# 2016 Middle East Rally Championship

The 2016 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 October. The championship was reduced to seven rallies for 2016 season, but the end of season rallies, Oman International Rally and Dubai International Rally were cancelled.
Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah won his twelfth MERC championship and his sixth consecutively. Al-Attiyah won the first three rallies of the season creating an uncatchable buffer once Oman and Dubai were cancelled. Lebanese driver Rodolphe Asmar was second in the championship, securing the runner's up position with victory in Cyprus. Khalid Mohammad Al-Suwaidi was third.

## Event calendar and results

The 2016 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 | Qatar International Rally (4–6 February) | 1 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Škoda Fabia R5 | 2:03:20.5 | 13 | 241.71 km | 12 | 6 |
| 1 | Qatar International Rally (4–6 February) | 2 | Khalid Mohammad Al-Suwaidi | Ford Fiesta R5 | 2:09:34.6 | 13 | 241.71 km | 12 | 6 |
| 1 | Qatar International Rally (4–6 February) | 3 | Rashid Al-Naimi | Subaru WRX Sti | 2:20:42.5 | 13 | 241.71 km | 12 | 6 |
| 2 | Kuwait International Rally (24–26 March) | 1 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Škoda Fabia R5 | 2:08:06.1 | 13 | 209.20 km | 23 | 19 |
| 2 | Kuwait International Rally (24–26 March) | 2 | Meshari Al-Thefiri | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X | 2:19:31.0 | 13 | 209.20 km | 23 | 19 |
| 2 | Kuwait International Rally (24–26 March) | 3 | Yigit Alpaslan Timur | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X | 2:20:59.2 | 13 | 209.20 km | 23 | 19 |
| 3 | Jordan Rally (5–7 May) | 1 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Škoda Fabia R5 | 2:42:02.2 | 19 | 222.90 km | 18 | 10 |
| 3 | Jordan Rally (5–7 May) | 2 | Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari | Škoda Fabia R5 | 3:00:20.6 | 19 | 222.90 km | 18 | 10 |
| 3 | Jordan Rally (5–7 May) | 3 | Abdullah Al-Kuwari | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X | 3:07:40.9 | 19 | 222.90 km | 18 | 10 |
| 4 | Rally of Lebanon (2–4 September) | 1 | Tamer Ghandour | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X | 2:12:26.3 | 11 | 209.10 km | 31 | 22 |
| 4 | Rally of Lebanon (2–4 September) | 2 | Abdo Feghali | Škoda Fabia R5 | 2:15:34.6 | 11 | 209.10 km | 31 | 22 |
| 4 | Rally of Lebanon (2–4 September) | 3 | Eddy Abou-Karam | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X | 2:16:40.9 | 11 | 209.10 km | 31 | 22 |
| 5 | Cyprus Rally (7–9 October) | 1 | Alexey Lukyanuk | Ford Fiesta R5 | 2:06:55.9 | 14 | 214.38 km | 70 | 47 |
| 5 | Cyprus Rally (7–9 October) | 2 | Marijan Griebel | Škoda Fabia R5 | 2:09:08.1 | 14 | 214.38 km | 70 | 47 |
| 5 | Cyprus Rally (7–9 October) | 3 | Ralfs Sirmacis | Škoda Fabia R5 | 2:09:51.9 | 14 | 214.38 km | 70 | 47 |
| 6 | Oman International Rally (3–5 November) | event cancelled | event cancelled | event cancelled | event cancelled | event cancelled | event cancelled | event cancelled | event cancelled |
| 7 | Dubai International Rally (17–19 November) | event cancelled | event cancelled | event cancelled | event cancelled | event cancelled | event cancelled | event cancelled | event cancelled |

## Championship standings

The 2016 MERC for Drivers points was as follows:
| Pos. | Driver | Vehicle | QAT | KUW | JOR | LBN | CYP | Total |
| 1 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Škoda Fabia R5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Ret | | 123 |
| 2 | Rodolphe Asmar | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X | 5 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 80 |
| 3 | Khalid Mohammad Al-Suwaidi | Ford Fiesta R5 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 7 | Ret | 77 |
| 4 | Abdullah Al-Kuwari | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X | 4 | 8 | 3 | 19 | 4 | 73 |
| 5 | Rashed Al Naimi | Subaru WRX Sti | 3 | Ret | 8 | 12 | 3 | 64 |
| 6 | Khalifa Saleh Al-Attiyah | Subaru WRX Sti | Ret | 4 | Ret | | | 22 |
| 7 | Vedat Diker | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X | Ret | 9 | Ret | | | 4 |
| 8 | Meshari Al-Thefiri | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X | | 2 | Ret | | | 3 |
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) |