In addition to running as a round of the regional series for the first time since 2010, the new-look rally will also act as the Kingdom’s official candidate event before it joins the FIA World Rally Championship for the first time at the end of November. 

Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah is chasing a record-breaking 20th regional title since 2003 and the Qatari tops a 27-car entry that includes eight Rally2 cars, six SSVs and 20 crews registered for points in the MERC. They will tackle six brand new gravel stages, near Jeddah, that will be repeated twice over the weekend, parts of which are sure to be used in the inaugural WRC event later in the year. 

Al-Attiyah arrives in the Kingdom with a 22-point cushion in the Drivers’ Championship following back-to-back wins with his Autotek Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2 in Oman and Qatar with new Spanish co-driver Candido Carrera. 

Local driver Rakan Al-Rashed is Al-Attiyah’s closest challenger as the MERC nears its mid-point. But the Saudi is absent from an entry list that shows the Finnish pairing of Juho Hänninen and Janni Hussi taking their place alongside the regional regulars in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 entered by the Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team. Hänninen is not registered for MERC points but will be collecting vital data for Toyota in advance of the inaugural WRC event. 

Oman’s Abdullah Al-Rawahi teams up with British co-driver Ross Whittock on this occasion, as he aims to close the gap on Al-Attiyah in the points’ standings. Further Rally2 competition comes from the likes of the defending regional champion Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (Citroën C3), new FIA Master MERC Driver series leader Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya (Ford) and Jordan’s Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez (Škoda). 

Oman’s Zakariya Al-Aamri is the early leader of the MERC2 section and faces competition from fellow countryman Abdullah Al-Zubair and Jordan’s defending champion Shaker Sweihan at the front of a posse of Subarus and Mitsubishis in the NR4 group.

Qatar fields three drivers in French-built Peugeot 208 Rally4s with young academy drivers, Mohammed Al-Marri and Saad Al-Harqan, competing against the early MERC4 category front-runner Rashid Al-Muhannadi. Multiple MERC event-winning navigator Giovanni Bernacchini joins Al-Marri as his co-driver. 

Six Saudi drivers boost the tail end of the field in various Can-Ams entered in the MERC’s SSV category. They include cross-country regulars, Ibrahim Al-Muhanna, Hamza Bakhashab and Ahmed Al-Shegawi. 

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hosted a candidate event for inclusion in the MERC for the first time in 2008 out of Half Moon Bay in the Eastern Province. The event was won by Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Mathieu Baumel in a Subaru Impreza. 

The duo then won the only ever Saudi round of the MERC in 2010 in a Peugeot 207 S2000 after no event took place in 2009. The 2010 rally was marred by the volcanic ash cloud that shrouded northern Europe and prevented many crew members and officials from travelling to the Kingdom. 

Rally Saudi Arabia will be able to benefit from the world class facilities at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit with the Rally HQ based out of the Race Tower. 

Competitors will tackle 192.24 competitive kilometres in an expansive  route of 824.35km over two days. Friday’s action (May 2nd) is centred around terrain to the east of Jeddah and features two passes through the Buraiman, Wadi Al-Matwi and Um Al-Jerem specials.

Saturday’s action heads north and centres on two runs through the Al-Ghulal, Asfan and Thahban stages. The second pass through Thahban also acts as the event’s Power Stage of 9.34km.

2025 Rally Saudi Arabia – entry list: 

1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Candido Carrera (ESP)                                         Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2

2. Abdullah Al-Rawahi (OMA)/Ross Whittock (GBR)                                                 Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2             

3. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Lorcan Moore (IRL)                                                     Citroën C3 Rally 2

4. Juho Hänninen (FIN)/Janni Hussi (FIN)                                                                     Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2*

5. Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Ziad Chehab (LBN)                                             Ford Fiesta Mk II Rally 2

6. Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez (JOR)/Emad Juma (JOR)                                                     Škoda Fabia Rally 2

7. Ihab Al-Shurafa (JOR)/Ahmad Jankhout (JOR)                                                       Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2

8. Bassel Abu Hamdan (LBN)/Firas Elias (LBN)                                                            Škoda Fabia Rally 2

9. Shaker Sweihan (JOR)/Aisvydas Paliukenas (LTU)                                                 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

