Cyprus Rally, scheduled to take place from 23–25 October, will serve as the final round of the 2026 FIA Middle East Rally Championship.
The Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF) and the Saudi Motorsport Company (SMC), in coordination with the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the global governing body for motor sport and the federation for mobility organisations worldwide, have today confirmed that Rally Saudi Arabia, originally scheduled to take place in Jeddah this November, will not take place as part of the 2026 FIA Middle East Rally Championship (FIA MERC).
The decision follows a comprehensive assessment of the current circumstances and associated challenges, while recognising the importance of ensuring the best possible organisational and operational conditions for all participants and relevant stakeholders.
As a result, Cyprus Rally, scheduled to take place from 23–25 October, will serve as the final round of the 2026 FIA Middle East Rally Championship.
The FIA, SAMF and SMC reaffirm their commitment to supporting the continued growth and development of motor sport in Saudi Arabia and to working closely with relevant stakeholders, reinforcing their long-term commitment to hosting major international and regional motor sport championships in the country.
Defending champions Al-Attiyah and Carrera head international entry
The Petrolina Cyprus Rally returns to the international stage after a one-year absence and will host the final round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) on October 23rd-25th.
The three-day event utilises narrow and twisty gravel stages through the Troodos mountains and has attracted an FIA field of 19 cars with an additional 11 running in a National-status rally. Eight of the 19 are chasing MERC points.
Four drivers still have a realistic chance of clinching the Drivers’ Championship. Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah leads the way on 70 points and arrives in Nicosia with a four-point cushion over Saudi Arabian rival Hamza Bakhashab. Veteran Qatari Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya is a further five points behind in third and Oman’s Abdullah Al-Rawahi trails the leader by 14 points.
Al-Attiyah is chasing a staggering 21st regional rally title since 2003 and again teams up with Spanish co-driver Candido Carrera. Together the pair have won seven MERC rallies in an Autotek Motorsport Škoda Fabia RS, including the rounds of the series this year in Oman and Jordan.
With a record-breaking 92 MERC victories already under his belt, Al-Attiyah has an unchallenged record in Cyprus as well: he was won the event on 10 occasions since 2010, the event having been a round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) between 2000 and 2006 and again in 2009.
Bakhashab’s father Abdullah won the regional title in 1995 and the Jeddah driver is hoping to follow in those illustrious footsteps. He teams up with Joseph Matar on this occasion, instead of usual co-driver Irishman Lorcan Moore, and drives a Toyota GR Yaris supported by Jameel Motorsport.
Al-Atya and his Lebanese co-driver Ziad Chehab keep faith in the trusty Motortune Ford Fiesta Rally 2 that has seen them earn points for third in Oman and Qatar and seventh in Jordan so far this season.
A retirement in Qatar proved costly for Al-Rawahi and his navigator Ata Al-Hmoud and they face an uphill task to overturn the points deficit in their Oman Rally Team Škoda Fabia, despite claiming points for second place in both Oman and Jordan.
Rally 2 competition comes from the Cypriot trio of Panayiotis Yiangou (Hyundai), Simos Galatariotis (Škoda) and Huseyin Sukuroglu (Volkswagen), but the local drivers are not registered for MERC points.
Oman’s Zakariya Al-Aamri and Jordanian driver Shaker Jweihan will duel for supremacy in the FIA MERC2 category. Al-Aamri took full advantage of Jweihan’s woes in Jordan and Lebanon to take vital points and he arrives in the Mediterranean with an 18-point lead over his rival. Jweihan has already taken showroom class victories this season in Oman and Qatar.
Their respective co-drivers Mohammed Al-Mazrui and Mustafa Juma are also separated by 18 points.
Cypriot Costas Laos is also chasing MERC2 points with his co-driver Michalis Stylianou in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX. Lebanon’s Ahmad Khaled and Mazkour Omar are registered for the MERC in a Renault Clio running in the Rally 3 category.
The Lebanese pairing of Shadi El-Fakih and Samer Sfeir have already confirmed victory in the MERC4 category with an unassailable 90 points.
Organised by the Cyprus Automobile Association, competitors will face a dozen gravel special stages and 183.92 competitive kilometres in a route of 657.74km on Saturday and Sunday. The service park, rally HQ and media centre will be located in Nicosia with the start and finish taking centre stage in the port city of Larnaca.
