Qatari driver Nasser bin Saleh Al Attiyah tops the list of participants in the thirty-eighth edition of the Jordan International Rally, the second round of the Middle East Rally Championship for the 2021 season, which will be held over three days during the period between May 27 and 29.

Al-Attiyah, accompanied by French navigator Matteo Bommel, will compete in a "Volkswagen" rally with the thrilling and difficult victory he achieved last week in the Andalusia Rally in Spain in the World Cup of the Long Desert Rally Championship.

The Qatari driver enters the Jordan Rally, as the most prominent candidate to retain the title for the fourteenth time out of eighteen participation, to reinforce his record in the number of rally wins.

Nasser Al Attiyah, the 13-time rally champion and winner of the past eight seasons, faces strong competition from the most prominent drivers in the Middle East Championship, as he seeks to win the Jordan Rally title for the ninth consecutive time.

Thirteen competitors from Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Oman and Jordan were registered to participate in the rally, and the list of participants included navigators from France, Poland and Australia.

In addition to Al Attiyah, the Qatari participation also stands out with the driver Nasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah and the navigator Nasser Al Kuwari, while the Omani participation, returning to the rallying, is led by Hamad Al Wahaibi and Abdullah Al Rawahi.

The rally is witnessing Kuwaiti participation in the driver Mishari Al Dhafiri, while Salah Al Saif represents the Saudi participation, while Henry Qa'i, Alex Feghali and Shadi Al Faqih are present from Lebanon, while the Jordanian participation is led by Asim Aref, Ihab Al Shurafa and Shadi Shaaban, and Atta Al-Hamoud plays the role of the navigator for the Omani contestant Abdullah. Al Rawahi, and Moussa Jahryan plays the navigator for the Lebanese contestant Ahmed Khaled

And competing with Al Attiyah in the strongest group and the first category / RC2 /, each of his countryman Nasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah, in a Ford Fiesta, and Omani driver Hamad Al Wahibi, in a Skoda Fabia car, who returns to the championship competitions years later. From absence in an Omani team with his fellow driver Abdullah Al Rawahi, on board a Ford Fiesta.

Al Attiyah tops the general ranking of the Middle East Championship after winning the Qatar Rally, the first round of the championship, noting that the second round, which was scheduled in Amman, was postponed due to the new Corona virus (Covid-19), thus forming the Jordan Rally the second round of the Middle East championship.

As for Group NR4 / Category 2 of the Middle East Rally Championship, six drivers, most notably Kuwaiti Mishari Al Dhafiri, defending the title of this category, will witness a strong competition with Qatari navigator Nasser Al Kuwari, as usual, in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 10 car. This category also includes strong names such as Jordanians Shadi Shaban and Ihab Al Shurafa, and the young Lebanese Alex Feghali, Ahmed Khaled, and Shadi Al Faqih.

The Lebanese driver, Henry Kaae, continues his career in the Middle East Rally by participating in the third category of the two-wheel drive championship, accompanied by his navigator, Carlos Hanna, on board a "Skoda Fabia". His only and most prominent competitor will be the Jordanian driver, Asim Aref, who is participating in a car. Renault Clio RS.

As for Saudi driver Saleh Al Saif, he continues his distinguished presence in the Middle Eastern championship, where he took advantage of the opportunity to allow desert light vehicles of commercial production / T4 / to participate in the championship rounds as of this season, as he wants to refine his skills more and more in driving on gravel tracks in the Arab region. And record more kilometers of experience, and Al Saif will participate in the "Can - M" model "Maverick X3", knowing that it was present in the inaugural tour in Qatar and finished it in sixth place in the overall standings, and tops the temporary overall standings in its class.

The total distance of the Jordan Rally, which will be held on the shores of the Dead Sea and the areas of Mount Nebo, is about 224.98 km, as it consists of an exhibition stage in addition to ten stages that will be held over two days. 34.70 km from the completely new special phase in Adasiyah, and then a phase of 11.34 km near the Baptist site.

On the second day, the participants start the very difficult stage of the Jordan River with a length of 31.01 km, without catching their breath, and reach the new Al Jawfah stage, which extends over 26.35 km before the end of the first part of the day at the Dead Sea, and then the participants repeat these two phases in the second part of the day until Cross the finish line and reach the podium.

Source: QNA
Cover image credit: Nasser Racing

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Nabeela

Content Writer

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