(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) After a gap of over six years, the Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) is set to make a comeback in Oman with the FIA, the governing body for motor sport, confirming on Saturday that a candidate event for the 2015 edition will be held in November.
Speaking to mediapersons during a short visit to Muscat, FIA president Jean Todt said at the Oman Automobile Association (OAA) headquarters on Saturday, ''The FIA will be happy to host the international rally championship in Oman. I wish them all the best for the upcoming candidate rally event.''
Nasser Khalifa al Atya, the FIA vice-president representing the MENA region, said, ''It is confirmed that Oman will host the candidate event of the MERC in early November for inclusion as an official stage of the 2015 championship. The participating teams have been informed about the rally and a formal approval will be stamped at a meeting of the World Motor Sports Council in Morocco later this year.''
Atya added, ''We will work closely with the OAA and hope to make Oman a regular venue on the FIA MERC's calendar.''
The 68 year old Todt said he was impressed with the OAA's enthusiasm, passion and vision for motor sport. ''There has been a lot of changes since I last visited Oman [in March 2010]. I am delighted with the progress made by the country. I hope they continue to work with the same passion and enthusiasm for motor sport.''
The FIA chief added, ''The go-karting track here is beautiful and there are good drifting facilities as well. I am proud of the work done by the passionate OAA officials.''
The Frenchman, who has been at the helm of the FIA since 2009, praised the OAA for promoting 'the culture of road safety', stressing that Oman has been a 'pioneer' in addressing the issue.
The 2014 edition of the MERC features six venues and kicked off in February in Qatar. The second round was held recently in Kuwait.
It next moves to Jordan for the third leg before going to Lebanon, Cyprus and finally to Dubai, UAE from November 27-29.
On how the FIA could assist Oman, Todt said, ''We are the regulating body and we are glad to see Oman developing motor sport. We are happy to know that Oman is keen to hold international events and we do provide grants to the OAA from time to time. We have some development plans for young drivers, and some Omani drivers are already participating in them. We try to help through various courses and we will continue to
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