The fourth round of the regional series is the only all-tarmac encounter in the championship and takes place over three days, one super special and 10 demanding asphalt speed tests to the north and east of Beirut. The tarmac surfaces are often bumpy and slippery in high temperatures and this event has become a specialised one with local driver Roger Feghali winning on 18 occasions since 2000.   

The event has attracted 24 entries with a dozen crews registered for the MERC, but defending multiple champion Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and former champion Abdullah Al-Rawahi are notable by their absence from the field.

Al-Attiyah currently leads the Drivers’ Championship on 70 points, but his decision not to attend the event sees the door thrown wide open for rivals Hamza Bakhashab and Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya to take full advantage and move into the lead in the title race.

Bakhashab is the top seed and teams up with Irishman Lorcan Moore in a Toyota GR Yaris. The Jeddah driver picked up points for eighth in Oman, second in Qatar and third in Jordan and knows that a top finish in the Levant could put him in a commanding position to seal a maiden regional title with the last two rounds still to be officially confirmed in Cyprus and his native Saudi Arabia.

Al-Atya finished as the series runner-up to the late Sheikh Hamed Bin Eid Al-Thani as far back as 1993 and the Qatari veteran finds himself in a strong position to regain the series lead should Bakhashab hit trouble on the Lebanese asphalt. Al-Atya is partnered by Ziad Chehab, who won the event on two occasions with Roger Feghali in 2000 and 2003. He drives a Ford Fiesta MkII prepared by Feghali’s Motortune company and is already in control in the 2026 FIA Master MERC Championship.

Talented young Jordanian Shaker Jweihan (Mitsubishi) holds fifth in the overall Drivers’ Championship but heads to Lebanon with a six-point cushion in the FIA MERC2 rankings. He and co-driver Mustafa Juma earned maximum points in Oman and Qatar but a surprise retirement on his home round at the Dead Sea in May has given rival Zakariya Al-Aamri (Subaru) a title lifeline. The Omani picked up points for second in Qatar and took full advantage of Jweihan’s misfortune in Jordan to take the win in MERC2.

Registered competition for Jweihan and Al-Aamri in MERC2 comes from Jordan’s Sami Fleifel and the Lebanese trio of Jad Al-Aawar, Ahmad Khaled and Rodrigue Rahi – all in Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Xs.

Feghali is the overwhelming favourite to secure his 19th victory in Lebanon, although the Toyota GR Yaris driver is not registered for the MERC. He teams up with Joseph Matar, with whom he has already won the rally on 10 occasions.

Feghali’s son Alex will be hoping to benefit from pre-event testing last week and push his father all the way with co-driver Marc Haddad in a Škoda Fabia R5. Elias Dehni and Tarek Younis drive similar R5 versions of the Czech machine, but are not registered for the regional championship.

Saudi driver Bassel Abu Hamdan teams up with local team-mate Firas Elias in a Škoda in his quest for MERC points and Joseph Hindi and Vicken Kanledjian have also registered for points in a Citroën C3 Rally2.

Shadi El-Fakih is the only driver to have scored points in the FIA MERC4 series after three rounds, following disappointing results for the two Qatari Peugeot drivers, Rashid Al-Muhannadi and Mohammed Al-Marri. On this occasion, El-Fakih has opted to drive a new Lancia Ypsilon and teams up with Samer Sfeir in his quest for points. Robert Aaraj and Joseph Kmeid are his only rivals in a Peugeot 208.

The remainder of the field is made up of Lebanese crews chasing points in their national rally championship.

A new qualifying stage and a shakedown at Arsoun gets the competitive action underway on Friday, September 11th before competitors tackle a 2.54km super special stage around the streets of Jounieh, north of Beirut, in the evening.

Teams will then tackle a pair of speed tests at Toula and Deir Bella twice on Saturday, September 12th. The opener is the longest of the rally at 32.92km, with Deir Bella offering its own unique challenges for 17.20km.

Sunday’s (September 13th) action comprises a run through three stages in the morning and another three in the afternoon. The first pass through Nahr Ibrahim gets the action underway before the event heads to Zandouka and Zabbougha before a return to Jounieh for a service and regroup at the Fouad Chehab stadium.

Nahr Ibrahim is repeated first before teams tackle a revised version of Zandouka and a second pass through Zabbougha, which acts as the Power Stage finale.

