Kuwait’s Meshari al-Thefiri made the ideal start in his bid to win back the FIA Middle East Rally Championship crown by taking a shock overall lead with the fastest time on the opening 3.01km super special stage of the Oman International Rally yesterday.
But the major news from the first stage of round one of the championship was the surprise accident that befell pre-rally favourite Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah and his Andorra-based co-driver Mathieu Baumel.
Their Autotek Motorsport-run Volkswagen Golf GTi was sporting a new livery for the 2023 season but al-Attiyah uncharacteristically crashed in the super special stage, damaged the radiator and will have to restart under the Super Rally ruling from 13th overall today with 10 minutes of penalties added to his time.
Leader al-Thefiri and his Qatari co-driver Nasser al-Kuwari stopped the clocks in 2min 51.4sec to hold a stunning 4.1-second outright lead over the Czech crew of Petr Kacirek and Petra Rihakova in their Duck Racing Skoda Fabia.
Despite picking up a 10-second time penalty for a jump start, the Oman Rally Team’s Abdullah al-Rawahi and Jordanian co-driver Ata al-Hmoud held third overall.
Al-Thefiri also leads the MERC2 category by 6.8 seconds from Oman’s fourth-placed Abdullah al-Zubair and Taha Soomar. The Jordanian duo of Shaker Jweihan and female co-driver Nancy al-Majali were third in MERC2 and fifth overall. Qatar’s Nasser Khalifa al-Atya and Italian teammate Giovanni Bernacchini rounded off the top six.
Lebanon’s Ahmad Khaled and Jordan’s Sheikh Bader al-Fayez were also penalised 10 seconds for jumping the start of the stage. The event got underway with a traditional ceremonial start at Muscat Drift Arena before 13 FIA crews and 10 national teams headed to the opening stage. Jordanian driver Issa Abu Jamous dropped down to the Oman National Rally and Kuwait’s Mohamed al-Zafiri was a non-starter.
Crews will tackle two loops of three gravel stages today, with the 21.98km of Al Khoud getting the action underway from 9.30am. Jafnein (19.54km) follows and Saal (15.79km) rounds off the opening loop. After a return to the Oman Automobile Association for a regroup and service stop, the three specials will be repeated.

Positions after SS1
1. Meshari al-Thefiri (KWT)/Nasser al-Kuwari (QAT) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 2min 51.4sec
2. Petr Kacirek (CZE)/Petra Rihakova (CZE) Skoda Fabia 2min 55.5sec
3. Abdullah al-Rawahi (OMN)/Ata al-Hmoud (JOR) Skoda Fabia Evo 2min 56.1sec
4. Abdullah al-Zubair (OMN)/Taha Soomar (OMN) Subaru Impreza STi 2min 58.2sec
5. Shaker Jweihan (JOR)/Nancy al-Majali (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 3min 01.9sec
6. Nasser Khalifa al-Atya (QAT)/Giovanni Bernacchini (ITA) Ford Fiesta R5 3min 02.1sec
7. Yousef al-Dhefiri (KWT)/Carlos Hanna (LEB) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 3min 05.2sec
8. Zakariya al-Aamri (OMN)/Mohamed al-Aamri (OMN) Subaru Impreza STi 3min 13.7sec
9. Sheikh Bader al-Fayez (JOR)/Emad Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 3min 14.9sec
10. Shadi Shaban (JOR)/Samer Issa (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 3min 15.0sec
11. Ihab al-Shorafa (JOR)/Yousef Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 3min 19.7sec
12. Ahmad Khaled (LEB)/Samer Sfeir (LEB) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 3min 19.9sec
13. Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah (QAT)/Mathieu Baumel (AND) Volkswagen Polo GTI 12min 51.4sec