Oman’s Abdullah Al Rawahi prepares for Jordan Rally showdown

AMMAN — Oman’s Abdullah Al Rawahi is in the Kingdom preparing for the Jordan Rally, this weekend’s fourth round of the 2022 FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) from May 19-21, according to the Jordan Rally Media Service.

The talented youngster has endured mixed fortunes at the start of this season’s regional rally series and heads to a dozen demanding gravel special stages in the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley areas lying in third place in the Drivers’ Championship, a mere five points behind Jordan’s second-placed Issa Abu Jamous. Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah is the defending champion and leads the series at the halfway point. 

Rawahi secured points for fourth place in the season opener in his native Oman, finished a superb second overall in Qatar and then failed to add to his points’ tally in Kuwait after a heavy landing caused radiator issues and a subsequent engine failure.

Rawahi will team up with Jordanian co-driver Ata Al Hmoud again in Jordan and will drive his customary Oman Rally Team Škoda Fabia R2 evo.

The Omani said: “I am very excited for the Jordan Rally after a long wait for the fourth round of the championship. The last rally in Kuwait was really tough for us because we lost the engine. Hopefully, this time, we will have better luck with that. Jordan stages are quite familiar to me. That is where I actually started, so we are hoping to come back stronger and finish in the top three or even on the top spot!”

Friday’s three timed tests will be used in the morning and the afternoon and are centred around the Jordan Valley area to the north of the Dead Sea. 

The first of two passes through the Bahath stage gets the action under way on Saturday. Competitors then tackle a stage at Suwayma and the 17km of Ma’in 1, before returning to the service park before midday. The three specials will then be repeated in the afternoon.

Competitors will tackle 205.22 competitive kilometres in a route of 588.62km.