Doha: Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah, alongside his Spanish co-driver Candido Carrera, achieved a remarkable victory in the Qatar International Rally on Saturday, winning five out of the 13 special stages. This triumph marks the Qatari driver’s second success in his 2025 campaign to secure a 20th FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) title, and it also represents his 18th victory in Qatar from 25 participations. This win lays a solid foundation for his title challenge this year in his Autotek-run Skoda Fabia RS, and it is the 88th victory in his distinguished MERC career.
A jubilant Al-Attiyah expressed his satisfaction, stating, “I am really happy to win this race. It is a home rally and we did a good job. I am happy with Candido and the team. It is a nice start for 2025. Just 0.8 seconds separated me from Mads on the Power Stage. It was a good level.”
Carrera, in his new role as co-driver, celebrated his second MERC rally victory within three weeks. He remarked, “The start of the new partnership is very good. I am very happy with two victories with Nasser. It’s very easy to work with him. It’s beneficial for the championship and for me, as it has been a long time since I read pace notes in English. Each rally presents unique challenges, requiring strategic thinking with flags and fences. But I am very happy.”
Mads Ostberg, making his fourth appearance at the event, finished as the runner-up for the third consecutive year after not finishing in his first attempt in 2022. Despite facing punctures on Friday that hindered his aggressive strategy, Ostberg and his Romanian co-driver Sergiu Itu managed to win eight of the 13 stages, including a remarkable six fastest times on the final day, ultimately finishing 1 minute and 12.8 seconds behind Al Attiyah.
Ostberg remarked, “While I achieved eight stage victories, they ultimately do not matter. It only takes one stage to lose the rally, a lesson I have learned multiple times. It is unfortunate, yet I choose to focus on the positives. Being here and experiencing this rally is truly remarkable. Competing against Nasser on these stages and comparing our times is an exhilarating experience. I cherish it. We have demonstrated our speed; now we must refine our strategy. We attempted a different approach this year, but it did not yield the desired results. We need to return home, analyze our performance, and make improvements for the future.”
Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari and Lorcan Moore surrendered second place to Ostberg during the morning’s first stage but managed to withstand a strong late challenge from Abdullah Al-Rawahi and Ata Al-Hmoud, securing the final podium position and crucial MERC points in their Citroen C3 by a mere 3.3 seconds.
Al Kuwari stated, “It was extremely close. Abdullah put us under significant pressure; he was exceptionally fast and pushing hard. We were also pushing, but without taking unnecessary risks. I prefer to prioritize safety and avoid damaging the car, as my mechanics appreciate that approach. I am very pleased with our performance. This rally was quite challenging, and with the Citroën, we lacked a reference for this type of event. It was tough on the car, yet it performed admirably in terms of suspension and handling. I continue to learn more each time. I hope to be quicker in Saudi Arabia and Jordan, as I believe the car will perform better there.”
Al-Rawahi, who finished in fourth place, commented, “We pushed extremely hard, finishing just three seconds behind. Unfortunately, we lost time on one stage and encountered several punctures on the first day. Nevertheless, I am satisfied with our performance. The pace is promising, but I faced some penalties and was somewhat unlucky with the punctures.”
Rakan Al-Rashed enjoyed his first appearance in Qatar and managed his pace sensibly over the two days of high-speed action in the northern deserts to finish fifth overall in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2 with Portuguese co-driver Hugo Magalhaes. Coupled with his runner-up spot at round one in Oman, Al-Rashed is now in a strong position to challenge championship leader Al-Attiyah this season.
The Saudi said: “I am happy to be here. Obviously, it’s unclear where my pace is. I am still getting confused. After this rally we are going to have to review all the weekend and see where we can improve. I’m happy that we finished and looking forward now to my home event.”
Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah is chasing Masters Championship and MERC points with Lebanese co-driver Ziad Chehab in a Motortune Ford Fiesta. He surrendered sixth overall to a hard-charging Denis Krotov and Yury Kulikov in their SRT Skoda Fabia RS but earned a second win in the new Masters Championship and collected valuable MERC points to boot with seventh overall.
