Attiyah tops quality entry for next week’s Jordan Rally

Jordan Motorsport has announced the entry list for next week’s Jordan Rally and multiple regional champion Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah tops a quality field of the region’s leading drivers. The third round of the 2026 FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) takes place on May 14th-16th.

Al Attiyah teams up with Spanish navigator Candido Carrera as he continues his challenge for a record-breaking 21st regional rally title and an 18th success in the Hashemite Kingdom since 2003. He is entered in a Škoda Fabia RS run by Autotek Motorsport.

Al Attiyah drives one of six Rally2 machines in the 17-car entry that includes competitors from 10 nations.

Oman’s Abdullah Al Rawahi is the Qatari’s fierce rival and will be hoping that a return to full fitness helps to rekindle his title challenge with Jordanian co-driver Ata Al Hmoud in a second Škoda Fabia RS. Al Rawahi and Al Hmoud won the Jordan Rally for the first time in 2023.

Nasser Racing's Nasser Al-Attiyah at Dakar camp. Reuters

Veteran Nasser Khalifa Al Atya is the early leader of the championship after rounds in Oman and Qatar and the Qatari teams up with Lebanon’s Ziad Chehab in the solitary Ford Fiesta on the entry list.

Saudi Arabia’s Hamza Bakhashab will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of his father Abdullah (champion in 1995) and challenge for the overall regional title. The Jeddah driver is currently second in the points’ standings and teams up with Irishman Lorcan Moore in a Toyota GR Yaris.

Local driver Sheikh Bader Al Fayez suffered engine issues during the opening round in Oman and was forced to miss round two as a result. He returns with Lebanese co-driver Joseph Matar to crew a third Škoda. Bassel Abu Hamdan and Firas Elias round off the Rally2 field in a Volkswagen Polo.

Jordan’s Shaker Jweihan has been the dominant force so far this season in the FIA MERC2 category and will be aiming for a hattrick of class victories with Mustafa Juma in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. Competition comes from Oman’s Zakariya Al Aamri (Subaru) and Sami Fleifel (Mitsubishi).

Engine-related issues ruined the start of the season for the Qatari duo of Rashid Al-Muhannadi and Mohammed Al Marri in a pair of Peugeot 208 Rally 4s entered by the QMMF. They return to action over a dozen special stages in the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley areas looking to pick up their first points of the season.

Lebanon’s Shadi El-Fakih will be chasing a third maximum points score of the year in FIA MERC4 in his Renault Clio RS.

Palestine’s Hamadeh Uda rounds off the field in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X with Jordanian co-driver Zeid Abu Zeid, but is not registered for the MERC.