Middle East Rally Championship
| Category | Group N R5 |
|---|---|
| Country | Middle East |
| Inaugural season | 1984 |
| Drivers' champion |  Nasser Al-Attiyah |
 | |
The Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) is a motor rally championship run under the auspicies of the FIA. First held in 1984 the championship encompasses a series of rallies held across Western Asia. The championship has featured long-running events like Rally of Lebanon, Rally Oman and the Troodos Rally in Cyprus as well as World Rally Championship event Jordan Rally. Many of the rallies in the region pre-date national independence, mostly from the United Kingdom.
The championship has been dominated by Nasser Al-Attiyah has won 17 titles.
The championship features events in Qatar, Kuwait, Iran, Lebanon, Cyprus, Jordan, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. The championship has also visited Bahrain, Syria and Saudi Arabia.
List of events[]
- Qatar International Rally (1984–present)
- Kuwait International Rally (1984–85, 1987–89, 1995–96, 2009–2016, 2018–present)
- (1984, 2000–02, 2004–05)
- Jordan Rally (1984–88, 1990, 1992–present)
- Oman International Rally (1984–88, 1990–94, 1998, 2004–07, 2015)
- Dubai International Rally, United Arab Emirates (1984–88, 1990–95, 1997–2015)
- Rally of Lebanon, (1987–88, 1991–2004, 2006–present)
- , United Arab Emirates (1989, 1995–2001, 2004–06)
- , (1998–1999)
- , Cyprus, (2000–2009, 2011)
- , (2001–05, 2007–10)
- Cyprus Rally, (2007–08, 2010, 2012–present)
- , Saudi Arabia, (2010)
- Shiraz Rally, Iran, (2015–17)
Seasons[]
2012 season[]
The 2012 events and winners:
| Event | Date | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Qatar | 27 – 28 Jan 2012 | Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari |
| Kuwait | 22 – 24 Mar 2012 | |
| Lebanon | 7 – 9 Sep 2012 | Roger Feghali |
| Syria | 27 – 29 Sep 2012 | Cancelled |
| Jordan | 11 – 13 Oct 2012 | Nasser Al-Attiyah |
| Cyprus | 2 – 4 Nov 2012 | Nasser Al-Attiyah |
| Dubai | 29 Nov – 1 Dec 2012 | Nasser Al-Attiyah |
2011 season[]
The 2011 events and winners:
| Event | Date | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Qatar | 3 – 5 Feb 2011 | Nasser Al-Attiyah |
| Kuwait | 10 – 12 Mar 2011 | Nasser Al-Attiyah |
| Jordan | 14 – 16 Apr 2011 | |
| Cyprus | 1 – 3 July 2011 | Nasser Al-Attiyah |
| Lebanon | 16 – 18 Sep 2011 | Roger Feghali |
| Syria | 6 – 8 Oct 2011 | Cancelled |
| Dubai | 1 – 3 Dec 2011 | Nasser Al-Attiyah |
2010 season[]
The 2010 events and winners:
| Event | Date | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Qatar | 21 Jan – 23 Jan 2010 | Nasser Al-Attiyah |
| Kuwait | 5 Mar – 8 Mar 2010 | Khalid Al Qassimi |
| Jordan | 1 Apr – 3 Apr 2010 | Yazeed Al-Rajhi |
| KSA | 20 Apr – 22 Apr 2010 | Yazeed Al-Rajhi |
| Lebanon | 17 Sep – 19 Sep 2010 | Roger Feghali |
| Syria | 7 Oct – 9 Oct 2010 | Nasser Al-Attiyah |
| Cyprus | 5 Nov – 7 Nov 2010 | Nasser Al-Attiyah |
| Dubai | 2 Dec – 4 Dec 2010 | Nasser Al-Attiyah |
Champions[]
Rally winners[]
223 Rallies (after Qatar 2022), 39 different winners, following are the winners stats:
| Driver | Wins |
|---|---|
| Nasser Al-Attiyah
|
78 |
 Mohammed bin Sulayem
|
60 |
 Roger Feghali
|
15 |
| Saeed Al-Hajri
|
11 |
| Khalid Al Qassimi
|
8 |
 Andreas Tsouloftas
|
4 |
 Abdullah Bakhashab
|
3 |
 Björn Waldegård
| |
| Jean-Pierre Nasrallah
| |
| Yazeed Al-Rajhi
| |
| Suhail bin Maktoum
|
2 |
| Khalifa Al-Mutaiwi
| |
| Michel Saleh
| |
| Abdulaziz Al Kuwari
| |
| Charalambous Thimotheou
| |
 Abdullah Al-Rawahi
| |
 Amjad Farrah
|
1 |
| Andreas Peratikos
| |
| Chris Thomas
| |
| Samir Ghanem
| |
| Abdullah Al-Qassimi
| |
| Abbas Al-Motaiwi
| |
| Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah
| |
| Hamed Bin Eid Al-Thani
| |
| Maurice Sehnaoui
| |
| Tony Georgiou
| |
 Alex Fiorio
| |
| Piero Liatti
| |
 Russell Brookes
| |
 Alain Oreille
| |
| Nizar Shanfari
| |
| Nicos Thomas
| |
| Rashed El-Ketbi
| |
| Khalid Al Suwaidi
| |
| Nicolas Amiouni
| |
| Tamer Ghandour
| |
| Rodolphe Asmar
| |
| Rashid El-Naimi
| |
 Vojtěch Štajf
|
Wins per nationality[]
count as after Qatar rally 2022
| Driver | Wins |
|---|---|
| Qatar
|
96 |
| United Arab Emirates
|
74 |
| Lebanon
|
26 |
| Cyprus
|
9 |
| Saudi Arabia
|
6 |
| Sweden
|
3 |
| Oman
| |
| Italy
|
2 |
| Jordan
|
1 |
| France
| |
| United Kingdom
| |
| Czech Republic
|
References[]
External links[]
- Middle East Rally Championship
- Motorsport in the Middle East
- FIA Zone rally championships