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.[1] 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.[2] Al-Qassimi was given a 30-second post-event penalty,[3] 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 edit
The 2014 MERC was as follows:[4]
Championship standings edit
The 2014 MERC for Drivers points was as follows:[9]
References edit
- ^ "Sheikh Khalid wins Dubai International Rally and captures Merc title". The National. Abu Dhabi Media. 29 November 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ^ "International Court of Appeal: Decision hearing 4 December". Racer. Haymarket Publications. 4 December 2014. Archived from the original on 8 December 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ^ "Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi expresses disappointment at FIA ruling which saw him lose his Merc title". The National. Abu Dhabi Media. 6 December 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ^ "Events 2014". FIA Middle East Rally Championship. Archived from the original on 2013-11-30. Retrieved 2014-03-06.
- ^ "eWRC-results.com - rally database". eWRC-results.com.
- ^ "eWRC-results.com - rally database". eWRC-results.com.
- ^ "eWRC-results.com - rally database". eWRC-results.com.
- ^ "eWRC-results.com - rally database". eWRC-results.com.
- ^ "Classifications: FIA Middle East Rally Championship". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2014-04-04.