The Peninsula
The spectacular backdrop of Al Maha Island hosts the official start ceremony of the Qatar International Rally for the first time from 19:00hrs today.
The second round of the 2023 FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) has attracted 23 FIA cars and competitors from 14 nations. They will tackle 13 special stages before the finish back on Al Maha Island on Saturday afternoon.
Competitive action organised by the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) gets underway with a 3.27km special stage on tarmac at the LCSC Karting Academy from 20:00hrs tonight.
For the second successive year, the event has attracted stars from the FIA World Rally Championship and the last three winners of the coveted FIA WRC2 Championship will line up against the GCC’s and Levant’s leading drivers.
Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah is a 16-time winner of his home event and chasing win number 17 is paramount for the five-time Dakar Rally winner, who trails Abdullah Al Rawahi by six points in the MERC after round one in Oman. Al Attiyah’s Volkswagen Polo GTI was damaged in the Sultanate and has been rebuilt this week at the service park in Lusail. He again teams up with Andorra-based co-driver Mathieu Baumel, who has won five Qatar rallies.
Mads Østberg, Andreas Mikkelsen and Emil Lindholm won the last three WRC2 Championships and the talented Scandinavians will push Al Attiyah every step of the way over the coming three days. Østberg has the added experience of having competed on the event last year and will take huge confidence from the fact that he led outright until a water leak ruined his winning aspirations.
Mikkelsen and Lindholm are competing in Qatar for the first time and fast, open gravel and stony desert terrain is a far cry from the fast, flowing gravel speed tests they are used to on loose surface rounds of the WRC. The three SRT Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo drivers are sure to light the touch paper and ignite a thrilling tussle in the northern Qatar deserts.
Al Rawahi needs to stay clear of the frenetic battle for outright victory and concentrate on the defence of his early MERC series lead. A second victory in Oman in three years has given the Omani a superb opportunity to win a maiden regional title and he knows full well that the Scandinavian trio running ahead are not registered for the MERC. His Jordanian co-driver Ata Al Hmoud leads the Co-drivers’ Championship.
Both Abdulaziz Al Kuwari and Khalid Al Suwaidi are proven MERC winners and have experience on the world stage but neither of the QMMF-backed Qataris have been able to benefit from a full rallying programme in recent seasons. They wheel out two additional Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evos, with Al Kuwari dearly hoping to repeat his famous 2012 victory in Qatar and Al Suwaidi chasing the goal of a third regional rally win to add to his successes in Kuwait in 2012 and 2022.
Nasser Khalifa Al Atya won the Qatar International Rally 30 years ago and currently holds fourth place in this year’s championship. He teams up with Italian navigator Giovanni Bernacchini in the sole Ford Fiesta R5.
Sadoon Al Kuwari is also a veteran of numerous former Qatar rallies and the father of Abdulaziz and Meshari Al Thefiri’s co-driver Nasser (Al Kuwari) is celebrating 40 years of active competition across rallying and racing disciplines. He has recruited the services of the experienced Belgian co-driver Stéphane Prévot for his quest for honours in a Volkswagen Polo GTI - a record ninth Rally2 car in the field.
Al Thefiri is a multiple former MERC2 champion and leads the category by six points after the first round in Oman, in addition to holding third in the overall championship.
The Kuwaiti faces strong competition from a dozen rivals and a host of drivers from Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and Oman, who include his current closest MERC2 title challengers, Shaker Jweihan, Yousef Al Dhafeeri, Sheikh Bader Al Fawaz and Shadi Shaban. Jordan’s Issa Abu Jamous is a late withdrawal from the original entry list.
Running at the rear of the field are a pair of T4 machines in the hands of Khalid Al Muhannadi (Polaris) and Stefano Marrini (Can-Am).
Teams carried out reconnaissance of the northern gravel special stages on Wednesday before the compulsory technical scrutineering checks are carried out by event officials at Lusail.