Qatar’s Abdulaziz al-Kuwari will be aiming to consolidate his second place in the MERC at the Oman International Rally. He had won the candidate event in 2014.

Agencies/Muscat

The Oman Automobile Association (OAA) is proud to announce the running of the 2015 Oman International Rally, round seven of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC), which will take place in the Sultanate on November 5-7.
Held over three days and across some of the finest gravel special stages in the world, Oman returns to the FIA regional series for the first time since 2007, although it did run as a candidate in 2014 and was won by Abdulaziz al-Kuwari and Killian Duffy in a Ford Fiesta RRC.
Khalid al-Qassimi claimed the win seven years ago in a Subaru Impreza and Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah, who won his 11th MERC title with a win in Jordan Rally on Saturday, was a four-time winner between 2003 and 2006, although the 2003 event also ran as a candidate without MERC status.
This year’s event will run over 13 timed special stages and 254.38 competitive kilometres and will be based at the Oman Automobile Association’s headquarters at Airport Heights, near Muscat.
The ceremonial start will take place at the Muscat Wave from 6pm on Thursday, November 5 and precedes the opening super special stage at 6.45pm. Six timed tests will then take place on both Friday and Saturday.
“The Oman International Rally is one of the most important sports events held during the course of a year in Oman,” said Suleiman bin Abdullah al-Rawahi, event director of the Oman International Rally.  “The Oman Automobile Association works very hard to provide the right environment for this rally in many levels.”
Clerk of the course Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Zadjali confirmed that a challenging route is now being finalised and will offer a demanding test for the region’s finest drivers. Emphasis will be put on spectator and competitor safety at all times, according to safety director Khalid bin Yousef Baloochi.
The organising operation also includes trained medical, communications and maintenance teams for an event that starts with scrutineering and documentation on November 4 and finishes on November 7. Entries close tomorrow.