2014 Middle East Rally Championship

2014 Middle East Rally season 2013 2015 The 2014 Middle East Rally Championship season was an international rally championship sanctioned by the FIA. The championship was contested over six events held in six countries across the Middle East region, running from February to November. Reigning champion Nasser Al-Attiyah defended his championship, winning four of the six rallies to be held, but the title was not decided until several days after the event. Al-Attiyah's fourth victory – at the Dubai International Rally – had originally been the first of the season for Khalid Al-Qassimi; Al-Qassimi had won the event by 0.3 seconds, and the championship title by a single point.http://www.thenational.ae/sport/motorsport/sheikh-khalid-wins-dubai-international-rally-and-captures-merc-title https://web.archive.org/web/20141209022409/http://www.thenational.ae/sport/motorsport/sheikh-khalid-wins-dubai-international-rally-and-captures-merc-title dead December 9, 2014 Sheikh Khalid wins Dubai International Rally and captures Merc title 29 November 2014 6 December 2014 The National Abu Dhabi Media Al-Attiyah protested the results, claiming that Al-Qassimi had violated designated driving regulations. Event officials rejected Al-Attiyah's protest, but the FIA's International Court of Appeal accepted a subsequent protest.http://www.racer.com/more/press-room/fia/item/111492-international-court-of-appeal-decision-hearing-4-december International Court of Appeal: Decision hearing 4 December 4 December 2014 6 December 2014 Racer Haymarket Publications https://web.archive.org/web/20141208141023/http://www.racer.com/more/press-room/fia/item/111492-international-court-of-appeal-decision-hearing-4-december 8 December 2014 dead Al-Qassimi was given a 30-second post-event penalty,http://www.thenational.ae/sport/motorsport/sheikh-khalid-al-qassimi-expresses-disappointment-at-fia-ruling-which-saw-him-lose-his-merc-title https://web.archive.org/web/20141209025849/http://www.thenational.ae/sport/motorsport/sheikh-khalid-al-qassimi-expresses-disappointment-at-fia-ruling-which-saw-him-lose-his-merc-title dead December 9, 2014 Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi expresses disappointment at FIA ruling which saw him lose his Merc title 6 December 2014 6 December 2014 The National Abu Dhabi Media and his one-point title-winning margin, became a deficit of thirteen to Al-Attiyah. Third place in the championship went to Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, who won the Cyprus Rally, which was held alongside the European Rally Championship event. The season's only other winner was Nicolas Amiouni, who won his home event in Lebanon. Event calendar and results The 2014 MERC was as follows:Events 2014 FIA Middle East Rally Championship http://www.merc-fia.com/events/ 2014-03-06 2013-11-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20131130015820/http://www.merc-fia.com/events/ dead Round Rally name Podium finishers Statistics Rank Driver Car Time Stages Length Starters Finishers 1 QAT Qatar International Rally(20–22 February)https://www.ewrc-results.com/final.php?e=14465&t=Qatar-International-Rally-2014 eWRC-results.com - rally database eWRC-results.com1 QAT Nasser Al-Attiyah Ford Fiesta RRC 2:13:11.4 12264.51 km 19 142 QAT Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari Ford Fiesta RRC 2:13:41.53 UAE Khalid Al-Qassimi Citroën DS3 RRC 2:16:04.6 2 KUW Kuwait International Rally(20–22 March)https://www.ewrc-results.com/final.php?e=14466&t=Kuwait-International-Rally-2014 eWRC-results.com - rally database eWRC-results.com 1 QAT Nasser Al-Attiyah Ford Fiesta RRC 2:09:38.4 13222.20 