Qatar Academy Stars Programme Winners Al Marri And Al Harqan To Make Debuts At Qatar International Rally

Lusail: Young Qatari drivers Mohammed Al Marri and Saad Al Harqan will make their rallying debuts at this weekend's Qatar International Rally.

The two rookies emerged as the winners of recent assessments carried out at Lusail by the Qatar Motorsport Academy (QMA) and their prize was a drive supported by the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) at the second round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC).

The QMA Stars Programme was established at the end of 2024 in a bid to seek out, train and nurture young motor sporting talent in Qatar.

Open to Qatari citizens between the ages of 15 and 25, the first assessments took place at the Lusail International Circuit in mid-January.

The selection process featured an initial short slalom course and the fastest contenders from over 400 registrations received then advanced to longer slalom courses with the leading drivers then progressing to the finals over the following two days.

The finalists were then tested in different vehicles on changeable surfaces and evaluated by a panel of experts.

Al Marri and Al Harqan were declared two of the winners and will compete this weekend in a pair of Peugeot 208 Rally4s, alongside the likes of Rashid Al Muhannadi, who debuted a similar car backed by the QMMF and the QMA at last week's Oman International Rally.

He finished in an excellent fourth overall behind three more powerful Rally2 cars and is chasing honours in a full MERC calendar of events this season.

The QMA Stars Programme was run with support from Nicolas Bernardi, the QMMF's new Off-Road and Rally Racing Activities Consultant, who is himself a former French champion and star of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC).

The two winners will be co-driven by the French duo of Yannick Roche and Pierre Delorme for their competitive debuts.

The rookies will be looking for points in the recently-introduced Junior category in the MERC.

This weekend's 45th Qatar International Rally is being held under the chairmanship of QMMF President Abdulrahman Al Mannai, senior committee member Abdulrazaq Al Kuwari and the QMMF's Executive Director Amro Al Hamad.

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