Yazan Juma to continue his push for MERC2 honours.
A cruel retirement cost Oman's Zakariya Al Aamri (Subaru) valuable points on round one but he will be hoping to be in the mix with navigator Mohammed Al Mazrui on Qatar's abrasive gravel terrain. Further MERC2 competition comes from the Indian duo of Mohamed Mansoor Parol and Lenin Joseph and Lebanon's Charbel Chebly and Carlos Hanna in a pair of Mitsubishis.
Rashid Al Muhannadi and Gary McElhinney are the defending FIA MERC4 champions, but their title defence ground to a halt with engine issues in Oman. The QMMF-backed Qatari will be looking to bounce back strongly with a category win this weekend, although he faces strong competition from a quartet of Qatari drivers in similar Peugeot 208 Rally4s and the Indian duo of Payyaakkal Panikkaveettil and Musa Sherif in a Ford Fiesta.
The QMMF has offered support to Ahmed Al Kuwari, Nouef Al Sowaidi, Khalifa Saleh Al Attiyah and Ahmad Shaheen Al Muhannadi to boost the flagship two-wheel drive category. They have teamed up with their respective co-drivers, Baptiste Cerrato, Aisvydas Paliukenas, Laos Savvas and Taha Al Zadjali.
The Lebanese pairing of Shadi El Fakih and Joseph Kmeid wheel out their Rally5 Renault Clio at the rear of the field behind four SSVs that are also eligible for the regional rally championship. Mohammed Al Atteya and Mirko Carrara drive a pair of Can-Ams and Christiano Gabbarrini and Mario Marotta wheel out two Yamaha YXZ 1000Rs built by Quaddy Racing.
Thursday's competitive timetable opens with a 75-minute practice session through a new 5.56km special for Rally2 cars at Al-Khor from 10.00hrs. This will also act as the new qualifying stage for Rally2 crews, starting at 11.45hrs. The result of that will determine the starting order for leg one. The slowest driver in the qualifying stage will run as the first Rally2 entrant on the road on Friday.
Non-Rally2 machines will be permitted a maximum of two passes apiece during a shakedown on the Al Khor stage from 12.30hrs until 14.15hrs.
The ceremonial start will then take centre stage adjacent to the service park in the grounds of the Lusail Sports Complex.
Source: Qatar Tribune
