Jordan Motorsport’s Ambitious Plans for the Jordan Rally

AMMAN (JORDAN): The upcoming Jordan Rally will be the fourth round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC), and Jordan Motorsport today announced that 22 cars grace the official entry list for the event taking place on May 29th-31st.

Crews will tackle a dozen special stages and 196.30 competitive kilometres in the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley areas. The event will also count towards the new Junior and Master Championships for Drivers.

Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and Candido Carrera head the field after winning the opening three rounds of the season in Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. They will be aiming to defend a 31-point lead over Rakan Al-Rashed and Hugo Magalhães in their respective MERC Drivers’ and Co-drivers’ Championships. The record 16-time winner of the event lays trust in his Autotek Škoda Fabia RS Rally2.

A total of eight Rally2 machines grace the entry list: defending regional champion Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, the 2023 MERC champion Abdullah Al-Rawahi, Qatari Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya, Bassal Abu Hamdan, and the Jordanian duo of Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez and Ihab Al-Shorafa complete the list. Both local drivers have entered Škoda Fabias.

Oman’s Zakariya Al-Aamri and Abdullah Al-Zubair are currently locked in their battle for supremacy in the FIA MERC2 category in a pair of Subarus, and they head a list of seven crews aiming for showroom class honours.

Local knowledge may favour the defending regional champion Shaker Jweihan, while Kuwait’s Jassim Al-Muqahwi and Salem Al-Dhafeeri, Lebanon’s Shadi Al-Fakih, and Palestine’s Hamada Uda round off the MERC2 field. All five challengers to the front-running Omani duo wheel out Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Xs.

Qatari Rashid Al-Mohannadi has a commanding lead in the two-wheel drive FIA MERC4 category after three rounds. He faces competition from young Qatar Academy drivers, Mohammed Al-Marri and Saad Al-Harqan, and Indian driver Payyakkal Panikkaveettil (Ford Fiesta). All three Qataris drive French-built Peugeot 208s.

The local duo of Shadi Shaban and Mohammed Al-Shorafa and Lebanon’s Joanna Hasoun round off the entry in a trio of Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IXs. All but two of the 22 entrants are registered for the MERC.

This year’s event is supported by Zain Jordan, Guarantee Travel Group, Hala and Bliss FM, Markazia, and Toyota Gazoo Racing Jordan.

2025 Jordan Rally – entry list:

1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Candido Carrera (ESP) Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2

2. Rakan Al-Rashed (KSA)/Hugo Magalhães (POR) Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2

3. Abdullah Al-Rawahi (OMA)/Ata Al-Hmoud (JOR) Škoda Fabia R5 Rally 2

4. Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Ziad Chehab (LBN) Ford Fiesta Mk II Rally 2

5. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Lorcan Moore (IRL) Citroën C3 Rally 2

6. Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez (JOR)/Vili Oslaj (SLO) Škoda Fabia Rally 2

7. Ihab Al-Shurafa (JOR)/Ahmad Jankhout (JOR) Škoda Fabia Evo Rally 2

8. Bassel Abu Hamdan (KSA)/Firas Elias (LBN) Škoda Fabia R5 Rally 2

9. Abdullah Al-Zubair (OMA)/Taha Al-Zadjali (OMA) Subaru Impreza N14

10. Shaker Jweihan (JOR)/Aisvydas Paliukenas (LTU) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

11. Jassim Al-Muqahwi (KUW)/Suleiman Al-Helal (KUW) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

12. Shadi El Fakih (LBN)/Joseph Kmeid (LBN) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

13. Zakariya Al-Aamri (OMA)/Mohammed Al-Mazroui (OMA) Subaru Impreza N14

14. Salem Al-Dhafeeri (KUW)/Waleed Al-Dhafeeri (KUW) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X*

15. Hamada Uda (PAL)/Mustafa Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

16. Rashid Al-Muhannadi (QAT)/Gary McElhinney (IRL) Peugeot 208 Rally 4

17. Payyaakkal ‘Saneem’ Panikkaveettil (IND)/Musa Sherif (IND) Ford Fiesta Rally 4

18. Mohammed Al-Marri (QAT)/Giovanni Bernacchini (ITA) Peugeot 208 Rally 4

19. Saad Al-Harqan (QAT)/Pierre Delorme (FRA) Peugeot 208 Rally 4

20. Shadi Shaban (JOR)/Samer Issa (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX (NAT)

21. Mohammed Al-Shorafa (JOR)/Yazan Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX (NAT)*

21. Joanna Hassoun (LBN)/Sami Fleifel (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX (NAT)

*denotes not registered for the MERC

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