Qatar's Al Attiyah out to defend title as demanding Jordan Rally gets underway

Doha, Qatar: The Jordan Rally got underway with a ceremonial start and the spectacular backdrop of the Dead Sea yesterday evening. Twenty four cars...

Doha, Qatar: The Jordan Rally got underway with a ceremonial start and the spectacular backdrop of the Dead Sea yesterday evening.

Twenty-four cars (16 FIA and eight National) and competitors from nine countries will tackle 15 demanding special stages in the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea areas over the next two days to determine the outcome of round two of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC).

Abdullah Al Rawahi is the defending Jordanian national champion and the winner of last year’s MERC event in the Hashemite Kingdom. He is the second seed this weekend behind 19-time regional champion Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah and is quietly confident that he can progress his title defence this weekend.

Al Rawahi said: “Nasser is a fantastic driver. Hopefully we can battle and have a good pace."

Al Attiyah retired from the opening round in Qatar trying to push for additional points on the final Power Stage but the Qatari will be hoping to give his new Škoda Fabia RS a winning debut in Jordan.