Muscat: Qatar's Nasser Saleh al Attiyah has emerged victorious at the Oman International Rally 2025, the inaugural round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC), which was organized by the Oman Automobile Association (OAA). Al Attiyah, along with his new Spanish co-driver Candido Carrera, dominated the rally by winning nine out of the 13 special stages in their Skoda Fabia RS. They led the overall standings with a total time of 2:12:27.3 hours, finishing 6:13.6 minutes ahead of the nearest competitors.

According to Qatar News Agency, Saudi driver Rakan Al Rashed and his Portuguese co-driver Hugo Magalhaes finished in second place with a total time of 2:18:40.9 hours in their Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2. The third position was claimed by Qatar's Nasser Khalifa al Attiyah and his Lebanese co-driver Ziad Chehab, who completed the rally in 2:36:32.9 hours driving their Ford Fiesta MK Rally 2.

In fourth place were Qatar's Rashed al Muhannadi and his Irish co-driver Gary Mcelhinney, who finished the race in 2:45:51.5 hours in their Peugeot 208 Rally 4. Completing the top five were Jordanian driver Shadi Shaban and his co-driver Samer Issa, who recorded a time of 2:48:06.7 hours in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X.

This victory marks al Attiyah's eighth win in the Oman International Rally and his 87th in the MERC, out of a total of 235 rounds, reinforcing his pursuit of a 20th MERC title. The rally saw a setback for Qatari defending champion Abdulaziz al Kuwari, who was forced to withdraw two stages before the end due to a mechanical failure, despite being in third place at the time.

Attention now turns to the second round of the MERC, the Qatar International Rally, scheduled from February 6 to 8, where top drivers from the region are expected to compete fiercely.