JORDAN RALLY May 14th-16th, 2026 FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC), round 3
Hani Joudi 
JORDAN MOTORSPORT PUTS FINISHING TOUCHES TO THIRD
ROUND OF REGIONAL RALLY SERIES SET FOR MID-MAY
Jordan Motorsport is putting the finishing touches to the 2026 edition of the iconic Jordan Rally, which will act as the third round of this year’s FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) on May 14th-16th.
The three-day event will run over a dozen timed gravel special stages in the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley areas of the Hashemite Kingdom and is again based at the Mövenpick Resort and Spa Dead Sea.
A new Shakedown stage of 4.83km kickstarts the competitive action on Thursday, May 14th and will enable competitors to fine-tune the set-up on their cars before the meat of the action takes centre stage over the weekend. A maximum of two passes per driver will be permitted.
The pre-event press conference (17.30hrs) and ceremonial start (18.00hrs) will take place at the HoverUp Park overlooking the Dead Sea on Thursday afternoon.
A revised Friday (May 15th) timetable laid on by Clerk of the Course George Khoury and his team features two passes through the Shuna (15.25km), Baptism (11.24km) and Ma’in (16.87km) stages, split by a return to the Dead Sea for a midday service and regroup.
Saturday’s (May 16th) modified timetable includes two runs through the Panorama (16.95km), Suwayma (11.12km) and Rawda (26.97km) specials in the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea areas before the ceremonial finish takes place in the HoverUp Park at the lowest place on earth from 18.00hrs.
The Rawda special is the longest of the entire event. It will provide a classic sting in the tail and also acts as the Power Stage finale, with additional MERC points available for the fastest crews.
After two rounds of this year’s regional rally series in Oman and Qatar, the series is wide open with Qatari veteran Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya leading the way on 47 points after a pair of third places. The former championship runner-up also leads the FIA Master Driver Championship.
Saudi Arabia’s Hamza Bakhashab is five points adrift of the Ford driver in second place, courtesy of picking up points for eighth in Oman and second in Qatar, while local hero Shaker Jweihan has dominated the opening two rounds of the FIA MERC2 category and holds third in the overall Drivers’ Championship.
Reigning champion Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah won the opening round in Oman but retirement from his home event in Qatar, sees the record-breaking 17-time winner of the Jordan Rally lying in fourth place after two rounds. He is tied on points with Qatar Rally winner and former regional champion Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, who missed the opening round in Sohar.
Lebanon’s Shadi El-Fakih has picked up maximum points from a pair of victories in the FIA MERC4 category with his co-driver Joseph Kmeid.
Entries are now open with a closing date set for Tuesday, April 28th. Further information is available on the Sportity App: code JR2026.
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