Friday 23 / January / 2026
SOHAR (OMAN): Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and Candido Carrera overcame two slow punctures to hold the advantage at the end of a punishing first leg of the 29th Oman International Rally on Friday.
The Autotek Škoda Fabia RS crew won five of the six gravel stages in the Hajar mountains to the north and west of Sohar and were able to build up a lead of 41.2 seconds over Oman’s Abdullah Al-Rawahi and his Jordanian co-driver Ata Al-Hmoud. Al-Rawahi returned to active competition for the first time since an injury last summer and he settled in well, despite a puncture on the last stage and not feeling totally ready for high-level competition.
Al-Attiyah said: “We kept up the pace. Two slow punctures during the day but we tried to manage. Still a long way to go but we will try and change some things on the car now for Qatar and Jordan to try and understand a few extra things.”
“Unfortunately, we had a flat tyre on the last stage, said second-placed Al-Rawahi. “We had a rock on the line. We didn’t actually make a mistake but my luck was not great. We will see tomorrow. It’s another day. We will still keep on pushing. Coming from an injury, I am not 100% ready physically but I did not want to miss my home rally.”
Carnage unfolded on the second loop of the day on this opening round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC). Hamza Bakhashab and Lorcan Moore had been in the top three until their Toyota GR Yaris ground to a halt with suspension damage after an accident in the fifth stage. Their demise lifted Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya and Ziad Chehab into third at the night halt in their Motortune Ford Fiesta.
The sixth stage saw the retirement of Jordan’s Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez with engine problems and similar issues sidelined the two QMMF Peugeots, driven by Mohammed Al-Marri and Rashid Al-Muhannadi, in the same stage.
A heavy impact then sidelined Ihab Al-Shorafa’s Škoda on the final stage and left just eight of the 14 starters running at the end of the day. Jordan’s Shaker Jweihan and Mustafa Juma stopped at the scene of their fellow countryman’s accident and were later handed back the time lost to lead the MERC2 category in fourth overall.
The Kuwaiti duo of Jassim Al-Muqahwi and Sulaiman Al-Helal were fifth and second in MERC2, ahead of the sixth-placed local crew of Zakariya and Al-Aamri and Mohammed Al-Mazroui.
Jordan’s Sami Fleifel and Ibrahim Ali and Mohammed Al-Shorafa and Yazan Juma survived the carnage in seventh and eighth.
The battle for honours in the Oman National Rally developed into a thrilling tussle. Saif Al-Harthy, Zakariya Al-Ofi and Salim Al-Touqi won a stage apiece in the morning and Al-Harthy led by just one-tenth of a second from Al-Ofi at the midday break. Al-Ofi then moved into an 11-second lead after two stages in the afternoon.
Wassif Al-Kharusi retired after the fourth stage with two damaged wheels and Ghaith Al-Qassmi and Haitham Soomar also retired.
Friday – as it happened
A first run through the 15.69km of Ar-Rusays kickstarted the day’s action. Al-Rawahi pushed Al-Attiyah to the limit, although the Qatari was able to extend his overnight lead to 9.6 seconds with the stage win. Bakhashab retained third and Jweihan led the MERC2 field. A mere 0.5 seconds separated the two QMMF Rally4 Peugeots in Al-Marri’s favour.
Lebanon’s Shadi El Fakih had been plagued by fuel pump issues on Thursday and was not able to start the first of Friday’s stages. Mohammed Al-Shorafa rolled his Mitsubishi but was able to complete the special with the loss of around 20 minutes.
The Ar-Rassah stage (19.22km) followed and an impressive Al-Rawahi claimed the stage win by just eight-tenths of a second and trimmed Al-Attiyah’s lead to 8.8 seconds. The Qatari had a slow puncture.
Jweihan continued to control the narrative in MERC2 and held fifth position behind Bakhashab and Al-Atya. Al-Muhannadi increased his cushion over Al-Marri to 11.8 seconds in the Rally4 duel. Al-Aamri dropped five minutes and slipped to 12th place.
The last stage of the morning’s loop was Al-Uwaynah (13.99km). Al-Attiyah managed to beat Al-Rawahi by 3.4 seconds and headed to the regroup and service stop in Sohar with a midday lead of 12.2 seconds.
Al-Attiyah said: “Very good. We had a good pace without any risks. It was just to get a good feeling after Dakar. It is not easy with a small car. Abdullah is at home and knows the stages well, but we have a good pace. The stages will be cleaner this afternoon and we should have better times but we take it really easy.”
Al-Rawahi said: “It was a good first loop for us. We are trying to be clean and push at the same time. It is not easy. We are trying to control the pace. I am still not very comfortable with the car. I think I still need to get used to the brakes. Overall, it’s getting better. Always a bonus to get a stage win but we are looking forward to the rest of the event. It is easy to do a mistake on these high-speed stages.”
Bakhashab and Al-Atya retained third and fourth overall. Al-Aamri was back up to full speed but Jweihan remained the dominant force in MERC2.
Bakhashab said: “It was good to be honest. First time in Oman and the first time in these stages. We are getting used to the car and the stages. It’s fun. It’s a different world (side-by-sides in W2RC). This is only my second time driving a rally car, so I am adapting a lot and every single turn is a learning curve for me. I’m getting used to it. It’s going well. I like it.”
