2025 Qatar International Rally
FIA Middle East Rally Championship, round 2

For immediate release
Thursday, February 6th, 2025

AL-ATTIYAH AND CARRERA FASTEST ON OPENING SUPER SPECIAL STAGE AT THE QATAR INTERNATIONAL RALLY

  • QMMF President Abdulrahman Al-Mannai joined on the podium by legends of the Qatar Rally for presentation of 50 years of the event

LUSAIL (Qatar): Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and Candido Carrera carded a time of 4min 46.9sec to edge into a 4.1-second lead after the opening 4.36km super special stage of the Qatar International Rally on Thursday evening.

The timed test at the LCSC Karting Academy followed the official start ceremony for the second round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) at Lusail Boulevard, north of Doha.

Shortly after the pre-event press conference for 10 of the leading drivers that was chaired by Amro Al-Hamad, Executive Director of the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF), the QMMF’s President Abdulrahman Al-Mannai was joined on the podium by several legends of former Qatar rallies.

To mark the 50-year history since its inauguration in 1975, Al-Mannai presented a framed photograph to six-time winner and Qatari rallying legend Saeed Al-Hajri, Sadoon Al-Kuwari (a former local driver, organiser and father of Abdulaziz and Nasser Al-Kuwari) and regular former competitor Jaber Al-Marri.

The 1993 winner, current competitor and former QMMF President Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya and Prodrive’s Chairman David Richards – the brainchild behind the formation of the Rothmans Rally Team in the early 1980s, the first Gulf Championship and the very start of the MERC – also received framed photographs on the start podium.

Twenty-eight teams and competitors from 19 countries then took the start and headed to Lusail for the opening stage.

Abdullah Al-Rawahi and Ata Al-Hmoud finished second and Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari and Lorcan Moore were third. Mads Østberg and Sergiu Itu were the quickest crew in the stage but were docked 10 seconds for clipping a couple of cones and slipped to fourth.

Speaking about the two days of desert action ahead, Al-Attiyah said: “The stages are the same as last year with just a few kilometres changed and the same starts and same finishes. The team have done a good job. There have been big steps forward. There are some rough places, of course, this is Qatar. The rally is always like this. That is part of the challenge. The weekend will be very interesting. It is nice we have the 50th anniversary of the event. I did the rally in 1990, 1991 and 1993 and then every time since 2003. This is my 25th Qatar Rally!”

Saudi driver Rakan Al-Rashed is competing in Qatar for the first time with the 2017 event-winning co-driver Hugo Magalhães. He finished fifth on the opening test in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2.

Mads Østberg enjoyed some jovial banter with Al-Attiyah at the pre-event press conference. The Norwegian said: “I really enjoy coming here. This is my fourth time and I’ve actually started to make friends here. I was even invited to a special dinner last night. One retirement and two second places, so I suppose it’s time I went one better this year!”

Ahmad Khaled is chasing MERC2 honours this season and is keen to bounce back after retiring his Mitsubishi in Oman two weeks ago. The Lebanese finished ninth on the opening stage. He said: “The first day is much better than the second day. The second day will be tough for the cars. The stages are also so fast. Hopefully we do a good result at the end. The plan is to finish and progress towards the Group N title.”

Qatar Motorsport Academy Stars Programme winners, Mohammed Al-Marri and Saad Al-Harqan, both safely negotiated their first ever competitive stage in their Peugeot 208 Rally4s.

Tomorrow (Friday), crews head north of Lusail to tackle two loops of three special stages. Action begins at 08.53km with a run through the Waab Al-Mashrab stage and passes through Al-Waab (09.20hrs) and Al-Khor (10.00hrs) complete a rapid-fire morning loop before the return to Lusail for a late morning regroup and service.

The re-run of Waab Al-Mashrab gets the afternoon action underway at 12.43hrs and the other two stages are repeated at 13.10hrs and 13.50hrs, respectively.

2025 Qatar International Rally – positions after SS1 (unofficial @22.05hrs):

  1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Candido Carrera (ESP) Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2 4min 46.9sec
  2. Abdullah Al-Rawahi (OMA)/Ata Al-Hmoud (JOR) Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2 4min 51.0sec
  3. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Lorcan Moore (IRL) Citroën C3 Rally 2                                                                         4min 51.7sec
  4. Mads Østberg (NOR)/Sergiu Itu (ROU) Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2                                                                         4min 51.8sec*
  5. Rakan Al-Rashed (KSA)/Hugo Magalhães (POR) Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2 5min 03.7sec
  6. Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Ziad Chehab (LBN) Ford Fiesta Mk II Rally 2 5min 04.7sec
  7. Christiano Gabbarrini (ITA)/Alessandro Forni (ITA) Subaru Impreza WRX STi 5min 07.7sec*
  8. Simone Temeroli (SMR)/Davide Simoncini (SMR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 5min 07.7sec*
  9. Ahmad Khaled (LBN)/Samer Sfeir (LBN) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X                                                                         5min 09.3sec
  10. Zakariya Al-Aamri (OMA)/Mohammed Al-Mazroui (OMA) Subaru Impreza N14 5min 13.7sec
  11. Shadi Shaban (JOR)/Samer Issa (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX                                                                         5min 16.4sec
  12. Shadi El Fakih (LBN)/Joseph Kmeid (LBN) Renault Clio                                                                                                                                                 5min 16.9sec
  13. Denis Krotov (KGZ)/Yury Kulikov (CYP) Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2                                                                         5min 17.1sec
  14. Stefano Marrini (ITA)/Silvio Valentini (ITA) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX                                                                         5min 17.2sec*
  15. Jad Al-Aawar (LBN)/Vicken Kanledjian (LBN) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X                                                                         5min 18.2sec
  16. Rashid Al-Muhannadi (QAT)/Gary McElhinney (IRL) Peugeot 208 Rally 4 5min 21.6sec
  17. Abdullah Al-Zubair (OMA)/Taha Al-Zadjali (OMA) Subaru Impreza                                                                         5min 29.8sec
  18. Jassim Al-Muqahwi (KUW)/Suleiman Al-Helal (KUW) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 5min 29.9sec
  19. Mohamed Mansoor Parol (IND)/Lenin Joseph (IND) Subaru Impreza                                                                         5min 33.4sec
  20. Ihab Al-Shurafa (JOR)/Ahmad Jankhout (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 5min 34.7sec
  21. Mirko Carrara (ITA)/Stefano Tiraboschi (ITA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T4) 5min 43.0sec*
  22. Mohammed Al-Atteya (QAT)/Savvas Laos (CYP) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 5min 43.5sec*
  23. Payyaakkal ‘Saneem’ Panikkaveettil (IND)/Musa Sherif (IND) Ford Fiesta Rally 2 5min 48.5sec
  24. Mohammed Al-Marri (QAT)/Yannick Roche (FRA) Peugeot 208 Rally 4 5min 49.6sec
  25. Marco Marotta (ITA)/Lorenzo Rossi (ITA) Yamaha YXZ 1000R (T4)                                                                         5min 50.3sec*
  26. Saad Al-Harqan (QAT)/Pierre Delorme (FRA) Peugeot 208 Rally 4                                                                         5min 52.0sec
  27. Ibrahim Al-Muhanna (KSA)/Hani Al-Noumesi (KSA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T4) 6min 46.2sec
  28. Yosra Jazzar (KSA)/Faisal Al-Suwayh (KSA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T4) 7min 32.5sec

*denotes not registered for the MERC

Follow the rally live:

Cronobandeira Live Results – Cronobandeira Live Results

Ends

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Published On: 6 February 2025