Cyprus Becomes MERC Finale After Saudi Round Removed From 2026 Series
The Cyprus Rally on October 23–25 will close the 2026 FIA Middle East Rally Championship, following a calendar change confirmed in an FIA announcement dated October 19. The planned November round in Jeddah will no longer form part of this year’s regional series.
The FIA, Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation and Saudi Motorsport Company cited an assessment of circumstances and organisational and operational challenges. They did not announce a replacement round. Their notice concerns the MERC calendar; it should not be read as a blanket cancellation of every international rally in Saudi Arabia.
Four drivers remain in contention
The FIA’s October 20 Cyprus preview identifies four realistic drivers’ title contenders. The published standings entering the event are:
| Driver | Points |
|---|---|
| Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah | 70 |
| Hamza Bakhashab | 66 |
| Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya | 61 |
| Abdullah Al-Rawahi | 56 |
Al-Attiyah and co-driver Candido Carrera are entered in a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. Bakhashab’s Toyota entry pairs him with Joseph Matar. These are pre-event entries and standings, not a prediction of the result.
The route and timetable
The programme calls for 12 gravel stages totalling 183.92 competitive kilometres through the Troodos mountains. Rally headquarters and servicing are in Nicosia, with the ceremonial start and finish in Larnaca.
Qualifying and the ceremonial start are scheduled for Friday, October 23. Six competitive stages follow on Saturday and another six on Sunday, October 25.
With no later MERC round to recover lost ground, the calendar change makes this weekend decisive. The championship story is now about finishing the season in Cyprus, rather than carrying the fight into a November regional round.
For another rally championship’s closing battle, read our report on Schulz taking the electric rally cup lead at Sanremo.
Illustrative archive photograph: Alexandros Tsouloftas in a Citroën D3 R5 at the Cyprus Rally on June 18, 2017—not a 2026 entrant or result. Photo: dimitrisvetsikas1969 / Wikimedia Commons, originally Pixabay, CC0 1.0. Resized for display.
