Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah taking part in the Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) in this file picture.
The World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) has made public the Middle East Rally Championship calendar for next season after introduction a few amendments to the start date and increasing the number of rounds.
The Championship will open in Amman on May 3 and will end in Doha, Qatar on November 17.
Qatar has retained its right to host the Middle East Rally race with a decision ratifying the new season calendar was officially adopted at the General Assembly meeting held in French capital Paris.
According to the new rally agenda, this year’s championship will featured in the Middle East Championship with six rounds, one round more than last season 2017, where the Kuwait Rally was added.
In the past years, Qatar has been hosting the opening round of the regional championship, however, the competition will start this season in the first week of May, specifically between the third and fifth day with the Jordan International Rally.
After a break of more than a month, the competition will move to the second round scheduled for Cyprus between June 15 and 17, while the third round will be held in Beirut with the Rally of Lebanon, which has not been set a deadline, two dates were given between July 6 to 8 or between 13 and 15 of the same month, with the Lebanese Federation announcing the date as soon as possible.
The fourth round of the rally will be held in Tehran with the Iran International Rally between September 5 and 7, the fifth round will be held in Kuwait, the rally will take place from November 1 to 3. Finally, the tournament will conclude in Doha with the Qatar Desert Rally between 15 and 17 of the same month.
In September, Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah won the MERC for the 13th time after winning the Rally Shiraz in Iran. Al Attiyah’s is within striking distance of Mohamed ben Sulayem 14 championships.