Al-Attiyah shaved just 1.2 seconds off his opening run through Ar-Rusays 2 but it was enough to win the stage by 1.5 seconds and enabled the Qatari to increase his lead over Al-Rawahi to 13.7 seconds.
Bakhashab stopped on a long right-hander near the end of the stage for 30 minutes with a damaged suspension arm after a crash and his eventual demise lifted Al-Atya into third and MERC2 leader Jweihan into fourth place.
Al-Attiyah was seven seconds faster on a clean re-run of Ar Rassah and that pace was sufficient for his lead to grow to 18.1 seconds.
Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez had struggled with a misfiring engine from the start and stopped before the halfway point of the stage. Jweihan maintained his Rally 2 lead but dropped time to Al-Aamri for the second stage in a row.
In a dramatic turn of events, both Al-Marri and Al-Muhannadi ground to a halt in the stage with engine issues and left the MERC3 contest in complete limbo.
Al-Attiyah safely negotiated the last stage of the loop, despite a slow puncture, and returned to Sohar with an overnight advantage of 41.2 seconds after Al-Rawahi also punctured and dropped 23.1 seconds to the 20-time regional champion.
Al-Atya held on to take third but Ihab Al-Shorafa crashed out of contention midway through the special. Jweihan stopped at the scene of the accident and dropped 28 minutes on the stage with Al-Aamri taking the lead in MERC2. The Jordanian was reliant on event officials to reimburse his time after the stage was cancelled for remaining international and national crews and he moved back into fourth after a notional time was issued.
The event is running with invaluable support from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, the Al-Batinah North Governorate and Toyota Oman.
Tomorrow (Saturday), two passes through three other stages wrap up the competition. Al-Akak (25.30km) and Yanboa (13.84km) are both similar to the specials that were used in 2025 and the last stage of the loop will be at Rahab (18.92km).
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 finale with additional points available for the fastest drivers.
2026 Oman International Rally – positions after SS7 (unofficial):
1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Candido Carrera (ESP) Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2 54min 11.6sec
2. Abdullah Al-Rawahi (OMA)/Ata Al-Hmoud (JOR) Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2 54min 52.8sec
3. Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya (QAT)/Ziad Chehab (LBN) Ford Fiesta Mk II Rally 2 1hr 03min 21.8sec
4. Shaker Jweihan (JOR)/Mustafa Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 1hr 05min 16.2sec
5. Jassim Al-Muqahwi (KUW)/Sulaiman Al-Helal (KUW) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 1hr 10min 17.2sec
6. Zakariya Al-Aamri (OMA)/Mohammed Al-Mazroui (OMA) Subaru Impreza WRX Sti 1hr 13min 38.8sec
7. Sami Fleifel (JOR)/Ibrahim Ali (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 1hr 15min 17.6sec
8. Mohammed Al-Shorafa (JOR)/Yazan Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 1hr 34min 43.2sec
Ihab Al-Shurafa (JOR)/Ahmad Jankout (JOR) Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2 RETIRED – SS7
Mohammed Al-Marri (QAT)/Pierre Delorme (FRA) Peugeot 208 Rally 4 RETIRED – SS6
Rashid Al-Muhannadi (QAT)/Gary McElhinney (IRL) Peugeot 208 Rally 4 RETIRED – SS6
Bader Al-Fayez (JOR)/Joseph Matar (LBN) Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2 RETIRED – SS6
12. Hamza Bakhashab (KSA)/Lorcan Moore (IRL) Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2 RETIRED – after SS5
Shadi El Fakih (LBN)/Joseph Kmeid (LBN) Renault Clio Rally 5 RETIRED – after SS1
2026 Oman National Rally – positions after SS6 (SS7 – cancelled):
1. Zakariya Al-Ofi (OMA)/Ammar Al-Balushi (OMA) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 57min 28.6sec
2. Saif Al-Harthy (OMA)/Saif Al-Hinai (OMA) Can-Am Maverick 57min 39.6sec
3. Emad Al-Balushi (OMA)/Harib Al-Maymani (OMA) Can-Am Maverick 1hr 03min 19.7sec
4. Salim Al-Tauqi (OMA)/Issa Al-Wardi (OMA) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII 1hr 03min 20.7sec
5. Fahad Al-Balushi (OMA)/Jaber Al-Siyabi (OMA) Can-Am Maverick 1hr 03min 40.1sec
6. Hafidh Al-Naamani (OMA)/Mohamed Al-Sawafi (OMA) Can-Am Maverick 1hr 05min 21.2sec
7. Bashar Al-Qassmi (OMA)/Nasr Al-Qassmi (OMA) Toyota Yaris 1hr 10min 43.2sec
8. Mohammed Al-Harthy (OMA)/Ahmed Al-Mamari (OMA) Can-Am Maverick 1hr 14min 11.7sec
9. Mus’ab Al-Zadjali (OMA)/Sultan Al-Battashi (OMA) Kia Rio 1hr 15min 34.6sec
Haitham Soomar (OMA)/Taha Al-Zadjali (OMA) Toyota Yaris RETIRED – after SS4
Ghaith Al-Qassmi (OMA)/Bassam Al-Qassmi (OMA) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII RETIRED – after SS4
Wassif Al-Kharusi (OMA)/Warith Al-Kharusi (OMA) Toyota Yaris RETIRED – after SS4
Hamood Al-Tauqi (OMA)/Hazza Al-Touqi (OMA) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII RETIRED – after SS1
