The Qatar International Rally will open the curtains to an exciting new season of Middle East rallying, when the Doha-based event gets the FIA Middle East Rally Championship underway on January 24th-26th, 2013.
The Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) will be the first club to host an event where no less than five championships will be run in unison, following the FIA World Motor Sport Council’s decision to rubberstamp exciting new regulations at a meeting in Istanbul last week.
The Qatar International Rally will begin the usual rally series – which is also fought out over events in Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Cyprus and Dubai – but will also play guinea pig to the introduction of separate championships for Group N cars, young drivers, two-wheel drive vehicles and a new T3 category for two and four-wheel drive Buggies. Drivers born after November 1st, 1987 will be eligible for the young driver series.
“The FIA Middle East Rally Championship has needed a revamp and a way of encouraging new drivers for several years and we give our full backing to the introduction of the new rules and new championships,” enthused Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah, president of the QMMF.
“Our event is one of the most popular and best supported rounds of the championship and we are delighted to get the new season underway and look forward to welcoming many new faces to Qatar next month.”
Last year’s event marked the first career MERC victory for Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari and the first international rally victory for Prodrive’s Mini S2000.