2025 Qatar International Rally
FIA Middle East Rally Championship, round 2
For immediate release
Tuesday, February 4th, 2025
QMMF PLANS 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS AS TEAMS MAKE FINAL PREPARATIONS FOR THE QATAR INTERNATIONAL RALLY
LUSAIL (Qatar): This weekend’s Qatar International Rally is the second round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) but it is also the 50th anniversary of the first ever event to be held in 1975.
From that small acorn, the joint third oldest rally in the Middle East – the Rally of Lebanon and Cyprus ran for the first time in 1968 and 1970 and Kuwait also hosted a rally in 1975 – has become one of the most popular events in the whole of Asia.
Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah will be trying to break his own record of 17 victories on his home rally this weekend. The list of previous winners is an impressive one: current FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem won on nine occasions, local legend Saeed Al-Hajri claimed six wins and the defending MERC champion, Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, prevailed back in 2012.
As far as co-drivers are concerned, Irishman Ronan Morgan holds the record with eight wins, Mathieu Baumel and Chris Patterson partnered Al-Attiyah to six and five successes apiece and Giovanni Bernacchini claimed four victories with the Qatari between 2010 and 2014.
Two of the most surprising wins came with victories for Group N/MERC 2 cars. Oman’s Nizar Al-Shanfari teamed up with the late Tom Steele to stun his rivals with victory in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V in 1999 and Rashid Al-Naimi and Hugo Magalhães secured a shock win in 2017 with a Subaru Impreza WRX STi.
The Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) will be celebrating 50 years this weekend, as 29 teams and competitors from 19 countries make their final preparations for the weekend’s action at the service park within the Lusail International Circuit. Twenty-one of those teams are now registered for 2025 MERC points.
Al-Attiyah began competing in off-road events from 1989 and 1990 and then returned to the sport with a vengeance in 2003. He won his first Qatar International Rally that year with British co-driver Steve Lancaster in a Subaru Impreza WRC and has since celebrated victory in Qatar with four additional car manufacturers and as many new co-drivers.
Speaking at Lusail on Tuesday, Al-Attiyah said: “I remember when Saeed (Al-Hajri) and Mohammed (Ben Sulayem), Jaber Al-Marri, Mamdouh (Khayat) and many others were competing. We were watching. Then, in 1990, I did the first Qatar International with a Toyota Celica from Mohammed. I was leading all the way until we broke the rear diff. People started to say that this was the new Saeed coming. It was nice memories.
“I stopped for 10 years and came back to win for the first time in 2003. I raced the full championship with a WRC Prodrive Subaru and we won the championship for the first time. Then, we started to make our own history.
“So many changes over the years, from the cars to safety. Now, when you see the old cars compared to the new ones, you don’t want to jump in the older ones. We are happy with the safety of the new cars. We talk about the Rally 2 car. That is faster than even the WRC car from 2015 and 2016.”
Bernacchini is working as team co-ordinator for the 1993 event winner Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya this weekend. The Italian said: “This rally is one of the best in the Middle East with typical desert conditions. I won here four times. That was good memories but I didn’t just make this rally with Nasser Saleh. I made it with Nasser Khalifa. My first rally here was actually in 2009 with Faisal Al-Attiyah, so almost with all the family I made this rally.
“There has been a big improvement. It is very difficult to see the way on desert roads. But the QMMF now marks the stages properly with flags and fences. When I first started it was very difficult with just corners to manage the co-driving. Now, even though it is a desert rally, you can see the roads from afar. The fact we also have Lusail and the QMMF HQ and the super special stage all very close is now very good.”
Nasser Al-Marri has been following the Qatar International Rally since he was a young boy and has a regular blog on social media portraying archive of the MERC. Speaking at Lusail, the Qatari said: “I remember my first event was in 1976. The start was at the Khalifa Stadium. I was around six-years-old and I came with my brother. Then I came again in ’78 and then in 1983.
“I spectated on all those rallies. Then I was with my brother from 1995 and with the federation (QMMF) in 2004 and 2005 until 2010. The Middle East is not like before but everything has improved. Before, for many years, everything to do with the rally was at the Ramada in Doha and now we have the circuit and the modern facilities and that has changed everything.
The 50th anniversary rally is being held under the chairmanship of QMMF President Abdulrahman Al-Mannai, senior committee member Abdulrazaq Al-Kuwari and the QMMF’s Executive Director Amro Al-Hamad.
Tomorrow (Wednesday), competitors will carry out a full reconnaissance of the six different gravel special stages in the northern desert. Vehicles will also pass technical scrutineering checks at the Lusail International Circuit.
