2016 Middle East Rally Championship

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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.

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Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah won his twelfth MERC championship and his sixth consecutively. Al-Attiyah won the first three rallies of the season creating an uncatchable buffer once Oman and Dubai were cancelled. Lebanese driver Rodolphe Asmar was second in the championship, securing the runner's up position with victory in Cyprus. Khalid Mohammad Al-Suwaidi was third.

Event calendar and results

The 2016 MERC was as follows: [1]

RoundRally namePodium finishersStatistics
RankDriverCarTimeStagesLengthStartersFinishers
1 Flag of Qatar.svg Qatar International Rally
(4–6 February) [2]
1 Flag of Qatar.svg Nasser Al-Attiyah Škoda Fabia R5 2:03:20.513241.71 km126
2 Flag of Qatar.svg Khalid Mohammad Al-Suwaidi Ford Fiesta R5 2:09:34.6
3 Flag of Qatar.svg Rashid Al-Naimi Subaru WRX Sti 2:20:42.5
2 Flag of Kuwait.svg Kuwait International Rally
(24–26 March) [3]
1 Flag of Qatar.svg Nasser Al-Attiyah Škoda Fabia R5 2:08:06.113209.20 km2319
2 Flag of Kuwait.svg Meshari Al-Thefiri Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 2:19:31.0
3 Flag of Turkey.svg Yigit Alpaslan Timur Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 2:20:59.2
3 Flag of Jordan.svg Jordan Rally
(5–7 May) [4]
1 Flag of Qatar.svg Nasser Al-Attiyah Škoda Fabia R5 2:42:02.219222.90 km1810
2 Flag of Qatar.svg Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari Škoda Fabia R5 3:00:20.6
3 Flag of Qatar.svg Abdullah Al-Kuwari Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 3:07:40.9
4 Flag of Lebanon.svg Rally of Lebanon
(2–4 September) [5]
1 Flag of Lebanon.svg Tamer Ghandour Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 2:12:26.311209.10 km3122
2 Flag of Lebanon.svg Abdo Feghali Škoda Fabia R5 2:15:34.6
3 Flag of Lebanon.svg Eddy Abou-Karam Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 2:16:40.9
5 Flag of Cyprus.svg Cyprus Rally
(7–9 October) [6]
1 Flag of Russia.svg Alexey Lukyanuk Ford Fiesta R5 2:06:55.914214.38 km7047
2 Flag of Germany.svg Marijan Griebel Škoda Fabia R5 2:09:08.1
3 Flag of Latvia.svg Ralfs Sirmacis Škoda Fabia R5 2:09:51.9
6 Flag of Oman.svg Oman International Rally
(3–5 November)
event cancelled
7 Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Dubai International Rally
(17–19 November)
event cancelled

Championship standings

The 2016 MERC for Drivers points was as follows: [7]

Pos.DriverVehicle Flag of Qatar.svg
QAT
Flag of Kuwait.svg
KUW
Flag of Jordan.svg
JOR
Flag of Lebanon.svg
LBN
Flag of Cyprus.svg
CYP
Total
1 Flag of Qatar.svg Nasser Al-Attiyah Škoda Fabia R5 111Ret123
2 Flag of Lebanon.svg Rodolphe Asmar Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 5764180
3 Flag of Qatar.svg Khalid Mohammad Al-Suwaidi Ford Fiesta R5 2547Ret77
4 Flag of Qatar.svg Abdullah Al-Kuwari Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 48319473
5 Flag of Qatar.svg Rashed Al Naimi Subaru WRX Sti 3Ret812364
6 Flag of Qatar.svg Khalifa Saleh Al-Attiyah Subaru WRX Sti Ret4Ret22
7 Flag of Turkey.svg Vedat Diker Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X Ret9Ret4
8 Flag of Kuwait.svg Meshari Al-Thefiri Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 2Ret3
Key
ColourResult
GoldWinner
Silver2nd place
Bronze3rd place
GreenPoints finish
BlueNon-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
PurpleDid not finish (Ret)
BlackExcluded (EX)
Disqualified (DSQ)
WhiteDid not start (DNS)
Cancelled (C)
BlankWithdrew entry from
the event (WD)

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References

  1. "Season 2016 Middle East Rally Championship". FIA.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 3 January 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  2. "41. Qatar International Rally 2016". EWRC-Results.com. EWRC-Results. 6 February 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  3. "Kuwait International Rally 2016". EWRC-Results.com. EWRC-Results. 24 October 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  4. "Jordan Rally 2016". EWRC-Results.com. EWRC-Results. 13 May 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  5. "39. Rally of Lebanon 2016". EWRC-Results.com. EWRC-Results. 2 October 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  6. "45. CNP Asfalistiki Cyprus Rally 2016". EWRC-Results.com. EWRC-Results. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  7. "Classifications: FIA Middle East Rally Championship". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 3 January 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2018.