Nasser Al Attiyah wins Rally Saudi Arabia – Round three of the 2025 FIA Middle East Rally Championship
Nasser Al-Attiyah, nineteen-time FIA Middle East Rally Champion and five-time Dakar Rally winner, won Rally Saudi Arabia which finished on the Jeddah Corniche, Saturday, May 3rd. The Qatari champion driver dominated the rally throughout in his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 and is now setting his sights firmly on Saudi’s inaugural round of the FIA World Rally Championship during the weekend of November 27-30 later this year. Commenting on his victory the Qatari Champion said, “It was nice to win the rally. But the good thing was that we had the rally back here in Saudi Arabia. I cannot wait for the WRC Saudi Rally in November. I want to do it in a WRC Rally1 car!” Toyota driver Juho Hänninen was second on Rally Saudi Arabia with local hero Rakan AlRashed third. The third round of this year’s Middle East Rally Championship doubled as the “candidate” event ahead of this season’s final FIA World Rally Championship event in in November. The “candidate” event is designed to demonstrate to the sport’s governing body (the FIA) the competency of the rally organisers ahead of Saudi’s first World Championship event. Observers on the rally, based on new stages in the mountains to the north east of Jeddah, were encouraged by the ability of the organisers and were impressed with the challenging and demanding stages that had been produced. The Ministry of Sport, the Saudi Motorsport Company and the Saudi Automobile & Motorcycle Federation will now work tirelessly over the next six months to deliver what is hoped will be a hugely successful first FIA World Rally Championship event in the Kingdom. The next round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship is at the end of May where Saudi driver Rakan AlRashed will be looking to continue his impressive form.