Qatar International Rally – previous winners
+1975 Peter Austin (GBR)/Hameed Abdel Rahman (QAT) Mazda 929 Coupe
1976 no rally
+1977 John Blackwell (GBR)/John Rollings (GBR) Mazda 808
+1978 Harry Kallstrom (SWE)/Claes Billstam (SWE) Datsun 160JSSS
1979 no rally
1980 no rally
1981 no rally
1982 no rally
+1983 Saeed Al-Hajri (QAT)/John Spiller (GBR) Opel Ascona 400
1984 Saeed Al-Hajri (QAT)/John Spiller (GBR) Porsche 911 SC RS
1985 Saeed Al-Hajri (QAT)/John Spiller (GBR) Porsche 911 SC RS
1986 Björn Waldegård (SWE)/Fred Gallagher (GBR) Toyota Celica Twin Cam Turbo
1987 Saeed Al-Hajri (QAT)/Ronan Morgan (IRL) Porsche 911 SC RS
1988 Mohammed Ben Sulayem (UAE)/Ronan Morgan (IRL) Toyota Celica Twin Cam Turbo
1989 Saeed Al-Hajri (QAT)/Steve Bond (GBR) Ford Sierra RS Cosworth
1990 Mohammed Ben Sulayem (UAE)/Ronan Morgan (IRL) Toyota Celica GT4
1991 Mohammed Ben Sulayem (UAE)//Ronan Morgan (IRL) Toyota Celica GT4
1992 Saeed Al-Hajri (QAT)/Mike Corner (GBR) Toyota Celica GT4
1993 Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Mubarak Al Hajri (QAT) Toyota Celica GT4
1994 Suhail Bin Khalifa Al-Maktoum (UAE)/Khaled Malik (UAE) Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD
1995 Khalifa Al-Mutawei (UAE)/Mubarak Al-Hajri (QAT) Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD
1996 Mohammed Ben Sulayem (UAE)/Ronan Morgan (IRL) Ford Escort RS Cosworth
1997 Mohammed Ben Sulayem (UAE)/Ronan Morgan (IRL) Ford Escort RS Cosworth
1998 Mohammed Ben Sulayem (UAE)/Ronan Morgan (IRL) Ford Escort WRC
1999 Nizar Al-Shanfari (OMN)/Tom Steele (GBR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V
2000 Mohammed Ben Sulayem (UAE)/Ronan Morgan (IRL) Ford Focus WRC
2001 Mohammed Ben Sulayem (UAE)/Khaled Zakaria (JOR) Ford Focus WRC
2002 Mohammed Ben Sulayem (UAE)/John Spiller (GBR) Ford Focus WRC
2003 Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah (QAT)/Steve Lancaster (GBR) Subaru Impreza WRC
*2004 Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Chris Patterson (GBR) Subaru Impreza WRX STi ‘N’
2005 Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Chris Patterson (GBR) Subaru Impreza WRX STi ‘N’
2006 Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Chris Patterson (GBR) Subaru Impreza WRX STi ‘N’
2007 Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Chris Patterson (GBR) Subaru Impreza WRX STi ‘N’
2008 Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Chris Patterson (GBR) Subaru Impreza N14
2009 Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Tina Thörner (SWE) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X
2010 Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Giovanni Bernacchini (ITA) Ford Fiesta S2000
2011 Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Giovanni Bernacchini (ITA) Ford Fiesta S2000
2012 Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Nasser Al-Kuwari (QAT) Mini S2000
2013 Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT/Giovanni Bernacchini (ITA) Ford Fiesta RRC
2014 Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Giovanni Bernacchini (ITA) Ford Fiesta RRC
2015 Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Mathieu Baumel (FRA) Ford Fiesta
2016 Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Mathieu Baumel (FRA) Skoda Fabia R5 RRC
2017 Rashed Al-Naimi (QAT)/Hugo Magalhães (PRT) Subaru Impreza WRX STi (MERC 2)
2018 Vojtĕch Štajf (CZE)/Veronika Havelková (CZE) Škoda Fabia R5
2019 Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Mathieu Baumel (FRA) Volkswagen Polo GTI R5
2020 Cancelled – Covid-19
2021 Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Mathieu Baumel (FRA) Volkswagen Polo GTI R5
2022 Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Mathieu Baumel (FRA) Volkswagen Polo GTI
2023 Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Mathieu Baumel (FRA) Volkswagen Polo GTI
2024 Pierre-Louis Loubet (FRA)/Loris Pascaud (FRA) Škoda Fabia RS Rally2
*denotes MERC candidate event
+not a round of MERC
Ends
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