Ammon News - AMMON Sports - Prince Faysal bin al-Hussein will give the start signal launching the Jordan Rally to 30 crews from 10 different countries from the rally starting point at Abdoun circle on Thursday.

Prince Faysal, chairman of the Motor Sport Executive Council, had stressed to AFP the importance of this year's Jordan Rally, the sixth round of the Middle East Rally Championship (MERC), as a real and serious rehearsal for Jordan's hosting of a round of the World Rally Championship (WRC) next April.

After the round on Thursday, the spot light will turn to the real competition on Friday and Saturday around the lowest spot on earth; the Dead Sea area.

The race is about 711 km of which 260 km are divided into 18 rough terrain special stages.

Most prominent participants include Nasser al-Attiyeh of Qatar, 5-year Middle East champion, and his compatriot Messfer al-Marri, Saudi Arabia's Yazeed al-Rajehi, UAE's Sheikh Abdullah al-Qasimi, and Lebanon's Rougeh Faghali and Nick Georgio.

From Jordan, notable participants include Amjad Farrah, who in 2004 became the first Jordanian to win Jordan Rally's title, Fares al-Bustami, Fares Hijazi, Mazen Tantash, Ahmad Mehyar, Ibrahim Mehawesh, Khaled Jum'ah, and the long-standing contestant Abeer al-Bateekhi, who doesn't miss an opportunity to get to the finish line in all championships, including last year's WRC round.

The rally will launch with rounds and Jordanian cultural festivities starting at noon on Thursday.





* (Picture Courtesy of LIFE)
DEAD SEA, JORDAN: Sebastien Loeb of France and Daniel Elena of Monaco from Citroen Total WRT drive the Citroen C4 WRC, A/8 during Leg 2 of the Jordan Rally 2008 on April 26, 2008 in the Dead Sea, Jordan.