MEDIA INFORMATION
Oman Rally Sohar International
2022 FIA Middle East Rally Championship – January 27th-29th
For immediate release
Thursday, January 27th, 2022
AL-WAHAIBI STARTS OMAN RALLY CAMPAIGN WITH SECOND FASTEST TIME ON FIRST STAGE
MUSCAT (OMAN): Omani rally driver Hamed Al-Wahaibi began his challenge for home glory by recording the second quickest time through the opening 3.90km super special stage at the Oman Rally Sohar International on Thursday afternoon.
The 53-year-old and his New Zealand co-driver Tony Sircombe are bidding to win the Sultanate’s flagship special stage event for the first time in their new Motortune-prepared Škoda Fabia Evo.
They set a blistering pace through the opening stage to card a time of 3min 46.1sec and reached the night halt a mere 3.3 seconds behind the 17-time regional champion and recent Dakar Rally winner Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah.
It was a particularly encouraging start for the Omani, who returned to action at the Cyprus and Oregon Trail rallies last year, but has not competed in a top line event since October 2021 and is not registering for this year’s regional series.
“Good first stage and getting back into it without taking too many risk,” said Al-Wahaibi. “The car was working well and the team is perfect. Tony is fantastic. Everything is smooth. I am here to compete with myself and enjoy the rally. I am not here to compete with anyone else. I am not registering for the championship and I am not worrying about the championship.
“I just want to enjoy myself. If I beat Nasser, fantastic. If Nasser beats me and I finish second, fantastic. We know Nasser’s capabilities. I am very proud of Nasser and what he is achieving. He is a good friend.”
Co-driver Tony Sircombe added: “A good easy start. I think the pressure is on Nasser to perform a little bit, maybe on that first stage. Knowledge is really on the other roads over the weekend and we will be behind him, so we will see his lines and what risks he is willing to take. We are happy going into the weekend.”
The bulk of the competitive action in the Oman event takes place over 12 timed gravel stages on Friday and Saturday. Al-Wahaibi will be hoping to take advantage of three days of testing he carried out earlier this week in the Hatat region.
2022 Oman Rally Sohar International – positions after SS1:
1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Alba Sánchez González (ESP) Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 3min 42.8sec
2. Hamed Al-Wahaibi (OMN)/Tony Sircombe (NZL) Škoda Fabia R5 3min 46.1sec
3. Abdullah Al-Rawahi (OMN)/Ata Al-Hmoud (JOR) Škoda Fabia R5 3min 51.5sec
4. Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya (QAT)/Giovanni Bernacchini (ITA) Ford Fiesta R5 4min 09.9sec
5. Petr Kačirek (CZE)/Václav Kopáček (CZE) Škoda Fabia R5 4min 11.0sec
6. Issa Abu Jamous (JOR)/Emad Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 4min 15.3sec
7. Jarah Al-Touqi (OMN)/Issa Al-Wardi (OMN) Subaru Impreza 4min 26.3sec
8. Zakariya Al-Aamri (OMN)/Mohammed Al-Aamri (OMN) Subaru Impreza 4min 32.5sec
9. Ihab Al-Shorafa (JOR)/Yousef Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 4min 35.7sec
Ends
For further information: contact Ameen Jarrar, Marketing and PR, Oman Rally Team, Tel: +968 9543 9859.