km 22 16 2 UAE Khalid Al-Qassimi Citroën DS3 RRC 2:10:05.9 3 SAU Yazeed Al-Rajhi Ford Fiesta RRC 2:11:50.7 3 JOR Jordan Rally(1–3 May)https://www.ewrc-results.com/final.php?e=14467&t=Jordan-Rally-2014 eWRC-results.com - rally database eWRC-results.com 1 QAT Nasser Al-Attiyah Ford Fiesta RRC 3:00:53.2 21273.00 km 25 19 2 UAE Khalid Al-Qassimi Citroën DS3 RRC 3:02:55.4 3 UAE Abdullah Al-Qassimi Ford Fiesta RRC 3:15:26.7 4 LBN Rally of Lebanon(29–31 August)https://www.ewrc-results.com/final.php?e=14468&t=Rally-of-Lebanon-2014 eWRC-results.com - rally database eWRC-results.com 1 LBN Nicolas Amiouni Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 2:39:47.5 13245.66 km 30 21 2 LBN Rodrigue Rahi Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX 2:41:15.9 3 QAT Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari Ford Fiesta RRC 2:43:03.0 5 CYP Cyprus Rally(19–21 September) 1 QAT Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari Ford Fiesta RRC 3:05:14.9 15 232.02 km 8 7 2 UAE Khalid Al-Qassimi Citroën DS3 RRC 3:05:50.1 3 QAT Abdullah Al-Kuwari Ford Fiesta R5 3:30:26.9 6 UAE Dubai International Rally(27–29 November) 1 QAT Nasser Al-Attiyah Ford Fiesta RRC 1:59:27.8 12 251.00 km 18 16 2 UAE Khalid Al-Qassimi Citroën DS3 RRC 1:59:57.5 3 QAT Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari Ford Fiesta RRC 2:03:51.5 Championship standings The 2014 MERC for Drivers points was as follows:Classifications: FIA Middle East Rally Championship Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile http://www.fia.com/championship/middle-east-rally-championship/2014/classifications 2014-04-04 https://web.archive.org/web/20140407132124/http://www.fia.com/championship/middle-east-rally-championship/2014/classifications 2014-04-07 dead Pos. Position Driver Vehicle QATQAT KUWKUW JORJOR LBNLBN CYPCYP UAEDUB Total 1 QAT Nasser Al-Attiyah Ford Fiesta RRC 1 1 1 Ret 1 100 2 UAE Khalid Al-Qassimi Citroën DS3 RRC 3 2 2 2 2 87 3 QAT Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari Ford Fiesta RRC 2 6 3 1 3 81 4 QAT Abdullah Al-Kuwari Ford Fiesta R5 5 7 Ret 6 3 6 47 5 UAE Abdullah Al-Qassimi Ford Fiesta RRC 4 3 5 37 6 SAU Yazeed Al-Rajhi Ford Fiesta RRC 4 3 27 7 LBN Nicolas Amiouni Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 1 25 8 KUW Salah Bin Eidan Ford Fiesta R5 Ret 5 5 20 QAT Khalifa Saleh Al-Attiyah Mitsubishi Lancer Evo XMitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 8 5 7 20 10 LBN Rodrigue Rahi Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 2 18 11 KUW Meshari Al-Thefiri Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 9 12 10 4 15 12 UAE Mohamed Al-Mutawaa Citroën DS3 R3T 6 9 9 9 14 13 JOR Marouf Abu Samra Škoda Fabia S2000 4 12 LBN Nabil Abdelhak Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 4 12 QAT Khalid Mohammad Al-Suwaidi Ford Fiesta RRC 4 12 16 UAE Mohamed Al-Sahlawi Citroën DS3 R3T 7 10 17 8 11 17 LBN Bassel Abou-Hamdan Citroën DS3 R3T 5 10 JOR Ala'a Rasheed Ford Fiesta RRC 8 7 10 19 DEU Edith Weiss Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 6 15 8 JOR Husam Salem Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII 6 8 21 LBN Nehme Elie Renault Clio R3 7 6 QAT Nada Zaidan Subaru Impreza STi N12 7 6 23 JOR Ala Khalifeh Ford Fiesta R5 8 4 LBN "Matador" Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII 8 4 25 LBN Eddy Abou-Karam Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 9 2 26 UAE Mansoor Yahya Bel Helei Citroën DS3 R3T 10 13 15 13 1 LBN Bechara Bechir Renault Clio RS 10 1 UAE Rashid Al-Ketbi Ford Fiesta R5 10 1 References External links Official website Category:Middle East Rally Championship Middle East Middle East Rally Championship