2016 Middle East Rally Championship

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.

2016 Middle East Rally Championship
Previous: 2015 Next: 2017

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]

Round Rally name Podium finishers Statistics
Rank Driver Car Time Stages Length Starters Finishers
1 Qatar International Rally
(4–6 February)[2]		 1 Nasser Al-Attiyah Škoda Fabia R5 2:03:20.5 13 241.71 km 12 6
2 Khalid Mohammad Al-Suwaidi Ford Fiesta R5 2:09:34.6
3 Rashid Al-Naimi Subaru WRX Sti 2:20:42.5
2 Kuwait International Rally
(24–26 March)[3]		 1 Nasser Al-Attiyah Škoda Fabia R5 2:08:06.1 13 209.20 km 23 19
2 Meshari Al-Thefiri Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 2:19:31.0
3 Yigit Alpaslan Timur Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 2:20:59.2
3 Jordan Rally
(5–7 May)[4]		 1 Nasser Al-Attiyah Škoda Fabia R5 2:42:02.2 19 222.90 km 18 10
2 Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari Škoda Fabia R5 3:00:20.6
3 Abdullah Al-Kuwari Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 3:07:40.9
4 Rally of Lebanon
(2–4 September)[5]		 1 Tamer Ghandour Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 2:12:26.3 11 209.10 km 31 22
2 Abdo Feghali Škoda Fabia R5 2:15:34.6
3 Eddy Abou-Karam Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 2:16:40.9
5 Cyprus Rally
(7–9 October)[6]		 1 Alexey Lukyanuk Ford Fiesta R5 2:06:55.9 14 214.38 km 70 47
2 Marijan Griebel Škoda Fabia R5 2:09:08.1
3 Ralfs Sirmacis Škoda Fabia R5 2:09:51.9
6 Oman International Rally
(3–5 November)		 event cancelled
7 Dubai International Rally
(17–19 November)		 event cancelled

Championship standings

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

Pos. Driver Vehicle
QAT
KUW
JOR
LBN
CYP		 Total
1 Nasser Al-Attiyah Škoda Fabia R5 1 1 1 Ret 123
2 Rodolphe Asmar Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 5 7 6 4 1 80
3 Khalid Mohammad Al-Suwaidi Ford Fiesta R5 2 5 4 7 Ret 77
4 Abdullah Al-Kuwari Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 4 8 3 19 4 73
5 Rashed Al Naimi Subaru WRX Sti 3 Ret 8 12 3 64
6 Khalifa Saleh Al-Attiyah Subaru WRX Sti Ret 4 Ret 22
7 Vedat Diker Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X Ret 9 Ret 4
8 Meshari Al-Thefiri Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 2 Ret 3
Key
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Did not finish (Ret)
Black Excluded (EX)
Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Cancelled (C)
Blank Withdrew entry from
the event (WD)

References
  1. "Season 2016 Middle East Rally Championship". FIA.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 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. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
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