The three-day Oman International Rally gets underway from the Sohar Entertainment Centre today. Competitors from 10 nations will tackle 13 timed gravel special stages and 215.44 kilometres timed against the clock on this opening round of the 2026 FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) organised by the Oman Automobile Association (OAA).
Fresh from a sixth Dakar Rally success last weekend, Qatar Nasser al-Attiyah will be aiming to begin his challenge for a record-breaking 21st regional title with a ninth win in Oman. He teams up with Candido Carrera in a Skoda Fabia RS that he was able to shakedown on a nearby gravel stage on Tuesday afternoon.
The Qatari admitted that it had taken a couple of days of sensible diet and rest to recover physically and mentally from his recent Dakar exploits. He said: "This is part of the life. We need to keep running in the Middle East to improve the championship. If I stop, it will not be nice. We need to bring in a new generation of drivers. We finished Dakar. It was a great result for us. I was testing on Tuesday and then we have the official shakedown. Everything is good. The stages are nice, similar to last year with a few parts changed. I am quite happy to be back here in Oman. This is one of the best rallies, the terrain, the gravel.”
Al-Attiyah confirmed that he will drive a two-wheel drive Optimus MD Buggy at the forthcoming Bajas in Saudi Arabia and Jordan. He also admitted that his Dakar goal remains to beat Stephane Peterhansel’s eight victories in a car but he also retains targets in the MERC. "My goal is to stay racing until my son starts with me (he’s 15). Next year, maybe. We can give him the perfect experience. Maybe also 100 Middle East wins!”
Oman’s Abdullah al-Rawahi will be hoping to prevent the Qatari securing a 92nd MERC victory this weekend. The two-time winner and former regional champion is back to full fitness after an accident in Lebanon last summer and teams up with Jordan’s Ata al-Hmoud in a second Skoda Fabia RS.
Qatar’s Nasser Khalifa al-Atya has more experience of the regional series than any other driver still competing and the Qatari veteran will be aiming to defend his FIA Master MERC Driver title with Lebanese co-driver Ziad Chehab in a Motortune Racing-run Ford Fiesta.
The Jordanian duo of Sheikh Bader al-Fayez and Ihab al-Shorafa wheel out a pair of Rally 2 Skodas and there is youthful competition from Hamza Bakhashab and his Irish co-driver Lorcan Moore in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2. Al-Fayez teams up with Lebanese co-driver Joseph Matar, an 11-time winner of the Rally of Lebanon.
Zakariya al-Aamri finished as runner-up to fellow Omani Abdullah al-Zubair in last year’s FIA MERC2 Championship. He returns to try and go one better this season in a Subaru Impreza WRX STi, although Kuwait’s Jassim al-Muqahwi and the Jordanian duo of Shaker Jweihan and Sami Fleifel will have other ideas in a trio of Mitsubishi Lancers.
The QMMF has entered a pair of Peugeot 208 Rally4s for the second season for last year’s champion Rashid al-Muhannadi and the talented youngster Mohammed al-Marri. In the absence of Indian racer Payyaakkal Panikkaveettil, the Qataris will duel for supremacy with al-Marri trying to add an FIA MERC3 crown to the FIA Junior MERC title he secured in 2025. The duo will be partnered by their respective co-drivers Szymon Gospdarczyk and Pierre Delorme.
Today, competitors will be permitted to carry out a 5.5km shakedown test from 9am on a nearby stage. The official ceremonial starts at 3:15pm, flowed by the opening 2.52km Sohar super special stage.