Rashid Al Muhannadi guided his Peugeot 208 Rally 4 to a second successive victory in the MERC4 category. The Qatari teamed up with Irishman Gary Mcelhinney again to finish eighth.
The battle for supremacy in MERC2 developed into a showdown between the Omani duo of Abdullah Al Zubair and Zakariya Al Aamri. When mechanical issues sidelined Al-Zubair before the penultimate stage, that opened the door for Al-Aamri to claim the win and 10th overall behind ninth-placed Jordanian driver Shadi Shaban.
Jad Al Aawar and Ahmad Khaled were second and fourth in MERC2 and 11th and 13th overall with Kuwait’s Jassim Al Muqahwi sandwiched between the Lebanese duo.
Both Saad Al-Harqan and Mohammed Al-Marri excelled on their rallying debuts with the Qatar Motorsport Sports Academy. The rookies guided their Peugeot 208s to 14th and 15th overall with Al-Harqan winning the Junior MERC category.
The 50th anniversary rally was 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.
His Excellency Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Minister of Sports and Youth, attended the start of the rally along with His Excellency Mr. Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah, the Minister of Municipality.
Saturday – as it happened
Twenty-five of the 28 starters began the final day with action getting underway on the Umm Birka stage that was shortened to 8.85km because of technical reasons and started at the 12.66km point of the original stage. Ostberg set the pace and that enabled him to overhaul Al-Kuwari and snatch second overall. He also trimmed Al-Attiyah’s comfortable lead to 1min 42.1sec after the Qatari suffered a puncture.
Krotov began to make in-roads into Al Atya’s hold on sixth place and closed the gap to 7.3 seconds. Al-Muhannadi climbed to eighth at the expense of MERC2 leader Al-Zubair.
Crews headed swiftly to the first pass through the Ras Laffan (16.75km) stage. Al Attiyah stopped the clocks in 9min 19.7sec but still haemorrhaged 2.1 seconds to a flying Ostberg, who got a slow puncture near the stage finish. Krotov overhauled Al-Atya to claim sixth and Al-Zubair regained eighth from Al-Muhannadi. Ihab Al-Shorafa retired his Mitsubishi with a broken rear-left suspension mount after the stage.
Al-Thakhira (13.98km) was the last test of the short morning loop before the return to Lusail for a regroup and service. Al-Attiyah safely negotiated the challenge and headed to Lusail with a lead of 1min 35.4sec. Ostberg claimed his third stage win of the morning. Both Qatar’s Mohamed Al-Atteya and Indian driver Mohamed Mansoor Parol (engine) stopped near the end of the special.
Al-Attiyah said: “The first stage, we had a puncture from the first 5km. But we managed to finish easily and we made a good pace. It’s nice. Now we take it easy and save everything for the Power Stage.”
Ostberg said: “A bit more luck on our side. The punctures came a lot closer to the end. We could reach the finish without a big time loss. We had two punctures but it was a good morning for us. We cannot complain.”
Al-Rawahi said: “We were quite good on the first one. Then we tried to push on the second one and there was a place with a lot of dust coming to a hairpin. I tried to take it flat so I don’t lose time and I lost the track and around 15 seconds. That was a pity. We started the last stage and tried to push again and managed to get 10 seconds on Abdulaziz.”
The second pass through Umm Birka kick-started the final loop of three specials. Ostberg beat an easing Al-Attiyah by 11.7 seconds to snatch his fourth stage win of the day and Al-Rawahi trimmed 1.3 seconds off Al-Kuwari’s hold on third with the second fastest time. The gap between the pair was down to 18.9 seconds with two stages remaining. Al-Zubair started the stage late, picked up a 30-second penalty and lost his MERC2 lead to Al-Aamri.
Ras Laffan 2 was the penultimate special of the weekend. Al-Attiyah carded the target time of 9min 11.5sec but Ostberg was 5.1 seconds quicker and earned yet another stage win. A flying Al-Rawahi sliced 11.1 seconds off Al-Kuwari’s hold on third place and reduced the deficit to just 7.8 seconds. Al-Zubair was forced to retire with mechanical problems before the stage.
