2018 Middle East Rally Championship
The 2018 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 April to November. One event, the Cyprus Rally, is shared with the 2018 European Rally Championship.
Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah won his fourteenth MERC championship and his eighth consecutively. Al-Attiyah won the season opening Jordan Rally and later the Kuwait International Rally which was returning to the schedule after being left of the 2017 calendar. Al-Attiyah was also the leading MERC competitor to finish at the Cyprus Rally. Czech driver Vojtěch Štajf won the last event of the year in Qatar, held just two weeks after Kuwait. He was also second in Jordan and the second placed MERC driver in Cyprus. He was runner up in the championship. Kuwaiti driver Meshari Al-Thefiri was third in the championship finishing second in Kuwait and third in Jordan. Lebanese veteran Roger Feghali's one-off appearance at his home event saw him win the rally for the fourteenth time.
Event calendar and results
The 2018 MERC was as follows:[1]
Round | Rally name | Podium finishers | Statistics | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Driver | Car | Time | Stages | Length | Starters | Finishers | ||||
1 | ![]() (26–28 April)[2] | 1 | ![]() | Ford Fiesta R5 | 1:56:30.3 | 14 | 167.80 km | 13 | 12 | ||
2 | ![]() | Škoda Fabia R5 | 2:04:33.5 | ||||||||
3 | ![]() | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X | 2:06:50.3 | ||||||||
2 | ![]() (15–17 June)[3] | 1 | ![]() | Škoda Fabia R5 | 1:55:40.2 | 13 | 180.91 km | 59 | 46 | ||
2 | ![]() | Škoda Fabia R5 | 1:55:40.8 | ||||||||
3 | ![]() | Škoda Fabia R5 | 1:57:01.6 | ||||||||
3 | ![]() (6–8 July)[4] | 1 | ![]() | Škoda Fabia R5 | 2:07:43.0 | 11 | 222.86 km | 27 | 20 | ||
2 | ![]() | Ford Fiesta R5 | 2:09:07.4 | ||||||||
3 | ![]() | Škoda Fabia R5 | 2:14:06.3 | ||||||||
4 | ![]() (1–3 November)[5] | 1 | ![]() | Ford Fiesta R5 | 1:58:24.6 | 13 | 198.52 km | 13 | 10 | ||
2 | ![]() | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X | 2:10:43.8 | ||||||||
3 | ![]() | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII | 2:26:27.7 | ||||||||
5 | ![]() (15–17 November)[6] | 1 | ![]() | Škoda Fabia R5 | 1:39:46.7 | 10 | 153.82 km | 16 | 6 | ||
2 | ![]() | Ford Fiesta R5 | 1:43:54.5 | ||||||||
3 | ![]() | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X | 1:52:48.0 |
Championship standings
The 2018 MERC for Drivers points was as follows:[7]
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References
- ^ "Season 2018 Middle East Rally Championship". FIA.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
- ^ "Jordan Rally 2018". EWRC-Results.com. EWRC-Results. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
- ^ "47. Cyprus Rally 2018". EWRC-Results.com. EWRC-Results. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
- ^ "41. Rally of Lebanon 2018". EWRC-Results.com. EWRC-Results. 11 July 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
- ^ "Kuwait International Rally 2018". EWRC-Results.com. EWRC-Results. 4 November 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
- ^ "43. Manateq - International Rally of Qatar 2018". EWRC-Results.com. EWRC-Results. 19 November 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
- ^ "Classifications: FIA Middle East Rally Championship". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
External links
- Official website