Monday 02 / June / 2025
Muscat: Omani rally driver Abdullah Al Zubair topped the N group in Merc 2 in Jordan International rally which was a strong and more than impressive result, achieving fifth place in the overall rally standings in his Subaru Impreza, followed directly by his teammate Zakaria Al Amri.
The rally, which consisted of 12 stages, between mountainous and near the Dead Sea, witnessed success in terms of organization and participation, as 22 cars participated in various categories.
Champion Abdullah Al-Rawahy topped the morning stages on Friday in Til Hilali, Karamah, and Baptism, but he lost the title against Nasser Al Attiyah meanwhile Abdullah Al-Zubair and his navigator Taha Soomar continued to dominate the Merc 2 group despite the attempts of the rest of the competitors to catch him, especially his direct competitor Zakaria Al-Amri and his navigator Mohammed Al-Mazrui and other local competitors from Jordan and Lebanon. Nevertheless, Al-Amri still leads the category by 9 points over Al-Zubair, who aspires to win the title this year.
Abdullah Al Zubair secured the lead in his group from the day one and took it easy on himself on the second day, slowing down after securing a significant lead over the competitor chasing him. Al Amri, meanwhile, had a great race but encountered some problems with his car on the day one, which he was able to recover on the following day and gain good times.
The second day of the rally, which took place in Panorama, Suwayma and Wadi Nar, in the Merc 2 group witnessed competition between colleagues Abdullah Al-Zubair and Zakaria Al-Amri to seize the category title, but Al-Zubair presented a balanced and exceptional performance and implemented a clear strategy to maintain the difference between him and the rest, he was able to decide the matter in advance during the first day's competition, and his strong and fast time in the group gave him the lead in the Jordan International Rally category, and he secured 30 points in the category in the Middle East Rally Championship after concluding his fourth round in Jordan, towards competing for the lead.
The winner of the first place in the in (N) category, Abdullah Al Zubair, with his navigator Taha Soomar, said that the rally was special in terms of the competition, which was fierce in many stages, but thank God I outperformed many of the competitors who had stronger cars and in a larger category than my category, and we succeeded in achieving the goal, which was to win first place in the category to reduce the lead in the group with my colleague Zakaria Al Amri, and I am happy with this, I also hope that private sector companies will support the competitors who achieve international successes in the name of the Sultanate, especially since these sports are very expensive. I thank everyone who stood behind us in this rally and championship, the supporters, Taha Soomar’s my assistants, and the technical team for the great job, it is worth mentioning that many of those witnessed and drivers at the rally asked Al Zubair to participate next year with an R5 category car, as he was one of the fastest drivers in the rally.
For his part, competitor Zakaria Al Amri said that the rally was difficult and arduous and he faced some problems in some stages, but he was able to overcome them and and recover and presented an ideal race despite the fierce competition, rough stages and hot weather.
He added, “Thank God, we are still at the top of the Merc 2 group and we will try to maintain this lead in the upcoming rallies and win the category. I thank my navigator Mohammed Al Mazrui for all the support, as well as the audience who came to support us in this rally in Jordan from Oman.”
