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

For immediate release
Friday, February 7th, 2025

MASSIVE LEAD FOR AL-ATTIYAH AND CARRERA AFTER SEVEN STAGES OF THE QATAR INTERNATIONAL RALLY

  • Punctures hamper rivals’ challenges; Al-Kuwari holds second place
  • Østberg snatches third from Al-Rawahi; Oman’s Al-Zubair on top in MERC2

LUSAIL (Qatar): Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and his Spanish co-driver Candido Carrera forged into a comfortable lead of 1min 47.3sec after six challenging gravel stages through the northeastern desert at the Qatar International Rally on Friday.

The Qatari crushed his rivals through the opening three speed tests that constituted the morning’s loop and won two of the afternoon’s repeat passes in his Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2. He said: “Very good day. We did a good job and I am happy. We had only one puncture (SS5) and the rest was good. If you have a puncture, it will be a disaster. We try to keep the pace like this afternoon. We lose two or three seconds from our pace, but I am happy.”

Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari admitted that it felt strange to be running as the first car on the road and he took some time to acclimatise. Along with Irish co-driver Lorcan Moore, the current regional champion guided his new Citroën C3 to second place overnight.

Al-Kuwari said: “I think this is my first proper rally in the Citroën. I am very happy. It is a good car and the feeling was good. Lorcan did a very good job. It is not easy to read the roads at that speed in Qatar. I am getting confidence every kilometre. The pace is very high to be honest. Nasser’s pace is crazy high. I am really shocked when I see the stage times. Sometimes when I do almost no mistakes in a stage…I need to improve a lot. That’s all I can say…”

A double puncture during the morning and then a sixth-stage flat tyre ruined Mads Østberg’s chance of applying pressure on Al-Attiyah with his Romanian co-driver Sergiu Itu. The Norwegian fought back from fourth place to hold third and is well-placed to attack Al-Kuwari on Saturday.  

Østberg said: “Another puncture (SS6) this afternoon. It’s going a bit wrong this time, basically. We tried to be smarter from the start and it just kicked us the other way around. I think this race is about luck or no luck sometimes. With experience, like Nasser, you can see he has no punctures. He knows what he is doing. At least, for me, it makes no difference if I am pushing or not pushing, so I might as well just go…”

Abdullah Al-Rawahi and Ata Al-Hmoud sustained two slow punctures on the first stage of the morning and then two more flat tyres during the afternoon on their Škoda Fabia RS. The Omani remained in contention for the podium, however, and held fourth place.

He said: “Another two punctures, four in total. I am just happy we made it back here and we are still in a good position to fight for at least second place. One puncture on the second stage of the loop, three kilometres from the end, and the other was on the last stage.”

Rakan Al-Rashed is making his debut in Qatar with a Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2 and Portuguese co-driver Hugo Magalhães. He overcame two flat tyres during the afternoon to hold fifth.

The Saudi said: “As expected, it wasn’t easy at all. It’s my first time here in Qatar. Everyone was talking about how challenging this rally can be and that has exceeded my expectations. I am happy to be here at the end of the day. We had two punctures but we managed to get back. Now, we manage the race tomorrow and see what happens.”

Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya is chasing Masters Championship and MERC points and he and Ziad Chehab were sixth after another solid performance. Denis Krotov and Yury Kulikov held seventh in their SRT Škoda Fabia RS and the Omani duo of Abdullah Al-Zubair and Taha Al-Zadjali were eighth and first in the MERC2 category in a Subaru Impreza.

Rashid Al-Muhannadi guided his Peugeot 208 to ninth and the lead in Rally4, while Jordan’s Shadi Shaban was 10th in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX.

Outside the top 10, Oman’s Zakariya Al-Aamri, Lebanon’s Jad Al-Aawar, Qatar’s Mohammed Al-Atteya, Kuwait’s Jassim Al-Muqahwi and India’s Mohammed Mansoor Parol and held 11th to 15th places and were classified second to sixth in MERC2.

Saad Al-Harqan and Mohammed Al-Marri drove well on their first appearances in the Qatar Motorsport Sports Academy Peugeot 208s and were classified in 20th and 21st.

