MOTOR SPORTS NEWS

Latest News

  • Rally legends to raise funds for CRITICAL charity
  • Extreme E reveals plans to race in former Scottish coal mine
  •  Burns’ 1999 Subaru Impreza WRC99, estimated to reach £520,000 – at Bonhams Goodwood Members’ Meeting Sale
  • Audi Sport is Ducati’s partner in MotoGP
  • Kumho Tire appointed sole tyre supplier to the TCR World Tour
  • Home
  • News
  • Dakar
    • DAKAR 2016
    • Dakar 2015
  • Cross-Country Rally
  • Notice Board
  • Rally
  • Motorbike
  • Touring Cars
  • Circuit Racing
  • Events
  • follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Google+
    • Pinterest
    • RSS Feed
    • Linked
    • Youtube

Nasser favourite as Kuwait’s MERC round set for historic start at Kuwait Motor Town

Oct 31, 2018


  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Tweet

ARIFJAN (KUWAIT): Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah will be aiming to match one of the longest-standing records in world motor sport when he heads an international field of competitors from eight nations into Kuwait’s exciting return to the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) at Kuwait Motor Town on Thursday afternoon.

While the State of Kuwait celebrates its own milestone of hosting a first international FIA-sanctioned event at its new FIA grade one race circuit facility, south of Kuwait City, Al-Attiyah is focusing on claiming outright victory in the three-day event with his Autotek-run Ford Fiesta R5. This result would net the Qatari a record-equalling 14th regional rally title and put him alongside Dubai’s Mohammed Ben Sulayem in the history books.

The Qatari already has the record for the greatest number of successes in the history of the Kuwait Rally with six wins (2009, 2011 and 2013-2016) to Ben Sulayem’s four (1985, 1988, 1989 and 2006).

Al-Attiyah will also be chasing his 68th MERC win, while victory for navigator Matthieu Baumel would be his 17th in MERC history and would move the Frenchman ahead of John Spiller into equal third in the regional Hall of Fame behind Ronan Morgan (41 wins) and a tying Giovanni Bernacchini and Chris Patterson (25 wins apiece).

Al-Attiyah said: “This is an important rally for several reasons. Obviously the record is important, but the Kuwait Rally is always challenging and it would be nice to wrap up the championship before the final round in Qatar in two-weeks’ time.”

Czech driver Vojtĕch Štajf is attempting to become the first Arab driver ever to win the regional rally series and Ladislav Kučera has replaced Markéta Skácelová as his navigator in the Škoda Fabia R5.

Štajf trails Al-Attiyah by 32 points in the title race after rallies in Jordan, Lebanon and Cyprus, but there are two rounds to go and a possible 39 points available to the winner of each race with 30 potentially on offer to the Czech if he can shadow his Qatari rival to the finish and complete all the special stages. That would not be sufficient for Štajf to prevent Al-Attiyah from retaining the title, however, and Al-Attiyah’s challenger will need to push hard over the opening stages to try and gain the upper hand on leg one.

While the leading duo swap seconds for supremacy at the top of the leader board, a fascinating tussle is sure to develop in MERC 2 for Group N cars such as the Subaru Impreza and derivatives of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.

Local driver Meshari Al-Thefiri stands on the verge of claiming another showroom title with Qatari navigator Nasser Al-Kuwari, but competition is sure to be fierce from a host of Jordanian, Omani, Qatari and Kuwaiti rivals.

Khaled Juma leads the way for the Hashemite Kingdom and still has a chance to win the title, while fellow countrymen Ihab Al-Shorafa and Shadi Shaban will be challenging hard.

Abdullah Al-Rawahi flies the flag in the category for the Sultanate of Oman and there are further Group N entries for Qatar’s Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah and Rashed Al-Nuami and Kuwaiti drivers Jassim Al-Muqahwi, Mubarak Al-Thefiri and Fahad Al-Mutairi.

Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah returns to active competition after a long absence working in a senior role within both the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation and the FIA. He teams up with the experienced Italian navigator Nicola Arena, who won the regional title with the late Misfer Al-Marri in 2010.

Arena, who competed in Kuwait in 2016 with Al-Nuami, said: “The stages are nice, quite fast in places and a little confusing where there are different tracks from the other drivers doing the recce. Nasser and I are working well together.”

Al-Attiyah got to grips with a rally car again at a recent test session in Lebanon and aired his rally car in the desert close to Kuwait Motor Town on Wednesday afternoon. He will be hoping to finish on his return to the MERC – a series he came within a whisker of winning outright back in 1993.

Lebanon’s Henry Kahy needs to stay out of trouble and cross the finish line to confirm the MERC 3 title for two-wheel drive cars with Jordanian navigator Musa Djiyerian also eager to clinch the MERC 3 Co-Drivers’ Championship.