10. Abdullah Al-Zubair (OMA)/Taha Al-Zadjali (OMA)                                              Subaru Impreza WRX STi

11. Zakariya Al-Aamri (OMA)/Mohammed Al-Mazroui (OMA)                               Subaru Impreza WRX STi

12. Shadi El Fakih (LBN)/Joseph Kmeid (LBN)                                                             Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

13. Jassim Al-Muqahwi (KUW)/Suleiman Al-Helal (KUW)                                        Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

14. Rashid Al-Muhannadi (QAT)/Gary McElhinney (IRL)                                          Peugeot 208 Rally 4

15. Saad Al-Harqan (QAT)/Pierre Delorme (FRA)                                                       Peugeot 208 Rally 4

16. Mohammed Al-Marri (QAT)/Giovanni Bernacchini (ITA)                                   Peugeot 208 Rally 4

17. Payyaakkal ‘Saneem’ Panikkaveettil (IND)/Musa Sherif (IND)                          Ford Fiesta Rally 4

18. Shadi Shaban (JOR)/Samer Issa (JOR)                                                                    Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX (NAT)

19. Mohammed Al-Shorafa (JOR)/Yazan Juma (JOR)                                                Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX (NAT)*

20. Joanna Hassoun (LBN)/Dolyne Schlink (LBN)                                                       Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX (NAT)*

21. Issa Abu Jamous (JOR)/Saqer Abu Jamous (JOR)                                                 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX (NAT)

22. Ahmed Al-Shegawi (KSA)/Ali Mirza (UAE)                                                             Can-Am Maverick (SSV)*

23. Ibrahim Al-Muhanna (KSA)/Faisal Al-Suwayh (KSA)                                            Can-Am Maverick (SSV)

24. Hamad Al-Harbi (KSA)/Yasser Al-Khuraif (KSA)                                                    Can-Am Maverick X3 (SSV)*

25. Abdullah Al-Haydan (KSA)/Bader Al-Ajmi (KUW)                                                Can-Am Maverick (SSV)*

26. Abdullah Al-Shegawi (KSA)/Raed Al-Assaf (KSA)                                                 Can-Am Maverick X3 (SSV)*

27. Hamza Bakhashab (KSA)/Marcin Pasek (POL)                                                      Can-Am Maverick R (SSV)

*denotes not registered for the MERC

2025 FIA Middle East Rally Championship – positions after round 2:

1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)                                                           70pts

2. Rakan Al-Rashed (KSA)                                                                         48pts

3. Abdullah Al-Rawahi (OMN)                                                                 43pts

4. Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya (QAT)                                                              38pts

5. Rashid Al-Muhannadi (QAT)                                                               32pts

6. Shadi Shaban (JOR)                                                                                28pts

7. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)                                                                  24pts

8. Denis Krotov (KGZ)                                                                                 18pts

9. Abdullah Al-Zubair (OMN)                                                                   16pts

10. Zakariya Al-Aamri (OMN)                                                                  14pts, etc

2025 FIA MERC2 – positions after round 2:

1. Zakariya Al-Aamri (OMN)                                                                    54pts

2. Abdullah Al-Zubair (OMN)                                                                   30pts

3. Jad Al-Aawar (LBN)                                                                                 24pts

4. Jassim Al-Muqahwi (KUW)                                                                  21pts

5. Ahmad Khaled (LBN)                                                                              19pts, etc

Timetable of events

Wednesday, April 30

Scrutineering checks, Jeddah Corniche Circuit                                14.00hrs onwards

Thursday, May 1

Shakedown - 4.10km                                                                                  10.31-12.45hrs

Pre-rally press conference, Jeddah Corniche                                                     19.00hrs

Ceremonial start, Jeddah Corniche                                                        20.00hrs 

Friday, May 2

Start of leg 1 (six stages)                                                                           06.30hrs

Finish of leg 1                                                                                                18.40hrs

Saturday, May 3

Start of leg 2 (six stages)                                                                           06.30hrs

Finish of leg 2, Jeddah Corniche                                                            16.47hrs

Post-rally press conference, Jeddah Corniche                                 17.00hrs

Podium ceremony, Jeddah Corniche                                                   17.30hrs