Middle East Rally Championship
| Category |
Group N Super 2000 |
|---|---|
| Country | Middle East |
| Inaugural season | 1984 |
| Drivers' champion |
 Nasser Al-Attiyah |
 Current season | |
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 thus the championship could be seen as a legacy of British (and French in the case of Lebanon) colonialism.
The championship has been dominated by remarkably few competitors. Mohammed bin Sulayem is a 14-time champion and reigning champion Nasser Al-Attiyah has won 12 times. Between them they have won over 60% of events in thirty-year history of the championship.
The current season includes 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-present)
- Bahrain International Rally (1984, 2000–02, 2004–05)
- Jordan Rally (1984–88, 1990, 1992–present)
- Oman International Rally (1984–88, 1990–94, 1998, 2004-07, 2015–present)
- Dubai International Rally, United Arab Emirates (1984–88, 1990–95, 1997–present)
- Rally of Lebanon, (1987–88, 1991-2004, 2006-present)
- UAE International Rally, United Arab Emirates (1989, 1995-2001, 2004–06)
- Tour of Cyprus, (1998-1999)
- Troodos Rally, Cyprus, (2000-2009, 2011)
- Syria International Rally, (2001–05, 2007–10)
- Cyprus Rally, (2007–08, 2010, 2012–present)
- Sharqia Rally, Saudi Arabia, (2010)
- Shiraz Rally, Iran, (2015–present)
Seasons
2015 season
2014 season
2013 season
2012 season
The 2012 events and winners:
| Event | Date | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Qatar | 27 – 28 jan 2012 | Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari |
| Kuwait | 22 – 24 Mar 2012 | Khalid Al-Suwaidi |
| 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 | Rashed El-Ketbi |
| 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
196 Rallies (after Cyprus 2016), 36 different winner, following are the winners stats:
| Driver | Wins |
|---|---|
| Nasser Al-Attiyah |
63 |
 Mohammed bin Sulayem |
60 |
 Roger Feghali |
12 |
| Saeed Al-Hajri |
11 |
| Khalid Al Qassimi |
8 |
 Andreas Tsouloftas |
4 |
 Abdullah Bakhashab |
3 |
 Björn Waldegård |
3 |
| Jean-Pierre Nasrallah |
3 |
| Yazeed Al-Rajhi |
3 |
| Suhail bin Maktoum |
2 |
| Khalifa Al-Mutaiwi |
2 |
| Michel Saleh |
2 |
| Abdulaziz Al Kuwari |
2 |
22 drivers have won one round of the MERC;
Charalambous Thimotheou (CY), Amjad Farrah (HKJ), Andreas Peratikos (CY), Chris Thomas (CY), Samir Ghanem (RL), Abdullah Al-Qassimi (UAE), Abbas Al-Motaiwi (QA), Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah (QA), Hamed Bin Eid Al-Thani (QA), Maurice 'Bagheera' Sehnaoui (RL), Tony Georgiou (RL), Alex Fiorio (I), Piero Liatti (I), Russell Brookes (GB), Alain Oreille (F), Nizar Shanfari (OM), Nicos Thomas (CY), Rashed El-Ketbi (UAE), Khalid Al Suwaidi (QA), Nicolas Amiouni (RL), Tamer Ghandour (RL), Rodolphe Asmar (RL).
Wins per nationality
After Cyprus 2016
| Driver | Wins |
|---|---|
| Qatar |
80 |
| UAE |
74 |
| Lebanon |
23 |
| Cyprus |
8 |
| KSA |
6 |
| Sweden |
3 |
 Italy |
2 |
and 1 win for Oman, Jordan, France and Great Britain.