# 2019 Middle East Rally Championship

The 2019 Middle East Rally Championship was an international rally championship sanctioned by the FIA. The championship was to be contested over five events held in five Middle East countries from March to November. One event, the Cyprus Rally, is shared with the 2019 European Rally Championship. The season-ending Kuwait International Rally was cancelled.
Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah won his fifteenth MERC championship and his ninth consecutively. Al-Attiyah won all four rallies contested. Fellow Qatari driver Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari was second in the championship but scored less than half the points Al-Attiyah scored. Al-Kuwari was second in Qatar and Jordan but would score only four points for the rest of the season. Kuwaiti driver Meshari Al-Thefiri was again third in the championship.

## Event calendar and results

The 2019 MERC was as follows:
| Round | Rally name | Podium finishers | Podium finishers | Podium finishers | Podium finishers | Statistics | Statistics | Statistics | Statistics |
| Round | Rally name | Rank | Driver | Car | Time | Stages | Length | Starters | Finishers |
| 1 | Manateq Qatar International Rally (14–16 March) | 1 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | 1:56:18.8 | 11 | 203.72 km | 22 | 14 |
| 1 | Manateq Qatar International Rally (14–16 March) | 2 | Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari | Škoda Fabia R5 | 1:59:48.4 | 11 | 203.72 km | 22 | 14 |
| 1 | Manateq Qatar International Rally (14–16 March) | 3 | Hamed Al-Thani | Ford Fiesta R5 | 2:07:22.4 | 11 | 203.72 km | 22 | 14 |
| 2 | Jordan Rally (25–27 April) | 1 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | 3:00:48.5 | 21 | 244.09 km | 22 | 11 |
| 2 | Jordan Rally (25–27 April) | 2 | Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari | Škoda Fabia R5 | 3:04:56.7 | 21 | 244.09 km | 22 | 11 |
| 2 | Jordan Rally (25–27 April) | 3 | Marouf Abu Samra | Ford Fiesta R5 | 3:08:27.6 | 21 | 244.09 km | 22 | 11 |
| 3 | Rally of Lebanon (30 August–1 September) | 1 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | 2:06:19.3 | 11 | 215.94 km | 24 | 15 |
| 3 | Rally of Lebanon (30 August–1 September) | 2 | Rodrigue Rahi | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX | 2:13:28.6 | 11 | 215.94 km | 24 | 15 |
| 3 | Rally of Lebanon (30 August–1 September) | 3 | Patrick Njeim | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX | 2:14:55.6 | 11 | 215.94 km | 24 | 15 |
| 4 | Cyprus Rally (27–29 September) | 1 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | 3:02:51.3 | 12 | 199.76 km | 53 | 34 |
| 4 | Cyprus Rally (27–29 September) | 2 | Chris Ingram | Škoda Fabia R5 | 3:06:42.2 | 12 | 199.76 km | 53 | 34 |
| 4 | Cyprus Rally (27–29 September) | 3 | Mikko Hirvonen | Ford Fiesta R5 | 3:07:25.3 | 12 | 199.76 km | 53 | 34 |
| 5 | Kuwait International Rally (31 October–2 November) | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled |

## Championship standings

The 2019 MERC for Drivers points was as follows:
| Pos. | Driver | Vehicle | QAT | JOR | LBN | CYP | Total |
| 1 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 155 |
| 2 | Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari | Škoda Fabia R5 | 2 | 2 | | 8 | 65 |
| 3 | Meshari Al-Thefiri | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X | 6 | 4 | 6 | | 44 |
| 4 | Rodrigue Rahi | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX | | | 2 | | 30 |
| 5 | Chris Ingram | Škoda Fabia R5 | | | | 2 | 27 |
| 6 | Marouf Abu Samra | Ford Fiesta R5 | | 3 | | | 25 |
| 6 | Patrick Njeim | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX | | | 3 | | 25 |
| 8 | Hamed Al-Thani | Ford Fiesta R5 | 3 | | | | 24 |
| 9 | Mikko Hirvonen | Ford Fiesta R5 | | | | 3 | 21 |
| 10 | Henry Massaad | Citroën DS3 R3T | | | 4 | | 20 |
| 11 | Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah | Ford Fiesta R5 | 4 | Ret | Ret | | 19 |
| 12 | Łukasz Habaj | Škoda Fabia R5 | | | | 4 | 18 |
| 13 | Khalid Mohammad Al-Suwaidi | Ford Fiesta R5 | 5 | | | | 16 |
| 13 | Niki Mayr-Melnhof | Ford Fiesta R2 | | | | 5 | 16 |
| 15 | Tarek Younis | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX | | | 5 | | 15 |
| 16 | Henry Kahy | Škoda Fabia R2 | 12 | 6 | 10 | | 13 |
| 17 | Khaled Juma | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X | | 6 | | | 12 |
| 18 | Albert von Thurn und Taxis | Škoda Fabia R2 evo | | | | 6 | 11 |
| 19 | Shadi Shabaan | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX | | 7 | | | 8 |
| 20 | Stefano Marrini | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX | 7 | | | | 7 |
| 20 | Albert Hayek | Renault Clio R3 | | | 7 | | 7 |
| 20 | Emilio Fernández | Škoda Fabia R2 evo | | | | 7 | 7 |
| 23 | Rashid Al-Mohannadi | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X | 8 | | | | 4 |
| 23 | Ahmad Khaled | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII | Ret | 11 | Ret | | 4 |
| 23 | Nassib Nassar | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X | | | 8 | | 4 |
| 26 | Abdullah Al-Kuwari | Subaru WRX STI | 9 | | | | 3 |
| 26 | Saeed Al-Mouri | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X | | Ret | Ret | | 3 |
| 26 | Raafat Al-Mohtar | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX | | | 12 | | 3 |
| 29 | Zakariya Ahmed Al-Aufi | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX | | Ret | | | 2 |
| 29 | Alex Feghali | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII Peugeot 208 R2 | | Ret | 11 | | 2 |
| 29 | Norbert Herczig | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | | | | 9 | 2 |
| 32 | Abdullah Al-Rawahi | Subaru Impreza STi N14 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX | 11 | Ret | Ret | | 1 |
| 32 | Paulo Nobre | Škoda Fabia R5 | | | | 10 | 1 |
Key :
| Colour | Result |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | 2nd place |
| Bronze | 3rd place |
| Green | Points finish |
| Blue | Non-points finish |
| Blue | Non-classified finish (NC) |
| Purple | Did not finish (Ret) |
| Black | Excluded (EX) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| White | Cancelled (C) |
| Blank | Withdrew entry from the event (WD) |