Friday – as it happened

All 28 crews survived the late night super special in Lusail, although Simone Temeroli was handed a 10-minute time penalty and plummeted to the foot of the rankings before the restart. Østberg had one of his five-second penalties rescinded and was given the stage win and the overnight lead, as Al-Kuwari led crews into the 16.94km of the opening Waab Al-Mashrab stage in the northeast of the country.

The reigning regional champion stopped the clocks in 10min 05.3sec but a flying Al-Attiyah was 18.7 seconds quicker than his rival and 17 faster than Al-Rawahi, who had a slow puncture. Østberg was also no match for the Qatari and lost his miniscule lead after dropping 7.5 seconds on the stage. Al-Rashed was a distant fifth. Abdullah Al-Zubair led the MERC2 runners and all 28 crews completed the stage.

A first pass through the high-speed Al-Waab 1 (17.71km) stage followed swiftly but Al-Kuwari ceded another 23.1 seconds to Al-Attiyah, who averaged 120.18km/h through the special. Scant consolation for Al-Kuwari was being able to climb above Al-Rawahi (puncture) and into third on the leader board. Østberg maintained second but dropped another 4.5 seconds to Al-Attiyah. Al-Zubair continued to edge away from Ahmad Khaled in MERC2 but Stefano Marrini pulled out midway through the stage with broken suspension.

The last stage of a rapid-fire morning loop was Al-Khor (17.25km). Al-Attiyah stopped the clocks in 9min 14.2sec to take another fastest time and headed for the regroup and service in Lusail with a stunning lead of 1min 01.9sec over Al-Kuwari after Østberg dropped 1min 27sec to the leader with a double puncture and slipped behind Al-Rawahi into fourth. Al-Rashed retained a distant fifth and Ahmad Khaled gained a slender MERC2 advantage.

Al-Attiyah said: “We push. It was not easy because I know Mads is very fast as well. But it was a good plan. We win all three stages. I am happy with the set-up of the car. The afternoon will be rougher but we will try to do our best.”

Østberg said: “We tried to be a bit safer than the previous years, avoiding rocks and all that. But it seemed to go completely in the opposite direction. This is the first time I have a double puncture here in Qatar, so it happened on the same place. We arrived and I could see the other guys taking different lines going off the road. We were trying to play safe, staying on the road, but it cost us very heavily. This rally is a bit like that. It’s a lottery sometimes. You know there are rocks and it depends on which end of the rock is against you. Obviously, we had two sharp ends!”

The three specials were repeated in the afternoon. Al-Kuwari shaved 1.7 seconds off his morning’s run but still ceded 13.3 seconds to Al-Attiyah, who suffered a flat tyre. Østberg snatched the stage win and closed the gap on Al-Rawahi in the battle for third place. Al-Zubair regained the advantage over Khaled and Zakariya Al-Aamri in a tense MERC2 tussle. Italy’s Simone Temeroli did not start the second loop after engine issues and Mirko Carrara stopped in the stage.

Al-Attiyah was slightly slower on his second run through Al-Waab but he still managed to take the stage win and increase his overall lead over Al-Kuwari to 1min 31.2sec. Østberg punctured, was second quickest and moved to within one-tenth of a second of Al-Rawahi in the duel for third. Khaled ground to a halt midway through the stage and lost six minutes and Al-Zubair was able to extend his lead in MERC2.

Al-Khor 2 was the final stage of the day and Al-Attiyah stayed clear of trouble to clock the fastest time and reach the overnight halt with a massive lead of 1min 47.3sec. Østberg was second and managed to overhaul Al-Rawahi and move into third overall. Marco Marotta retired in the last stage.

Tomorrow (Saturday), competitors will tackle two loops of an additional three special stages before the ceremonial finish at Lusail Boulevard. Action gets underway with the Umm Birka stage – the longest of the rally at 21.51km – from 08.33hrs. Runs through Ras Laffan (09.16hrs) and Al-Thakhira (09.42hrs) follow before a return to Lusail for a late morning regroup and service.

The three timed tests are repeated in the afternoon from 12.08hrs, 12.51hrs and 13.17hrs with the post-event podium ceremony scheduled for 19.00hrs.

