Abdoun takes centre stage for the start of the Jordan Rally

DEAD SEA — The Jordan Rally, Round 6 of the 2015 FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC), kicks off on Thursday from the Abdoun area with the participation of 14 teams.

Considered as one of the most challenging rounds of the MERC, the event gets under way in Abdoun Circle from 2:30pm on Thursday with an afternoon of spectator friendly events followed by two days of dramatic action in the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley areas. 

Middle East driving champion and winner of Jordan Rally 2014 Nasser Al Attiyah is currently seeking his 11th MERC title in his 13 years of driving to break the record registered by the UAE’s Mohammed Bin Suleim who had 60 wins regional wins while Attiyah has 58 under his wing.

Attiyah, who has won the 2015 Dakar Rally and the 2015 FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup champions the Oilibya Rally of Morocco, is topping the standings with 100 points after Round 5.

Attiyah will face strong competition from Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Al Rajhi and Abdulaziz Al Kuwari, while Jordan’s Maruf Abu Samra and Husam Salem will add to the pressure due to their extensive experience.

Al Rajhi, the first Saudi to be selected in 2008 by the UNICEF as the Goodwill ambassador in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, told The Jordan Times during his visit to the Al Ketab and Al Sonna Association where he presented a donation to the orphans that these types of visits are the responsibility of every person.

“I feel proud to be part of their life and as a Saudi citizen it gives me great pleasure to take on the responsibility of assisting the people who need support and care, especially orphans,” he said.

And regarding his participation in the Jordan Rally.

“The Jordan Rally has played a big part in my career and I still remember my first participation as if it was yesterday. I am ready to be part of it and I hope that I can do well and learn more,” he added.  

Meanwhile, Salem expects a tough ride and a huge challenge in the coming days.

“The Jordan Rally is never easy and the level of completion is always challenging, but we do what we are trained to do and that is to overcome the obstacles and hope for the best. We have a new and improved car and this should help our situation,” he said.

“The most important things is safety and we hope that everyone will be able to finish the rally without any incidents,” he added. 

Veteran driver and co-driver Nancy Majali, who has a long history in rallying since she started in 2000, said that time and practice improved and developed her and driver Salem’s skills.

“We are using a modified Mitsubishi Evo 9 instead of an Evo 8. Last year we came second among Jordanians and sixth overall and the first in Group N and I think we have a good chance to advance our position,” she said. 

Othman Nassif, CEO of Jordan Motorsport, told The Jordan Times that it will be a great event for all to enjoy.

“The event starts in Abdoun with a drivers Q&A session to make things more interesting, followed by a ceremonial start, then drivers will take on a specially created 2.2km route, also in the Abdoun area,” he said.

“On Friday things will heat up a bit with the coverage of 10 timed stages over 137km located within a stone’s throw of the Dead Sea Service Park. On Saturday, the region’s top drivers will tackle another 10 timed stages of 125km, which are also easily accessible,” he added. 

The Middle East Rally Championship includes the following countries: Dubai, Cyprus, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman and Qatar.