Qatar International Rally to kick off ME rallying season on Feb 4

Qatar will host the opening round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) February 4-6 with the Qatar International Rally.Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) president Nasser Khalifa al-Attiyah, talking a fortnight ahead of the start, said that his organisation is fully ready to host the event and that he welcomes the participants to this important international rally.“The round in Qatar has opened the MERC season for quite some time and the number of elite level participants has steadily grown over the years,” al-Attiyah said in a statement.He added: “I would like also to take this opportunity to express my deep sincere gratitude for the support and permanent guidance of His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Thani without whom this rally and many other achievements would not have been done in Qatar.“I would like also to thank all FIA representatives, sponsors, promoters, partners, organisers and friends for their ongoing contribution to the success of this event.”The registration for Qatar international rally will be closed at 6pm today.The MERC 2016 will consist of seven rounds. Kuwait Rally will be held 2 weeks later than the 2015 schedule, in the last week of March 2016. Also Jordan International Rally, which was held as the sixth round in the 2015 season, will be organised in the first week of May as the third round.MERC 2016 scheduleFebruary 4-6: Qatar International RallyMarch 24-26: Kuwait International RallyMay 5-7: Jordan International RallySeptember 2-4: Lebanon International RallyOctober 7-9: Cyprus International RallyNovember 3-5: Oman International RallyNovember 17-19: Dubai International Rally