The Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) is a motor rally championship run under the auspices of the FIA.

History

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 who has won 20 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 (1984–1985, 1987–1989, 1995–1996, 2009–2016, 2018–present)

• Bahrain International Rally (1984, 2000–2002, 2004–2005)

• Jordan Rally (1984–1988, 1990, 1992–present)

• Oman International Rally (1984–1988, 1990–1994, 1998, 2004–2007, 2015)

• Dubai International Rally, United Arab Emirates (1984–1988, 1990–1995, 1997–2015)

• Rally of Lebanon, (1987–1988, 1991–2004, 2006–present)

• UAE International Rally, United Arab Emirates (1989, 1995–2001, 2004–2006)

• Tour of Cyprus, (1998–1999)

• Troodos Rally, Cyprus, (2000–2009, 2011)

• Syria International Rally, (2001–2005, 2007–2010)

• Cyprus Rally, (2007–2008, 2010, 2012–present)

• Sharqia Rally, Saudi Arabia, (2010)

• Shiraz Rally, Iran, (2015–2017)

Champions

1. Footnotes

Rally winners

After the 2025 season:

Wins per nationality

Count as after Cyprus 2023

References

External links

• 2016 Middle East Rally Championship at the FIA official website