Al Attiyah and Carrera secure early lead in Oman

SOHAR: Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah and Candido Carrera surged into the lead of the 29th Oman International Rally after the opening 2.52km Sohar super spec...

SOHAR: Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah and Candido Carrera surged into the lead of the 29th Oman International Rally after the opening 2.52km Sohar super special stage, which was held in dry and breezy conditions close to the Sohar Entertainment Centre yesterday.

The Skoda Fabia RS crew stopped the clocks in 2min 30.7sec to take a lead of 8.1 seconds into the night halt. Local hero Abdullah Al Rawahi and his Jordanian co-driver Ata Al-Hmoud were second quickest in a Skoda Fabia RS. Hamza Bakhashab and Lorcan Moore rounded off the top three in a Toyota GR Yaris.

Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah and Oman’s Abdullah Al Rawahi during the pre-event press conference.

Several competitors attended the afternoon’s pre-event press conference before crossing the start podium to kick start another season’s action in the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC).

Al-Rawahi has only driven around 100km since his nasty accident in Lebanon last summer but the former regional champion is looking forward to his return.