Qatar's Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah clinches 17th Jordan Rally victory
Getter-up-and-attend,'cause Al-Attiyah's reigning supreme in the Jordan Rally once more! This Qatari rally ace, known as Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah, bagged a whopping 17 freakin' wins in this bad boy, and he's zeroing in on an unprecedented 20th title in the Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) since 2003. And here's the kicker – his new team with Spanish co-driver Candido Carrera has a 100% winning record at the opening four rounds of the current MERC season, taking trophies in Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and now freakin' Jordan!
He beamed, "I'm stoked as hell to win again here in Jordan for the 17th time. This means a ton to me. We've won every rally so far this year. It feels like a good freakin' year, leading the Middle East Championship and leading the W2RC. I'll give it 10 out of 10 for this rally. Today, we controlled the pace and tried to make a gap in case we got a flat."
Now, there was this Omani chaser, Abdullah Al-Rawahi, who put the pressure on Al-Attiyah throughout Friday, but a time-consuming flat tire slowed him down on Saturday's opening Panorama stage, and another flat tire on stage 10 was the nail in the coffin. Poor fella had to settle for second place.
Al-Rawahi grumbled, "It's been a bloomin' long two days for us. The first day was great, and our pace was close to Al-Attiyah's. Unfortunately, today we had some flats and lost some time. Overall, we're feeling pretty good with our performance. It's been the closest we've been to Al-Attiyah in the battle.
"We don't really have much seat time in the car. After this rally, I've got three months off not driving my car. My car is an older model, and there's a difference in experience between me and Al-Attiyah. That's why it's good he's in the championship. He helps us push and get closer to him. It's still good. We wanted to win, but we're still happy."
Third place went to Qatar's Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari and Irish co-driver Lorcan Moore, who tried various setups with their Citroën C3 but couldn't match the pace of the leaders this time around. But they did enough to finish on the podium.
Rakan Al-Rashed's main goal was to complete the event, and he teamed up again with Portuguese co-driver Hugo Magalhães in a Jameel Motorsport Toyota GR Yaris. But fate had a cruel twist when his Yaris sustained some significant damage after an accident on the penultimate stage, forcing him to retire. This misfortune opened the door for Lebanese driver Bassel Abu Hamdan and co-driver Firas Elias to finish fourth in a Škoda Fabia.
Omran's Abdullah Al-Zubair claimed the MERC2 lead from start to finish with co-driver Taha Al-Tadjali, strengthening his push for the overall title. Fellow countryman Zakariya Al-Aamri had a 15-point advantage over Al-Zubair at the start of this rally, but Al-Zubair's triumph and fifth place overall has thrown the battle wide open with two rallies remaining. Al-Aamri settled for second in the category and eighth overall.
Al-Zubair grinned, "We're feeling happy with this result. It's been a tough race. It's also sweltering hot. This was our first time here. On the first day, we were flat out and won every stage. Today, we took it easy. We had a good lead, and our strategy paid off."
Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya extended his run of consistent form to bring his Ford Fiesta to the Dead Sea finish in sixth, securing success in the inaugural MERC Master Championship with two rounds to run.
The Jordanian duo of Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez and Shadi Shaban finished seventh and ninth overall, while Qatari veteran Rashid Al-Mohannadi's tenth place was enough to secure victory in the MERC4 category and seal the championship title with two rounds to spare.
This bad boy wraps up the 2025 Jordan Rally. The Middle East Rally Championship continues in Lebanon on September 5th-7th. And as far as badass rally drivers go, it doesn't get much better than Al-Attiyah. This cat's got the skills, the strategy, and the heart to rule them all. Keep your eyes peeled for more of his dominance in the world of rally racing. Cheers!
Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah, despite the competition from Abdullah Al-Rawahi, maintained his winning streak in the Jordan Rally, showcasing his dominance in auto-racing. In the ongoing MERC season, his new team has already won all four rounds, including this one in Jordan, indicating an impressive run in the sports of racing.
Al-Rawahi, despite facing challenges with flats during the rally, acknowledged the experience and championship lead of Al-Attiyah, hinting at the latter's influence in pushing his own performance in auto-racing.
