Shurafa captures Jordan National Rally Championship title

DEAD SEA — Ihab Shurafa on Friday captured the Jordan National Rally Championship title after an exciting fifth round finale which Salameh Qamaz won with the participation of 10 drivers at the Dead Sea area Service Park B.

Shurafa needed to finish the rally to capture the title and settled in the third place after Qamaz and Mohammed Tayseer. 

Qamaz and co-driver his son Faisal, in their Mitsubishi Evo 5, clocked 50m40s, followed by Tayseer and co-driver Shadi Shaban (50m44s) in their Mitsubishi Evo 9 and Shurafa and co- driver Yousef Juma in third place (50m53s) in their Mitsubishi Evo 9. 

Suhail Abu Rus and co-driver Amer Musa took  fourth place (54m14s) in their Opel Kadet and Ziad Meqdad and co-driver Noor Meqdad wrapped up fifth place (56m03s) in their Mitsubishi Evo 7.

Shurafa expressed his happiness after the rally saying that it was a very challenging round that ended on a high note.

“It was a very exciting round — the kind that places a lot of pressure on even the most skilled drivers. I am happy with my third place in the final round as I was seeking the title which I won and this is a great result. It is time now to plan for next year.”

The final round witnessed the retirement of Khaled Juma, Tareq Taher and Assem Aref due to mechanical issues.

Othman Naseef, Jordan Motorsport CEO told The Jordan Times that the finale was a nerve breaking affair.

“We have seen many final and decisive rounds but this one had a very challenging atmosphere among drivers which gave it the edge. We are happy that it ended well with fans enjoying the rally,” he said.

Drivers had to go through Bahra and Ghernata three times each with a total distance of 198.3km including 70.86km of special stages at the service park B at the Dead Sea.