MERC – Qatar’s Al-Kuwari on pole for maiden title as the series reaches a showdown in Cyprus
2024 FIA Middle East Rally Championship – Cyprus Rally (October 18-24, round 3/3)
The unstable situation in parts of the Middle East meant that the Rally of Lebanon was not a round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) this year and the Oman Automobile Association recently cancelled what would have been the final round of the series in the Sultanate of Oman in late November.
That means that the Cyprus Rally will bring this year’s shortened three-round series to a thrilling conclusion on October 18th-20th and could well see the crowning of a first-time champion.
Twenty-one drivers grace the entry list for the Nicosia-based event and six of those are registered for MERC points with three aiming for the overall Drivers’ Championship. Qatari Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari currently has a 12-point lead over Jordanian Shaker Jweihan in the standings and sits 14 points ahead of Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah.
A finish in fourth place or higher for Al-Kuwari in the general classification and the Power Stage would be sufficient for the Qatari to win the title for the first time, although a slip up could see Al-Attiyah storm through to seal a 20th title if he were to win the rally and the Power Stage. Disaster for either of the Škoda drivers could see Jweihan add the MERC title to the MERC2 Championship he now has an unassailable lead in.
Last year’s Cyprus event saw a little piece of rallying history made when Al-Attiyah and title rival Abdullah Al-Rawahi tied on points at the end of the season and could not be split on a tie-break ruling in the Sporting Regulations for FIA Regional Rally Championships. A special committee was set up and the decision was taken to share the title between the two drivers with Al-Attiyah claiming a record-breaking 19th regional title and Al-Rawahi winning his first.
Following the cancellation of the Oman event in November, Al-Rawahi has withdrawn his entry from the Cyprus Rally, knowing full well that he only had a slim mathematical chance of regaining the title after picking up points for third in Qatar and then retiring in Jordan.
While Al-Kuwari and Rashid Al-Muhannadi drive a pair of SRT-run Škodas, eight-time event winner Al-Attiyah wheels out his usual Autotek Motorsport-run machine that he used for the first time in Jordan in May. Panayiotis Yiangou and Aristos Nicolaou are also registered for MERC points in their Hyundai i20 R5 and a podium finish for the Cypriot could well affect the outcome of the MERC.
Jordan’s Shaker Jweihan chasing possible MERC and MERC2 double
Jweihan leads the MERC2 category by 12 points from Shadi Shaban but none of his rivals have made the trip to Cyprus and the series has been secured before an engine is started in anger.Lebanon’s Carlos Hanna is present as the co-driver alongside Jweihan, however, and a finish would see him overhauling the absent Samer Issa to win the MERC2 Co-drivers’ Championship.
The Lebanese pairing of Shadi El-Fakih and Samer Sfeir are also chasing MERC4 points in their Peugeot 208. They are tied with the absent Saneem Payyakal and Musa Sherif on 30 points and a finish could give the duo both MERC4 titles.
Italian veteran co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini sits alongside Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and will be trying to defend a slender lead in the MERC Co-drivers’ Championship.
While his closest rivals Loris Pascaud, Patrik Barth and Marshall Clarke are not present in Cyprus, the joint defending co-drivers’ champion Ata Al-Hmoud is competing with Al-Muhannadi. The Jordanian is sixth in the championship, 10 points behind Bernacchini, and still has a slim chance of winning the title for a second time.
The remainder of the field is made up of local drivers chasing points in the Cyprus National Championship. They include Simos Galatariotis in his Petrolina Racing Team Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 and Costas Zenonos in a Citroën DS3 R5, with the remainder of the field entered in Rally3, Rally4 and group NR4 machines.
Organised by the Cyprus Automobile Association, competitors will face 12 mainly gravel special stages and 191.20 competitive kilometres on Saturday and Sunday. The event is based at the POED Building opposite the service park in Nicosia.
2024 Cyprus Rally – entry list:
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