One weekend after Nasser Al Attiyah won the FIA’s Cross Country title in Poland, he became unbeatable in the 2016 Middle East Rally Championship, despite retiring from this weekend’s Rally of Lebanon. Nasser had been lying second on this all asphalt event behind fellow Fabia R5 driver, Abdo Feghali, when he impacted a pothole in a broken stretch of asphalt stage and broke a rear suspension arm.
Feghali’s car also hit the pot hole and suffered a double puncture, but was able to drive on to service.
With the recently announced cancellation of the Oman and Dubai rallies this year, only one event remains in the 2016 MERC. This is Cyprus Rally, an event that also counts for the European Rally Championship.
Nasser’s closest ERC challenger, Khalid Al Suwaidi, stopped on Day 1 after sliding off the road. Abdulazaiz Al-Kuwari was entered, but failed to arrive, reportedly due to logistical problems, while Roger Feghali started in a Mitsubishi Evo X but the car was withdrawn on Day 1 with misfiring problems.
This was Nasser’s 12th MERC title, two short of the total set by Mohammed Bin Sulayem.
The reduction in the number of qualifying rounds raises concerns about the future of the MERC and whether Bin Sulayem’s record can be beaten.