2025 Qatar International Rally – positions after SS7 (unofficial @16.10hrs):

  1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Candido Carrera (ESP) Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2 1hr 00min 40.5sec
  2. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Lorcan Moore (IRL) Citroën C3 Rally 2                                                                         1hr 02min 27.8sec
  3. Mads Østberg (NOR)/Sergiu Itu (ROU) Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2                                                                         1hr 02min 32.3sec*
  4. Abdullah Al-Rawahi (OMA)/Ata Al-Hmoud (JOR) Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2 1hr 02min 43.9sec
  5. Rakan Al-Rashed (KSA)/Hugo Magalhães (POR) Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2 1hr 06min 36.3sec
  6. Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Ziad Chehab (LBN) Ford Fiesta Mk II Rally 2 1hr 07min 11.4sec
  7. Denis Krotov (KGZ)/Yury Kulikov (CYP) Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2                                                                         1hr 07min 37.4sec
  8. Abdullah Al-Zubair (OMA)/Taha Al-Zadjali (OMA) Subaru Impreza                                                                         1hr 15min 15.0sec
  9. Rashid Al-Muhannadi (QAT)/Gary McElhinney (IRL) Peugeot 208 Rally 4 1hr 15min 39.1sec
  10. Shadi Shaban (JOR)/Samer Issa (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX                                                                         1hr 15min 41.8sec
  11. Zakariya Al-Aamri (OMA)/Mohammed Al-Mazroui (OMA) Subaru Impreza N14 1hr 15min 54.5sec
  12. Jad Al-Aawar (LBN)/Vicken Kanledjian (LBN) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X                                                                         1hr 17min 25.8sec
  13. Mohammed Al-Atteya (QAT)/Savvas Laos (CYP) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 1hr 19min 26.6sec*
  14. Jassim Al-Muqahwi (KUW)/Suleiman Al-Helal (KUW) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 1hr 20min 38.7sec
  15. Mohamed Mansoor Parol (IND)/Lenin Joseph (IND) Subaru Impreza                                                                         1hr 22min 16.6sec
  16. Ahmad Khaled (LBN)/Samer Sfeir (LBN) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X                                                                         1hr 23min 04.2sec
  17. Ihab Al-Shurafa (JOR)/Ahmad Jankhout (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 1hr 23min 41.2sec
  18. Christiano Gabbarrini (ITA)/Alessandro Forni (ITA) Subaru Impreza WRX STi 1hr 23min 48.5sec*
  19. Payyaakkal ‘Saneem’ Panikkaveettil (IND)/Musa Sherif (IND) Ford Fiesta Rally 2 1hr 24min 48.7sec
  20. Saad Al-Harqan (QAT)/Pierre Delorme (FRA) Peugeot 208 Rally 4                                                                         1hr 25min 33.2sec
  21. Mohammed Al-Marri (QAT)/Yannick Roche (FRA) Peugeot 208 Rally 4 1hr 27min 12.6sec
  22. Ibrahim Al-Muhanna (KSA)/Hani Al-Noumesi (KSA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T4) 1hr 29min 41.3sec
  23. Shadi El Fakih (LBN)/Joseph Kmeid (LBN) Renault Clio                                                                                                                                                 1hr 40min 53.0sec
  24. Yosra Jazzar (KSA)/Faisal Al-Suwayh (KSA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T4) 1hr 42min 37.3sec

Marco Marotta (ITA)/Lorenzo Rossi (ITA) Yamaha YXZ 1000R (T4)                                                                                                                                                                                                               RETIRED – SS7*

Mirko Carrara (ITA)/Stefano Tiraboschi (ITA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T4)                                                                                                                                                                                               RETIRED – SS5*

Simone Temeroli (SMR)/Davide Simoncini (SMR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX                                                                                                                           RETIRED – after SS4*

Stefano Marrini (ITA)/Silvio Valentini (ITA) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX                                                                                                                                                                                                            RETIRED – SS3*

*denotes not registered for the MERC

Follow the rally live:

Cronobandeira Live Results – Cronobandeira Live Results

Ends

For further media and accreditation information: Mansour Chebly, National Media Relations Officer, E-mail: manshebly@hotmail.com and Neil Perkins, Media Relations Officer, UK Mobile: + 44 7831 123153, E-mail: ndppublicity@gmail.com.

www.qmmf.com

Sportity App – password QIR2025

 

 

 

 

Published On: 7 February 2025