“We are here to drive for a finish to confirm the title,” said Kahy. “Then we want to end the season with another good performance in Qatar.”

This year’s event is being organised by the Basil Salem Al-Sabah Motor Racing Club (BMRC) under the chairmanship of Sheikh Athbi Nayef Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and in conjunction with the General Authority for Sport and the Kuwait International Automobile Club (KIAC). Zain Kuwait is the main sponsor on this occasion.

Action gets underway with a timed special stage of 2.3km at Kuwait Motor Town Race Circuit from 16.00hrs on Thursday afternoon, but the desert action is split into two loops of six different loose surface stages on Friday and Saturday.

“We had a look at some of the stages on Tuesday and the rest on Wednesday,” said Al-Attiyah’s navigator Baumel. “There is a brand new stage – KMT – and that will be the second and fifth special and the first one on Friday. It is sandier than we may have expected, but that is easier on the car and we run less risk of punctures or damage.”

In a total route of 587.80km, 198.62km will be timed against the clock.

2018 Kuwait International Rally – list of starters (unofficial):

1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Matthieu Baumel (FRA)                                Ford Fiesta R5

2. Meshari Al-Thefiri (KWT)/Nasser Al-Kuwari (QAT)                    Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

3. Rashed Al-Nuami (QAT)/Hugo Magalhães (POR)                    Subaru Impreza

4. Vojtĕch Štajf (CZE)/Ladislav Kučera (CZE)                                      Škoda Fabia R5

5. Khaled Juma (JOR)/Emad Juma (JOR)                                                         Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

6. Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Nicola Arena (ITA)                         Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

8. Abdullah Al-Rawahi (OMN)/Ata Al-Hmoud (JOR)                     Subaru Impreza

9. Ihab Al-Shorafa (JOR)/Yousef Juma (JOR)                                         Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX

10. Henry Kahy (LBN)/Musa Djiyerian (JOR)                                                 Škoda Fabia

11. Shadi Shaban (JOR)/Tarek Al-Taher (JOR)                                        Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

12. Jassim Al-Muqahwi (KWT)/TBA                                                         Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII

14. Mubarak Al-Thefiri (KWT)/TBA                                                         Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII

15. Fahad Al-Mutairi (KWT)/Chafiq Ibara (KWT)                                        Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII

2018 FIA Middle East Rally Championship – positions after round 3:

1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)                                                    107pts

2. Vojtĕch Štajf (CZE)                                                                     75pts

3. Roger Feghali (LBN)                                                                     38pts

4. Meshari Al-Thefiri (KWT)                                                     30pts

5. Christos Demostheous (CYP)                                                     25pts

6. Rodolphe Asmar (LBN)                                                       24pts

7. Khaled Juma (JOR)                                                                     20pts

8. Eddy Karam (LBN)                                                                     19pts

8. Alexandros Tsouloftas (CYP)                                                     19pts

10. Ahmed Shaban (JOR)                                                     16pts

11. Savvas Savva (CYP)                                                                        15pts

12. Ihab Al-Shorafa (JOR)                                                    12pts

12. Costas Zenonos (CYP)                                                  12pts

14. Rony Kanaan (LBN)                                                                     11pts

15. Henry Kahy (LBN)                                                                     10pts, etc

2018 FIA MERC 2 – positions after round 3:

1. Meshari Al-Thefiri (KWT)                                                     78pts

2. Savvas Savva (CYP)                                                                     37pts

3. Khaled Juma (JOR)                                                                     30pts

3. Costas Zenonos (CYP)                                                                  30pts

5. Ahmed Shaban (JOR)                                                                     25pts

5. George Englezou (CYP)                                                 25pts

7. Ihab Al-Shorafa (JOR)                                                                    20pts, etc

2018 FIA MERC 3 – positions after round 3:

1. Henry Kahy (LBN)                                                                     88pts

2. Rony Kanaan (LBN)                                                                     39pts

3. Panayiotis Xenophontos (CYP)                                     37pts

4. Asem Aref (JOR)                                                                     30pts

4. Matthias Njeim (LBN)                                                                       30pts

4. Constantinos Televantos (CYP)                                     30pts

7. Zacharias Manoli (CYP)                                                      23pts

2018 FIA MERC Junior Championship for Drivers – positions after round 3:

1. Matthias Njeim (LBN)                                                       39pts


  • tweet
Related articles
  • Rally legends to raise funds for CRITICAL charity
    Rally legends to raise funds for...

    Mar 31, 2023 Comments Off on Rally legends to raise funds for CRITICAL charity

  • Extreme E reveals plans to race in former Scottish coal mine
    Extreme E reveals plans to race in...

    Mar 31, 2023 Comments Off on Extreme E reveals plans to race in former Scottish coal mine

  •  Burns’ 1999 Subaru Impreza WRC99, estimated to reach £520,000 – at Bonhams Goodwood Members’ Meeting Sale
     Burns’ 1999 Subaru Impreza...