2026 Rally of Lebanon – entry list:

1. Hamza Bakhashab (KSA)/Lorcan Moore (IRL)                                                           Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2*

2. Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya (QAT)/Ziad Chehab (LBN)                                                     Ford Fiesta Mk II Rally 2*

3. Shaker Jweihan (JOR)/Mustafa Juma (JOR)                                                               Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X*

4. Zakariya Al-Aamri (OMA)/Mohammed Al-Mazroui (OMA)                                    Subaru Impreza N14*

5. Bassel Abu Hamdan (KSA)/Firas Elias (LBN)                                                              Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2*

6. Sami Fleifel (JOR)/Ibrahim Ali (JOR)                                                                            Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X*

7. Joseph Hindi (LBN)/Vicken Kanledjian (LBN)                                                             Citroën C3 Rally2*

8. Jad Al-Aawar (LBN)/Musa Djiyerian (JOR)                                                                 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X*

9. Ahmad Khaled (LBN)/Omar Mazkour (LBN)                                                              Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X*

10. Rodrigue Rahi (LBN)/Gary Koundakjian (LBN)                                                        Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X*        

11. Shadi El Fakih (LBN)/Samer Sfeir (LBN)                                                                    Lancia Ypsilon*

12. Robert Aaraj (LBN)/Joseph Kmeid (LBN)                                                                 Peugeot 208*

14. Alex Feghali (LBN)/Marc Haddad (FRA)                                                                   Škoda Fabia R5 Rally 2             

15. Elias Dehni (LBN)/Thierry Rouhana (LBN)                                                              Škoda Fabia R5 Rally 2

16. Roger Feghali (LBN)/Joseph Matar (LBN)                                                                Toyota GR Yaris

17. Tarek Younis (LBN)/Salim Jleilaty (LBN)                                                                   Škoda Fabia Rally 2

18. Rhea Dagher (LBN)/Nadim Abou Elias (LBN)                                                          Renault Clio

19. Alex Sehanoui (LBN)/Marven Mezher (LBN)                                                           Renault Clio

20. Henry Kahy (LBN)/Georges Nadher (LBN)                                                               Citroën DS3

21. Edwin Khneisser (LBN)/Christopher Bechara (LBN)                                              Citroën DS3

22. Serge Tchopourian (LBN)/Fadi Geagea (LBN)                                                         Renault Clio RS

23. Jason Wehbe (LBN)/Andre Mhanna (LBN)                                                              Renault Clio RS

24. Carl Rizk (LBN)/Karim Abou Elias (LBN)                                                                    Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

25. Joanna Hassoun (LBN)/Naji Sfeir (LBN)                                                                    Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX

*denotes registered for the MERC

2026 FIA Middle East Rally Championship – positions after round 3:

Drivers

1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)                                                                    70pts

2. Hamza Bakhashab (KSA)                                                                              66pts

3. Nasser Khalifa Al-Atya (QAT)                                                                      61pts

4. Abdullah Al-Rawahi (OMA)                                                                         56pts

5. Shaker Jweihan (JOR)                                                                                   41pts

6. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)                                                                          35pts

7. Mohammed Al-Shorafa (JOR)                                                                     28pts

8. Zakariya Al-Aamri (OMA)                                                                            27pts

9. Jassim Al-Muqahwi (KUW)                                                                          24pts

10. Sheikh Bader Al-Fayez (JOR)                                                                     21pts, etc

MERC2

1. Shaker Jweihan (JOR)                                                                                   60pts

2. Zakariya Al-Aamri (OMN)                                                                            54pts

3. Jassim Al-Muqahwi (KUW)                                                                          41pts

4. Charbel Chebly (LBN)                                                                                   21pts

4. Sami Fleifel (JOR)                                                                                          21pts

6. Mohamed Mansoor Parol (IND)                                                                19pts

Timetable of events

Thursday, September 10

Scrutineering checks, BUMC, Hazmieh                                                 09.00hrs-13.00hrs

Pre-rally press conference, Jounieh Municipality                             19.45hrs

Ceremonial start, Jounieh Municipality                                                20.30hrs

Friday, September 11

Qualifying stage (4.0km) for FIA/MERC, Arsoun                               09.45hrs-10.15hrs

Shakedown (4.0km) for other cars, Arsoun                                        10.30hrs-12.00hrs

SS1 – Super special stage (2.54km), Jounieh                                      20.43hrs

Saturday, September 12

Start of leg 1, Jounieh                                                                                  08.00hrs

SS2 – Toula 1 (32.92km)                                                                              09.45hrs

SS3 – Deir Bella 1 (17.20km)                                                                     10.53hrs

SS4 – Toula 2 (32.92km)                                                                              14.57hrs

SS5 – Deir Bella 2 (17.20km)                                                                     16.05hrs

Finish of leg 1, Jounieh                                                                                19.00hrs

Sunday, September 13

Start of leg 2, Jounieh                                                                                  07.00hrs

SS6 – Nahr Ibrahim 1 (14.62km)                                                              08.08hrs

SS7 – Zandouka (Baabdat - 16.85km)                                                    09.48hrs

SS8 – Zabbougha 1 (15.74km)                                                                  10.29hrs

SS9 – Nahr Ibrahim 2 (14.62km)                                                              13.43hrs

SS10 – Zandouka (Bzebdine – 17.56km)                                               15.36hrs

SS11 – Zabbougha 2 Power Stage (15.74km)                                     17.07hrs

Finish ceremony and prizegiving, ATCL, Jounieh                              19.00hrs

Post-rally press conference, Media Centre, ATCL                             20.00hrs