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Jordanian duo aims for MERC 3 honours in Qatar

By JT - Jan 31,2017 - Last updated at Jan 31,2017

Asem Aref in action in 2016 with his Renault Clio (Photo courtesy of Qatar Rally Media Centre)

AMMAN — While the likes of Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah and Khaled Al Suwaidi will be hoping to claim outright honours for their home country in this weekend’s Qatar International Rally, a Jordanian crew will be striving to finish one of the region’s most difficult rallies in a near-standard road car entered in the FIA MERC 3 Championship.

The opening round of the 2017 FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) has attracted a 15-car field and two of those 30 competitors are from Jordan. Asem Aref and Musa Djiyerian hold little chance of upsetting the local drivers, but they have a very different objective for the race.

“I am not unduly concerned about my pace and my stage times this week,” admitted Asem Aref, a regular on the regional rallying scene for many years who made his regional rallying debut back in 1995, to the Qatar Rally Media Service.

“The goal is simple and that is to finish the rally in my Renault Clio and collect valuable points towards the MERC 3 Championship. I want to win the title this year and, with only five rounds this time, it’s so important that I finish in Qatar.”

The MERC 3 Championship runs in conjunction with rounds of the MERC and is for eligible RC3 or two-wheel drive saloon cars that are as near to a standard road-going vehicle as you could get. Aref’s car features uprated suspension and all the usual safety equipment, but is massively lacking in power, handling and traction compared to purpose-built rally cars such as the Ford Fiesta R5 or the Skoda Fabia R5 that run at the front of the field.

Away from the world of motor sport, Aref works in the world of finance, while his Amman-based navigator is a regional brand manager in the drinks industry when he is not calling out the notes on the special stages.

Last year, the pair did well in the Jordanian national series and won the RC3 class on three occasions at Mount Nebo, La Storia and the Jordan 3rd National Rally, netting fifth, fourth and sixth overall in the process in the three rallies, although they retired from the MERC event in their home country.

This week’s Qatar International Rally is being organised by the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation, and is based at the Losail International Circuit.

Competitors complied with compulsory registration and administration formalities on Tuesday and will be permitted to take a closer look at the special stages on Wednesday during a crucial reconnaissance session.

 

The competitive action takes place on Friday and Saturday. There will be 205.16 competitive kilometres in a route of 669.84km laid out by Rally Director Pedro Almeida and local Clerk of the Course Rashid Al Sulaiti.

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