    Mar 31, 2023 Comments Off on  Burns’ 1999 Subaru Impreza WRC99, estimated to reach £520,000 – at Bonhams Goodwood Members’ Meeting Sale

  • Audi Sport is Ducati’s partner in MotoGP
    Audi Sport is Ducati’s partner in...

    Mar 26, 2023 Comments Off on Audi Sport is Ducati’s partner in MotoGP

More in this category
  • Rally legends to raise funds for CRITICAL charity
    Rally legends to raise funds for...

    Comments Off on Rally legends to raise funds for CRITICAL charity

  •  Burns’ 1999 Subaru Impreza WRC99, estimated to reach £520,000 – at Bonhams Goodwood Members’ Meeting Sale
     Burns’ 1999 Subaru Impreza...

    Comments Off on  Burns’ 1999 Subaru Impreza WRC99, estimated to reach £520,000 – at Bonhams Goodwood Members’ Meeting Sale

  • Josh Moffett lifts another Clonakilty Park Hotel West Cork Rally winner’s trophy
    Josh Moffett lifts another Clonakilty...

    Comments Off on Josh Moffett lifts another Clonakilty Park Hotel West Cork Rally winner’s trophy

  • Alfa Romeo F1 Driver Valtteri Bottas picks up his new Alfa Giulia GTAm
    Alfa Romeo F1 Driver Valtteri Bottas...

    Comments Off on Alfa Romeo F1 Driver Valtteri Bottas picks up his new Alfa Giulia GTAm


Fleet Car Magazine

Notice Board

  • For Sale! 1991 Jordan-Ford driven by Mick Schumacher at Bonhams Grandes Marques du Monde à Paris auction
    For Sale! 1991 Jordan-Ford driven by Mick Schumacher at...

    Jan 18, 2023

    Tweet1991 Jordan-Ford driven by Mick Schumacher in 2021 to...
  • Opel Ireland partners with Mondello Park to launch 2022 EARLY-DRIVE road safety programme
    Opel Ireland partners with Mondello Park to launch 2022...

    Aug 21, 2022

    TweetA unique young driver education programme, developed...
  • Goodyear FIA ETRC pays tribute to Anthony Janiec
    Goodyear FIA ETRC pays tribute to Anthony Janiec

    Aug 07, 2022

    Tweet The Goodyear FIA ETRC, ETRA Promotion and the entire...
  • Killarney Forestry Rally to raise funds for Air Ambulance
    Killarney Forestry Rally to raise funds for Air Ambulance

    Feb 03, 2022

    TweetRally drivers from across Ireland will help fund...
  • McHugh’s Service Station, Ballindine Mayo Stages Rally, 6 March 2022
    McHugh’s Service Station, Ballindine Mayo Stages Rally, 6...

    Jan 27, 2022

    TweetMayo & District Motorsport Club, organisers of the...

Categories

  • Africa Eco-Race
  • Baja
  • BRC
  • Circuit Racing
  • Cross-Country Rally
  • Dakar
  • Dakar 2015
  • DAKAR 2016
  • DAKAR 2017
  • DAKAR 2019 PERU
  • DAKAR RALLY 2018
  • EV Motorsport
  • Events
  • EverGreeens: Irish Abroad
  • Extreme E
  • Forestry Rally
  • Formula 1
  • Hillclimb
  • IndyCar Series
  • Interview
  • Middle East Rally Championship
  • Morocco Rally
  • Motorbike
  • News
  • Notice Board
  • Rally
  • RallyX
  • Related products
  • Review
  • Sportscars
  • Touring Cars
  • Tribute
  • Truck Racing
  • Uncategorized
  • Video
  • WRC
Tweets by @IrMotSportNews

Recent Posts

Extreme E reveals plans to race in former Scottish coal mine

Extreme E reveals plans to race in former Scottish coal mine

Mar 31, 2023

TweetExtreme E, the sport for purpose electric off-road rallying series, has today confirmed that the former Glenmuckloch opencast coal mine site in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, will host its...
Read More
Historic Maiden Victories at the Extreme E Desert X Prix!

Historic Maiden Victories at the Extreme E Desert...

Mar 26, 2023

Big win for Nasser & Toyota GR DKR Hilux in the Qatar International Baja

Big win for Nasser & Toyota GR DKR Hilux in...

Mar 20, 2023

Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah wins the 2023 Qatar Baja in the Toyota GR DKR Hilux

Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah wins the 2023 Qatar Baja...

Mar 18, 2023

2 new winners at Season 3 opener hints at closest Extreme E Championship yet

2 new winners at Season 3 opener hints at closest...

Mar 18, 2023

Copyright 2016 / All rights reserved