The 2017 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 September.

Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah won his thirteenth MERC championship and his seventh consecutively. Al-Attiyah won three rallies over the course of the season creating a gap unable to be approached. Kuwaiti driver Meshari Al-Thefiri led the points after three rallies but was unable to score any points subsequently. Lebanese veteran Roger Feghali's one-off appearance and victory at his home event was enough to finish the year third in the championship.

Event calendar and results

The 2017 MERC was as follows:[1]

Round Rally name Podium finishers Statistics
Rank Driver Car Time Stages Length Starters Finishers
1 Qatar Qatar International Rally
(3–4 February)[2]		 1 Qatar Rashid Al-Naimi Subaru WRX Sti 1:56:28.3 12 205.16 km 10 5
2 Qatar Nasser Al-Kuwari Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX 2:11:17.2
3 Kuwait Meshari Al-Thefiri Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 2:22:17.0
2 Jordan Jordan Rally
(4–6 May)[3]		 1 Qatar Nasser Al-Attiyah Ford Fiesta R5 2:56:37.0 18 238.20 km 13 8
2 Jordan Marouf Abu Samra Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX 3:12:46.3
3 Kuwait Meshari Al-Thefiri Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 3:17:15.0
3 Cyprus Cyprus Rally
(16–18 June)[4]		 1 Qatar Nasser Al-Attiyah Ford Fiesta R5 2:31:44.3 14 219.74 km 67 46
2 Cyprus Simos Galatariotis Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 2:37:56.3
3 Cyprus Panikos Polykarpou Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX 2:38:03.8
4 Lebanon Rally of Lebanon
(25–27 August)[5]		 1 Lebanon Roger Feghali Škoda Fabia R5 2:01:33.5 11 206.30 km 31 22
2 Lebanon Gilbert Bannout Škoda Fabia R5 2:07:33.7
3 Lebanon Rodolphe Asmar Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 2:11:41.2
5 Iran Shiraz International Rally
(13–15 September)[6]		 1 Qatar Nasser Al-Attiyah Ford Fiesta R5 1:55:02.0 12 202.14 km 12 8
2 Czech Republic Vojtěch Štajf Škoda Fabia R5 1:56:32.3
3 Iran Hormoz Kalhor Kia Cerato 2:31:57.2

Championship standings

The 2017 MERC for Drivers points was as follows:[7]

Pos. Driver Vehicle Qatar
QAT		 Jordan
JOR		 Cyprus
CYP		 Lebanon
LBN		 Iran
SHI		 Total
1 Qatar Nasser Al-Attiyah Ford Fiesta R5 Ret 1 1 6 1 136
2 Kuwait Meshari Al-Thefiri Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 2 3 5 13 71
3 Lebanon Roger Feghali Škoda Fabia R5 1 39
4 Qatar Rashed Al Naimi Subaru WRX Sti 1 37
5 Czech Republic Vojtěch Štajf Škoda Fabia R5 2 31
6 Cyprus Simos Galatariotis Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 2 30
7 Lebanon Gilbert Bannout Škoda Fabia R5 2 28
8 Cyprus Savvas Savva Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX 3 25
9 Jordan Ihab Al-Shorafa Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX 4 24
10 Lebanon Rodolphe Asmar Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 3 23
11 Iran Ali Mesgarha Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX 3 20
Jordan Asem Aref Renault Clio Ret 5 8 Ret 20
13 Cyprus Costas Laos Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX 4 17
Lebanon Patrick Njeim Citroën DS3 R3T 4 17
15 Lebanon Nadim Halabi Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX 5 14
16 Lebanon Eddy Abou-Karam Hyundai i20 R5 7 12
17 Cyprus Mehmet Yucel Ford Fiesta S2000 6 10
18 Germany Edith Weiss Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX 7 7
19 Qatar Khalid Mohammad Al-Suwaidi Škoda Fabia R5 Ret 6
20 Lebanon Nabil Abdelhak Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 8 5
Jordan Khaled Juma Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X Ret 5
Czech Republic Daniel Landa Škoda Fabia R5 Ret 5
23 Cyprus Michalis Posedias Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X Ret 4
24 Saudi Arabia Rakan Al-Rashed Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX Ret 3
Cyprus Demetris Papasavvas Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX Ret 3
26 Lebanon Elie Nehme Renault Clio R3 9 2
Kuwait Essam Al-Nejadi Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX Ret 2
Cyprus Andreas Filippou Subaru Impreza STi N15 Ret 2
Lebanon Joseph Hindy Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X Ret 2
30 Lebanon Matthias Njeim Peugeot 208 R2 10 1
Kuwait Salem Al-Thafferi Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X Ret 1
Lebanon Nassib Nassar Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX Ret 1
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 2017 Middle East Rally Championship". FIA.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  2. ↑ "42. Qatar International Rally 2017". EWRC-Results.com. EWRC-Results. 4 February 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  3. ↑ "Jordan Rally 2017". EWRC-Results.com. EWRC-Results. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  4. ↑ "46. Cyprus Rally 2017". EWRC-Results.com. EWRC-Results. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  5. ↑ "40. Rally of Lebanon 2017". EWRC-Results.com. EWRC-Results. 28 August 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  6. ↑ "3. Shiraz International Rally 2017". EWRC-Results.com. EWRC-Results. 23 September 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  7. ↑ "Classifications: FIA Middle East Rally Championship". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
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