Event calendar and results
The 2014 MERC was as follows: [4]
The 2014 Middle East Rally Championship season was an international rally championship sanctioned by the FIA. The championship was contested over six events held in six countries across the Middle East region, running from February to November.
Reigning champion Nasser Al-Attiyah defended his championship, winning four of the six rallies to be held, but the title was not decided until several days after the event. Al-Attiyah's fourth victory – at the Dubai International Rally – had originally been the first of the season for Khalid Al-Qassimi; Al-Qassimi had won the event by 0.3 seconds, and the championship title by a single point. [1] Al-Attiyah protested the results, claiming that Al-Qassimi had violated designated driving regulations. Event officials rejected Al-Attiyah's protest, but the FIA's International Court of Appeal accepted a subsequent protest. [2] Al-Qassimi was given a 30-second post-event penalty, [3] and his one-point title-winning margin, became a deficit of thirteen to Al-Attiyah. Third place in the championship went to Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, who won the Cyprus Rally, which was held alongside the European Rally Championship event. The season's only other winner was Nicolas Amiouni, who won his home event in Lebanon.
The 2014 MERC was as follows: [4]
The 2014 MERC for Drivers points was as follows: [9]
Chris Patterson is an Irish professional rally racing co-driver.
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.
Khalid bin Faisal bin Sultan Al Qassimi is a rally driver from the United Arab Emirates, and a member of the royal house of Al Qasimi who rule the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, and has competed in the World Rally Championship and Dakar Rally.
Nasser Salih Nasser Abdullah Al-Attiyah is a Qatari rally driver and sport shooter. He was the 2006 Production World Rally Champion, 2014 and 2015 WRC-2 champion, a 16 time Middle East Rally Champion, five times winner of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies, and a five times Dakar Rally winner. His five victories in the Dakar Rally make him the only Middle Easterner and West Asian to win the competition more than once.
The Citroën Total World Rally Team was the Citroën factory backed entry into the World Rally Championship (WRC), run by Citroën Racing.
Team Abu Dhabi is a team competing in the World Rally Championship. Team Abu Dhabi was set up in 2007 with the support of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) with the purpose of giving drivers from Abu Dhabi the opportunity to compete internationally. During 2007 ADTA began sponsoring the Ford World Rally Team, in a deal that saw Emirati driver Khalid Al Qassimi competing for the team. In 2011 Team Abu Dhabi has entered as a separate 'WRC Team'.
Yazeed Mohamed Al-Rajhi is a Saudi businessman, entrepreneur, and business magnate. One of the sons of businessman Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdulaziz Al-Rajhi, his origins trace back to the Al-Qassim region (Al-Bukayriyah), and his lineage traces back to the Bani Zaid tribe. He was born and raised in Riyadh. He began his working life at an early age when his father appointed him in 1998 as an observer of the Private Property Office and later became its general manager throughout the Kingdom in 2004, after which he rose to a number of high positions until he became one of the well-known businessmen.
The 2013 World Rally Championship was the 41st season of the World Rally Championship, an auto racing championship recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile as the highest class of international rallying. The season was run over 13 rallies, starting with the Rallye Monte Carlo on 16 January, and finishing with the Wales Rally of Great Britain on 17 November. Volkswagen entered the series as a constructor with the Polo R WRC, while Ford and Mini ended their factory support for the Fiesta RS WRC and John Cooper Works WRC respectively, though both continued to make their cars available to customer teams.
The 2013 Middle East Rally Championship season is an international rally championship sanctioned by the FIA. The championship is contested over seven events held in seven countries across the Middle East region, running from January to December.
The 2014 World Rally Championship was the 42nd season of the World Rally Championship, an auto racing championship recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile as the highest class of international rallying. Teams and drivers contested thirteen rallies across four continents, competing for the FIA World Rally Championships for Drivers and Manufacturers. The WRC-2, WRC-3 and Junior WRC championships all ran in support of the premier championship.
The Qatar International Rally is an international rally racing event held near the Qatari capital Doha. The rally, a gravel and sand event, dates back into the 1970s and has long been one of the cornerstone events of the Middle East Rally Championship and is one of two events to have been held in every year of the MERC.
Scott Martin is a British rallying co-driver who competes in the FIA World Rally Championship.
The 2015 Middle East Rally Championship was an international rally championship sanctioned by the FIA. The championship was contested over eight events held in eight countries across the Middle East region, running from February to November. The championship was significantly expanded for the 2015 season. The Oman International Rally returned to the calendar after a seven-year absence, while Iran joined the championship for the first time with the Shiraz Rally debuting in May, the last rally before the mid-year winter break.
The Shiraz Rally is an international rally racing event held at Persepolis, near Shiraz, the capital of the Fars Province in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The rally is a gravel and sand event run by the Motorcycle and Automobile Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (MAFIRI). The event was first held as a candidate event in 2014 before becoming a round of the Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) in 2015. The rally is the first international motorsport event to be held in Iran since the 1979 revolution.
The Automobile & Touring Club of the United Arab Emirates (ATCUAE), is the sole Touring and Sporting representative of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in the UAE.
The 2016 Middle East Rally Championship was an international rally championship sanctioned by the FIA. The championship was contested over five events held in five Middle East countries from February to October. The championship was reduced to seven rallies for 2016 season, but the end of season rallies, Oman International Rally and Dubai International Rally were cancelled.
The 2017 Middle East Rally Championship was an international rally championship sanctioned by the FIA. The championship was contested over five events held in five Middle East countries from February to September.
Sheikh Tarik bin Faisal Al Qasimi is a member of the Al Qasimi family of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates; businessman and Jiu-Jitsu champion. He served as a member of the Executive Council of the Government of Sharjah and led the economic committee from 1997 to 2007. He is the Chairman of ENSHAA PSC, Chairman of Emirates Investments Group and serves as the Chairman of Arab Union for Entrepreneurship.
The 2018 Middle East Rally Championship was an international rally championship sanctioned by the FIA. The championship was contested over five events held in five Middle East countries from April to November. One event, the Cyprus Rally, is shared with the 2018 European Rally Championship.
The 2019 Middle East Rally Championship was an international rally championship sanctioned by the FIA. The championship was to be contested over five events held in five Middle East countries from March to November. One event, the Cyprus Rally, is shared with the 2019 European Rally Championship. The season-ending Kuwait International Rally was cancelled.