The final Al-Thakhira test also acted as the event’s Power Stage with an additional five points awarded to the winner, down to a single bonus point for fifth. Al-Attiyah had tried to preserve what little rubber he had remaining for a last push for additional MERC points and he started the last stage with a lead of 1min 18.6sec.
He was 5.7 seconds quicker than his morning’s run and laid down the gauntlet with a time of 7min 14.4sec. Ostberg was eight-tenths of a second quicker than the Qatari but was not registered for MERC points. Al-Kuwari carded a time of 7min 22.3sec and, even though he was beaten by Al-Rawahi by 4.5 seconds, he just held on to third place.
The FIA Middle East Rally Championship now heads to Saudi Arabia for the first time since 2010 for the new Jeddah-based round of the series on May 1st-3rd.
2025 Qatar International Rally – positions after SS13:
- Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Candido Carrera (ESP) Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2 1hr 42min 15.0sec
- Mads Ostberg (NOR)/Sergiu Itu (ROU) Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2 1hr 43min 27.8sec*
- Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Lorcan Moore (IRL) Citroen C3 Rally 2 1hr 44min 37.4sec
- Abdullah Al-Rawahi (OMA)/Ata Al-Hmoud (JOR) Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2 1hr 44min 40.7sec
- Rakan Al-Rashed (KSA)/Hugo Magalha es (POR) Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2 1hr 50min 35.0sec
- Denis Krotov (KGZ)/Yury Kulikov (CYP) Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2 1hr 52min 01.1sec
- Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Ziad Chehab (LBN) Ford Fiesta Mk II Rally 2 1hr 53min 35.7sec
- Rashid Al-Muhannadi (QAT)/Gary McElhinney (IRL) Peugeot 208 Rally 4 2hr 07min 17.2sec
- Shadi Shaban (JOR)/Samer Issa (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 2hr 07min 36.9sec
- Zakariya Al-Aamri (OMA)/Mohammed Al-Mazroui (OMA) Subaru Impreza N14 2hr 08min 55.0sec
- Jad Al-Aawar (LBN)/Vicken Kanledjian (LBN) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 2hr 13min 53.0sec
- Jassim Al-Muqahwi (KUW)/Suleiman Al-Helal (KUW) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 2hr 14min 48.9sec
- Ahmad Khaled (LBN)/Samer Sfeir (LBN) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 2hr 15min 50.9sec
- Saad Al-Harqan (QAT)/Pierre Delorme (FRA) Peugeot 208 Rally 4 2hr 19min 56.0sec
- Mohammed Al-Marri (QAT)/Yannick Roche (FRA) Peugeot 208 Rally 4 2hr 20min 50.2sec
- Payyaakkal ‘Saneem’ Panikkaveettil (IND)/Musa Sherif (IND) Ford Fiesta Rally 2 2hr 22min 23.5sec
- Christiano Gabbarrini (ITA)/Alessandro Forni (ITA) Subaru Impreza WRX STi 2hr 22min 53.0sec*
- Ibrahim Al-Muhanna (KSA)/Hani Al-Noumesi (KSA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T4) 2hr 33min 05.6sec
- Shadi El Fakih (LBN)/Joseph Kmeid (LBN) Renault Clio 2hr 45min 31.7sec
- Mirko Carrara (ITA)/Stefano Tiraboschi (ITA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T4) 2hr 49min 13.1sec*
- Yosra Jazzar (KSA)/Faisal Al-Suwayh (KSA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T4) 3hr 19min 43.7sec
Abdullah Al-Zubair (OMA)/Taha Al-Zadjali (OMA) Subaru Impreza RETIRED – after SS11
Mohamed Mansoor Parol (IND)/Lenin Joseph (IND) Subaru Impreza RETIRED – SS10
Mohammed Al-Atteya (QAT)/Savvas Laos (CYP) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X RETIRED – SS10*
Ihab Al-Shurafa (JOR)/Ahmad Jankhout (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X RETIRED – after SS9
28 starters, 21 finishers
*denotes not registered for the MERC
