Competitors from eight countries were flagged away from the start of the 26th Kuwait International Rally at Kuwait Motor Town on Thursday evening.
After passing the mandatory scrutineering checks on Thursday morning, several of the leading drivers joined members of the local and regional media at a pre-event press conference before heading to the ceremonial start within the Kuwait Motor Town facility.
The country’s first international rally to be held since 2018 is is being organised by the Kuwait International Motorsport Club (KIMC) in co-operation with the Kuwait International Automobile Club (KIAC).
Friday’s stages have been revised and extended slightly from the original itinerary. Action gets underway with a 17.70km special, south of Kuwait City, and this precedes the first of two runs across the gravel tracks of a further pair of 20.65km and 20.73km stages.
After a return to Kuwait Motor Town for a regroup and service stop, the three specials will be repeated in the afternoon.
2022 Kuwait International Rally – official start list:
1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Mathieu Baumel (FRA) Volkswagen Polo GTI
2. Meshari Al-Thefiri (KWT)/Nasser Al-Kuwari (QAT) Škoda Fabia R2 evo
3. Abdullah Al-Rawahi (OMN)/Ata Al-Hmoud (JOR) Škoda Fabia R2 evo
4. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)/James Fulton (IRL) Škoda Fabia R2 evo
5. Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya (QAT)/Giovanni Bernacchini (ITA) Ford Fiesta
6. Khaled Al-Suwaidi (QAT)/Hugo Magalhães (PRT) Škoda Fabia R2 evo
7. Ihab Al-Shorafa (JOR)/Yousef Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
8. Issa Abu Jamous (JOR)/Emad Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
9. Jassim Al-Muqahwi (KWT)/Thamer Al-Mutairi (KWT) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
10. Zakariya Al-Aamri (OMN)/Mohammed Al-Aamri (OMN) Subaru Impreza
11. Mohammed Al-Thefiri (KWT)/Mubarak Al-Dhafiri (KWT) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
12. Yousef Al-Dhafeeri (KWT)/Fares Al-Thefiri (KWT) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
14. Khalid Juma (JOR)/Tareq Al-Taher (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII
15. Shadi Shaban (JOR)/Suleiman Al-Helal (KWT) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
