Partnered by Spanish navigator Candido Carrera - who sealed his sixth MERC victory alongside the Qatari - Al-Attiyah won 10 of the event’s 13 gravel stages on his way to a 92nd career MERC win and a record-breaking ninth success in Oman to follow his sixth Dakar Rally success just seven days previously.

The Qatari’s Autotek Škoda Fabia RS suffered three slow punctures during the course of the three-day Sohar-based opening round of the 2026 FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) through the awe-inspiring Hajar mountains in the north of the Sultanate of Oman. But time-consuming flat tyres for his main Omani rival and two-time event winner Abdullah Al-Rawahi handed Al-Attiyah a winning margin of 2min 08.8sec.

Al-Attiyah said: “Another record. I hope there will be a lot of records. We are very happy to be here in Oman and to help the Middle East Championship and to continue. We did a great race without any mistakes. We saved the tyres on the first two stages this afternoon to push on the Power Stage.”

A delighted co-driver Carrera added: “I am happy with this win. Every time here (in the Middle East) we win, only missing in Lebanon last year. The feeling with Nasser is amazing. I loved this rally and I really liked these stages. It was a very good week and a good start to the year.”

Al-Rawahi and his Jordanian co-driver Ata Al-Hmoud won three specials in their Škoda Fabia RS and pushed Al-Attiyah close on several other speed tests, despite being out of the sport for over half a year following an injury sustained in Lebanon last summer. Three costly punctures ruined the Omani’s challenge but he managed to finish as runner-up.

Al-Rawahi said: “I think we had a good pace. We didn’t have much time to prepare for the new car and, coming back from injury, I wasn’t quite ready. I didn’t want to miss this rally. I’m quite disappointed to lose time with punctures but we can be satisfied with the comeback.”

Veteran Qatari Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya is attempting to defend his FIA MERC Master Driver title. He and Lebanese co-driver Ziad Chehab got their campaign off to the perfect start with the final place on the podium in a Motortune-run Ford Fiesta.

Jordan’s Shaker Jweihan and Mustafa Juma finished fourth and dominated the MERC2 category in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. They finished 11min 16.5sec in front of the fifth-placed Kuwaiti crew of Jassim Al-Muqahwi and Sulaiman Al-Helal (Mitsubishi).

The Jordanian pairing of Sami Fleifel and Ibrahim Ali (Mitsubishi) were sixth and second of the registered MERC2 crews. Mohammed Al-Shorafa and Yazan Juma completed all 13 stages to earn seventh place.

Hamza Bakhashab returned to action under the Rally2 ruling on the last morning. The Jeddah driver and his Irish team-mate Lorcan Moore set competitive times on the final day after crashing and breaking the suspension on their Toyota GR Yaris on day one.

The Saudi said: “The goal was to finish and learn as much as possible. It was a nice rally. The stages were amazing. A lot of very high-speed and technical, a mix of both. It was a very good opportunity to learn here.”

Lebanon’s Shadi El Fakih had suffered fuel pump problems on the opening Sohar super special, missed the rest of the opening leg and returned with Joseph Kmeid in his Renault Clio to make the finish in a distant ninth.

Oman’s Zakariya Al-Aamri suffered engine issues on the road section after the 10th stage and was forced to retire his Subaru Impreza from sixth place.

Carnage unfolded during the second loop of the first day’s stages. Bakhashab had been in the top three until his Toyota GR Yaris ground to a halt with suspension damage after an accident in the fifth stage.

The next timed test saw the retirement of Jordan’s Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez with engine and transmission problems and engine issues also sidelined the two QMMF Peugeot 208 Rally4s, driven by Qatari youngster Mohammed Al-Marri and defending FIA MERC3 champion Rashid Al-Muhannadi.

A heavy impact and subsequent rib fractures then forced Jordanian Ihab Al-Shorafa out of the event on the seventh stage and left just eight of the 14 starters running at the end of the first leg. Shaker Jweihan and Mustafa Juma stopped at the scene of their fellow countryman’s accident and were later handed back the time they had lost.

The 29th edition of the Oman International Rally ran with invaluable support from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, the Al-Batinah North Governorate and Toyota Oman.

Action in the MERC resumes with the Qatar International Rally on February 4th-7th.

2026 Oman International Rally – final result:

1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Candido Carrera (ESP) Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2                    1hr 55min 41.1sec

2. Abdullah Al-Rawahi (OMA)/Ata Al-Hmoud (JOR) Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2                             1hr 57min 49.9sec  

3. Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya (QAT)/Ziad Chehab (LBN) Ford Fiesta Mk II Rally 2                          2hr 14min 53.2sec

4. Shaker Jweihan (JOR)/Mustafa Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X                                     2hr 17min 22.8sec

5. Jassim Al-Muqahwi (KUW)/Sulaiman Al-Helal (KUW) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X                   2hr 28min 39.3sec

6. Sami Fleifel (JOR)/Ibrahim Ali (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo                                                     2hr 33min 32.0sec

7. Mohammed Al-Shorafa (JOR)/Yazan Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX                          2hr 57min 50.9sec  

8. Hamza Bakhashab (KSA)/Lorcan Moore (IRL) Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2                                  3hr 02min 09.4sec

9. Shadi El Fakih (LBN)/Joseph Kmeid (LBN) Renault Clio Rally 5                                                3hr 40min 02.8sec

Retirements

Zakariya Al-Aamri (OMA)/Mohammed Al-Mazroui (OMA) Subaru Impreza WRX STi            Engine - after SS10

Ihab Al-Shurafa (JOR)/Ahmad Jankout (JOR) Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2                                         Accident – SS7

Mohammed Al-Marri (QAT)/Pierre Delorme (FRA) Peugeot 208 Rally 4                                  Engine – SS6

Rashid Al-Muhannadi (QAT)/Gary McElhinney (IRL) Peugeot 208 Rally 4                                Engine – SS6

Bader Al-Fayez (JOR)/Joseph Matar (LBN) Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2                                             Engine – SS6