Sohar, Oman – While engineers and technicians worked on final preparations and set-up checks on the rally cars, competing crews carried out their first day of reconnaissance of the challenging gravel special stages for this weekend’s Oman International Rally on Tuesday.
The Oman Automobile Association (OAA) has laid on 13 demanding speed tests for the opening round of the 2026 FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC), with competitors set to face 215.44 competitive kilometres in a slightly revised route of 661.76km.
The event has also moved to a new base at the National University of Science and Technology, which plays host to rally administration and media formalities over the course of the weekend. Competitors will remain at the nearby service park within the confines of the Sohar Entertainment Centre, which was first used in 2025.
The international field of 17 crews and competitors from 11 nations has been boosted by a bumper national-status event being hosted by the OAA in tandem with the MERC round. An additional 17 teams will compete in the national rally that runs behind the main event.
While the newly-crowned, six-time Dakar champion Nasser al Attiyah heads the FIA field with his Spanish co-driver Candido Carrera and local two-time champion Abdullah al Rawahi wheels out a new Škoda Fabia RS, Salim al Touqi leads the local contingent in the Oman National Rally at the wheel of a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII.
The national entry includes five Mitsubishis, a Subaru, seven Can-Am Mavericks, a Kia Rio and a trio of Toyota Yaris machines. Haitham Soomar, Hamood al Touqi, Zakariya al Ofi and Ghaith al Qassmi wheel out the other Mitsubishis and Faisal al Rashdi drives the sole Subaru Impreza.
Saif al Harthy, Hafidh al Naamani, Fahad al Sulaimani, Emad al Balushi, Fahad al Balushi, Mohammed al Harthy and Ahmed al Mamari represent the Can-Am brand.
The impressive national list is completed by Musab al Zadjali in a Kia and the three Toyotas in the hands of Bashar Hamid al Qassmi, Abdullah al Touqi and Waheeb al Kharusi.
The event has invaluable support from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, the Al Batinah North Governorate and Toyota Oman.
The official ceremonial start takes place from 15.15hrs at the Sohar Entertainment Centre on Thursday.
With a favourable weather forecast for the Sohar area over the weekend, dry and dusty stage conditions are expected with temperatures reaching the mid-twenties Centigrade.
