The Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) has released details of the 2017 Qatar International Rally, which again opens the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) on February 3-4.
Under the supervision of QMMF President Abdulrahman Al-Mannai and Executive Director Sultan Al-Muraikhi, officials have revised parts of the event to cut competitors’ costs without losing the challenge of Qatar’s desert stages.
This year’s MERC has only five rounds, in Qatar, Jordan, Cyprus, Lebanon and Iran, placing far more emphasis on scoring well at the opening two-day event in the deserts west of Doha.
The stages for this year’s rally will be basically the same as before but, thanks to a new format, the rally will be more compact, less tough and the cost of participation has been reduced.
Pedro Almeida, Rally Director
The Losail Circuit will host rally headquarters, Parc Ferme and the starts and finishes of the legs and the main service park.
Pedro Almeida
Almeida works alongside Qatari Clerk of the Course Rashid Al-Sulaiti.
The format
The draft FIA regulations propose 71.62km of competition on day one (February 3): two runs through three special stages with one remote refuel and no service in between. Almeida says the stages were carefully chosen to avoid the stony, rocky sections that have caused tyre and mechanical problems in the past.
Three more stages are planned for the second leg (February 4), with remote servicing between the two groups, a procedure rarely seen in the MERC since the 1980s and early 1990s. A team of four plus the crew may work on each car for 15 minutes, using only parts carried in the rally car, though tyre changes are allowed.
Reconnaissance is cut from two days to one (Wednesday, February 1). Recce registration and administration checks take place on Tuesday evening (January 31), with scrutineering and the pre-event press conference on Thursday (February 2).
Two entry packages are available. The entry fee includes one set of road books, two rally guides, two service plates, one auxiliary vehicle plate, 250 litres of fuel and five nights’ room-and-breakfast accommodation for driver and co-driver sharing one room. Entries close on Wednesday, January 18th.