2015 Middle East Rally Championship
# 2015 Middle East Rally Championship

The 2015 Middle East Rally Championship was an international rally championship sanctioned by the FIA. The championship was contested over eight events held in eight countries across the Middle East region, running from February to November. The championship was significantly expanded for the 2015 season. The Oman International Rally returned to the calendar after a seven-year absence, while Iran joined the championship for the first time with the Shiraz Rally debuting in May, the last rally before the mid-year winter break.

For the fifth season in a row, Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah won the championship title. Al-Attiyah won six of the seven rallies he contested – the only failure being a retirement in Lebanon – en route to his eleventh MERC title overall. With his victory in Oman, Al-Attiyah also tied Mohammed bin Sulayem for most rally wins in the MERC, with 60. Al-Attiyah finished 48 points of his nearest challenger, Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, who finished five rallies in second place during the 2015 season. Third place in the championship went to Khalid Al Qassimi, who won the rally that Al-Attiyah did not contest, the Dubai International Rally. Roger Feghali won the season's other event in Lebanon, but did not compete in enough events to be eligible for the championship standings.

## Event calendar and results

The 2015 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 (5–7 February) | 1 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Ford Fiesta RRC | 2:12:10.1 | 12 | 263.27 km | 12 | 8 |
| 1 | Qatar International Rally (5–7 February) | 2 | Khalid Al Qassimi | Citroën DS3 RRC | 2:18:03.3 | 12 | 263.27 km | 12 | 8 |
| 1 | Qatar International Rally (5–7 February) | 3 | Khalifa Al-Attiyah | Ford Fiesta RRC | 2:27:00.0 | 12 | 263.27 km | 12 | 8 |
| 2 | Kuwait International Rally (12–14 March) | 1 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Ford Fiesta RRC | 2:33:36.1 | 13 | 250.46 km | 19 | 13 |
| 2 | Kuwait International Rally (12–14 March) | 2 | Khalid Al Qassimi | Citroën DS3 RRC | 2:34:38.1 | 13 | 250.46 km | 19 | 13 |
| 2 | Kuwait International Rally (12–14 March) | 3 | Yazeed Al-Rajhi | Ford Fiesta RRC | 2:36:05.8 | 13 | 250.46 km | 19 | 13 |
| 3 | Shiraz Rally (6–8 May) | 1 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Ford Fiesta RRC | 1:52:56.2 | 14 | 247.84 km | 22 | 7 |
| 3 | Shiraz Rally (6–8 May) | 2 | Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari | Ford Fiesta RRC | 1:53:23.2 | 14 | 247.84 km | 22 | 7 |
| 3 | Shiraz Rally (6–8 May) | 3 | Khalid Al Qassimi | Citroën DS3 RRC | 1:54:23.9 | 14 | 247.84 km | 22 | 7 |
| 4 | Rally of Lebanon (4–6 September) | 1 | Roger Feghali | Ford Fiesta R5 | 2:28:13.3 | 13 | 244.03 km | 33 | 15 |
| 4 | Rally of Lebanon (4–6 September) | 2 | Nicolas Amiouni | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X | 2:34:22.3 | 13 | 244.03 km | 33 | 15 |
| 4 | Rally of Lebanon (4–6 September) | 3 | Tamer Ghandour | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X | 2:34:38.2 | 13 | 244.03 km | 33 | 15 |
| 5 | Cyprus Rally (25–27 September) | 1 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Ford Fiesta RRC | 2:08:38.4 | 16 | 204.50 km | 63 | 40 |
| 5 | Cyprus Rally (25–27 September) | 2 | Kajetan Kajetanowicz | Ford Fiesta R5 | 2:08:45.4 | 16 | 204.50 km | 63 | 40 |
| 5 | Cyprus Rally (25–27 September) | 3 | Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari | Ford Fiesta RRC | 2:12:38.4 | 16 | 204.50 km | 63 | 40 |
| 6 | Jordan Rally (15–17 October) | 1 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Ford Fiesta RRC | 3:07:51.2 | 21 | 257.60 km | 13 | 10 |
| 6 | Jordan Rally (15–17 October) | 2 | Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari | Ford Fiesta RRC | 3:37:22.2 | 21 | 257.60 km | 13 | 10 |
| 6 | Jordan Rally (15–17 October) | 3 | Salem Husam | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX | 3:41:37.6 | 21 | 257.60 km | 13 | 10 |
| 7 | Oman International Rally (5–7 November) | 1 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Ford Fiesta RRC | 2:28:00.5 | 13 | 250.82 km | 19 | 10 |
| 7 | Oman International Rally (5–7 November) | 2 | Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari | Ford Fiesta RRC | 2:28:49.0 | 13 | 250.82 km | 19 | 10 |
| 7 | Oman International Rally (5–7 November) | 3 | Khalid Al Qassimi | Citroën DS3 RRC | 2:29:24.6 | 13 | 250.82 km | 19 | 10 |
| 8 | Dubai International Rally (19–21 November) | 1 | Khalid Al Qassimi | Citroën DS3 RRC | 1:58:41.5 | 12 | 254.92 km | 14 | 14 |
| 8 | Dubai International Rally (19–21 November) | 2 | Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari | Ford Fiesta RRC | 1:59:38.5 | 12 | 254.92 km | 14 | 14 |
| 8 | Dubai International Rally (19–21 November) | 3 | Khalid Al-Suwaidi | Ford Fiesta RRC | 2:03:19.1 | 12 | 254.92 km | 14 | 14 |

## Championship standings

The 2015 MERC for Drivers points was as follows: Only drivers that had contested at least five events during the season were eligible for the championship standings.

| Pos. | Driver | Vehicle | QAT | KUW | SHR | LBN | CYP | JOR | OMA | DUB | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Ford Fiesta RRC Škoda Fabia R5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Ret | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 150 |
| 2 | Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari | Ford Fiesta RRC | Ret | 4 | 2 | | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 102 |
| 3 | Khalid Al Qassimi | Citroën DS3 RRC | 2 | 2 | 3 | | | | 3 | 1 | 91 |
| 4 | Khalid Al-Suwaidi | Ford Fiesta RRC | 5 | 5 | 4 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 4 | 3 | 59 |
| 5 | Salah Bin Eidan | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 4 | 7 | 6 | Ret | | | 5 | | 36 |
| 6 | Rashed Al Naimi | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | Ret | 11 | 7 | Ret | 5 | Ret | 8 | | 20 |

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) |
