KUWAIT CITY: Oman’s Abdullah al Rawahi resumes his challenge for honours in the 2022 FIA Middle East Rally Championship at this weekend’s 26th Kuwait International Rally.
The third round of the regional series gets underway at Kuwait Motor Town on Thursday evening, before 14 teams and competitors from eight nations tackle 10 gravel special stages in the southern Kuwaiti deserts on Friday and Saturday.
Al Rawahi arrived in the State of Kuwait lying in a strong second position in the Drivers’ Championship, 24 points behind Qatari legend Nasser Saleh al Attiyah and 15 points clear of Jordan’s Ihab al Shorafa.
The Omani’s Jordanian co-driver Ata al Hmoud holds a 15-point advantage over a three-way tie for second place in the Co-Drivers’ Championship, with Mathieu Baumel, Alba Sanchez Gonzalez and Yousef Juma all on 39 points after two rounds of the series in Oman and Qatar.
Al Rawahi and Al Hmoud were able to test their new Skoda Fabia R2 evo on Tuesday morning, iron out any issues and make some minor set-up changes before they carried out a full reconnaissance of the special stages on Wednesday.
“The team has been working really hard to get the car ready and we tested on Tuesday,” said Al Rawahi. “We changed a few things to make it suitable for these conditions. Kuwait Rally is really fast, quite similar to Qatar but less rough. We are expecting the same strategy as Qatar. Hopefully we can achieve a good result here as well. It has been a while since we have been here in Kuwait. I think we are ready. Hopefully we can do a great job.”
The talented young Omani has made a strong start to his challenge for regional honours this season. Despite first day technical issues in Oman – an event he won for the first time in late 2021 – Al Rawahi recovered to finish sixth overall and score points as the fourth registered driver behind Al Attiyah, Nasser Khalifa al Atya and Ihab al Shorafa.
But it was at last month’s Qatar International Rally where Al Rawahi excelled against fierce competition from two of the fastest drivers in the world. He avoided becoming embroiled in the frantic battle for honours being waged between Al Attiyah, Kris Meeke and Mads Ostberg and was able to stay clear of major issues to finish in a sensational second overall. That result gave the Omani 30 valuable championship points to put him in an excellent position to challenge for honours this weekend.
Al Rawahi and Al Hmoud finished seventh overall and fifth in Merc2 the last time they attended the Kuwait event in 2018.
The Kuwait International Rally has attracted six drivers of RC2 machines and a further eight entered in the Merc2 category. In addition to title rival Al Attiyah, Al Rawahi faces competition from local driver Meshari al Thefiri, Al Atya and the talented Qatari duo of Abdulaziz al Kuwari and Khaled al Suwaidi in the RC2 section.
The rally is being organised by the Kuwait International Motorsport Club (KIMC) in cooperation with the Kuwait International Automobile Club (KIAC). It is being held under the patronage of Ali Husain Ali al Mousa, Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Youth Affairs.
2022 Kuwait International Rally – leading entries:
1. Nasser Saleh al Attiyah (QAT)/Mathieu Baumel (FRA) Volkswagen Polo GTI
2. Meshari al Thefiri (KWT)/Nasser al Kuwari (QAT) Skoda Fabia R2 evo
3. Abdullah al Rawahi (OMN)/Ata al Hmoud (JOR) Skoda Fabia R2 evo
4. Abdulaziz al Kuwari (QAT)/James Fulton (IRL) Skoda Fabia R2 evo
5. Nasser Khalifa al Atya (QAT)/Giovanni Bernacchini (ITA) Ford Fiesta R5
6. Khaled al Suwaidi (QAT)/Hugo Magalhaes (PRT) Skoda Fabia R2 evo
7. Ihab al Shorafa (JOR)/Yousef Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
8. Issa Abu Jamous (JOR)/Emad Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
9. Jassim al Muqahwi (KWT)/Thamer al Mutairi (KWT) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
10. Zakariya al Aamri (OMN)/Mohammed al Aamri (OMN) Subaru Impreza
2022 FIA Middle East Rally Championship – standings after round 2:
Drivers:
1. Nasser Saleh al Attiyah (QAT) 78 pts
2. Abdullah al Rawahi (OMN) 54 pts
3. Ihab al Shorafa (JOR) 39 pts
4. Issa Abu Jamous (JOR) 38 pts
5. Nasser Khalifa al Atya (QAT) 31 pts
6. Meshari al Thefiri (KWT) 25 pts
7. Zakariya al Aamri (OMN) 24 pts
8. Edith Weiss (QAT) 13pts
Co-drivers:
1. Ata al Hmoud (JOR) 54 pts
2. Mathieu Baumel (FRA) 39 pts
2. Alba Sanchez Gonzalez (ESP) 39 pts
2. Yousef Juma (JOR) 39 pts
5. Emad Juma (JOR) 38 pts
6. Giovanni Bernacchini (ITA) 31 pts
7. Nasser al Kuwari (QAT) 25 pts
8. Mohammed al Aamri (OMN) 24 pts
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
