The FIA announced that Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah is now MERC champion for the 10th time and found Al Qassimi guilty of breaching the rules and taking a shortcut that led to his win in the Dubai Rally.
Below is the official Statement published by the FIA who did not publish the Final Dubai Rally Classification and Final Championship Classification:
International Court of Appeal: Decision hearing 4 December
Case ICA-2014-04: Appeal brought by the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) on behalf of its licence-holder Nasser Al Attiyah Team against the decision No. 1 dated 29th November 2014 of the Stewards of the 2014 Dubai International Rally counting towards the 2014 FIA Middle-East Rally Championship.
During the 2014 Dubai International Rally – 27‐29 November 2014, counting towards the 2014 FIA Middle East Rally Championship the Competitor Nasser Al Attiyah Team lodged a protest against car n°2 of the competitor Team Abu Dhabi Racing on the grounds that this car had contravened the sporting regulations. The Stewards decided to reject this protest on the basis that car n°2 adhered to Article 40.6.2 of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship Sporting Regulations.
On 2 December the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) on behalf of its licence-holder, Nasser Al Attiyah Team, appealed this decision before the International Court of Appeal.
Decision of the International Court of Appeal
The Court, after having heard the parties and examined their submissions
– Decided to set aside the decision n°1 of the Stewards of the 2014 Dubai International Rally;
– Declared that Abu Dhabi Racing Team’s car n°2 committed a breach of article 14.2 of the 2014 FIA Regional Rally Regulations;
– Decided to impose a penalty of 30 seconds on the Abu Dhabi Racing Team’s car n°2.
The International Court of Appeal was presided over by Mr Jan STOVICEK (Czech Republic), and included Mr Philippe ROBERTI DE WINGHE (Belgium) and Mr Felipe ZERAIK (Brazil).
You can also read it on this >> Link !
Where does this controversy take the MERC championship which was hoping for a big development next year by including new rallies to the calendar and building on a season that saw different winners for the first time since years.
Yesterday we hinted that Abu Dhabi Racing might quit after they were stripped from the championship win. Read Article here.
The unofficial announcement made yesterday all over the web and on social media in addition to Nasser himself on Instagram fumed the MERC fan base and created dispute, what will this announcement do especially to a team like Abu Dhabi Racing investing so much money in Rallying and Endurance Racing.