Qatar International Rally, February 4th-7th, 2026 FIA Middle East Rally Championship, round 2

QMMF UNVEILS NEW-LOOK SECOND ROUND OF FIA MIDDLE EAST RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

New Lejthaya stage included in modified 14-stage gravel route
Generous concessions available for international and GCC crews

LUSAIL (Qatar): Entries are now open for the 2026 Qatar International Rally, which takes place on February 4^th-7^th. The event will be the second round of the 2026 FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC).

The Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) has unveiled a revised itinerary and format for the most popular round of the regional rally series. It takes its place in a series that also includes gravel rounds in Oman, Jordan, Cyprus and Saudi Arabia and an asphalt surface event in Lebanon.

In a revised route of 704.90km, the QMMF has planned 225.16km to be timed competitively against the clock.

In a compact format to alleviate additional costs for competitors, administration checks will take place on Tuesday, February 3^rd from 10.00hrs at the Lusail International Circuit with the day also including a permitted recce of the opening super special stage and the staging of the pre-event press conference in the media centre from 18.00hrs.

Competitors will be permitted a full day of reconnaissance of the gravel desert stages on Wednesday, February 4^th with scrutineering scheduled in tandem at Lusail from 09.00hrs.

A hectic Thursday (February 5^th) sees a new one-hour practice session with a maximum of two passes through a new 5.56km special scheduled for Rally2 cars at Al-Khor from 08.15hrs. This will also act as the new qualifying stage for Rally2 crews, starting at 10.00hrs. The result of that will determine the starting order for leg one. The slowest driver in the qualifying stage will run as the first Rally2 entrant on the road on Friday.

Non-Rally2 machines will be permitted a maximum of two passes apiece during a 90-minute shakedown on the Al-Khor stage from 10.45hrs. The ceremonial start will then take centre stage at Lusail from 14.30hrs and this precedes a planned super special stage at Lusail.

Friday’s action features two loops of three gravel stages and a proposed second pass through the Lusail stage to round off the day’s action.

The morning’s loop of three timed tests features runs through the brand new Lejthaya (16.54km) stage, the revised Waab Al-Mashrab (16.11km) and Al-Waab (18.14km) from 08.30hrs, 08.58hrs and 09.35hrs, respectively. The three stages are repeated from 12.40hrs, 13.08hrs and 13.45hrs after a return to Lusail for a regroup and service.

Six further special stages are planned for Saturday (February 7^th) before the rally reaches a conclusion with the post-event press conference (18.00hrs) immediately preceding the ceremonial finish at 18.30hrs.

An opening run through the slightly modified Umm Birka (22.98km) special gets the day’s action underway from 08.03hrs and is followed by the first passes through Ras Laffan (16.73km) and a revised Al-Thakira (15.28km) stage from 08.57hrs and 09.22hrs. Another return to the service park in Lusail precedes the repeat runs of the three specials from 11.43hrs, 12.37hrs and 13.02hrs.

The second pass through Al-Thakira will also act as the event’s Power Stage, with additional bonus points available for the leading crews. Five points will be awarded to the stage winner down to a point for fifth place.

The event will be held under the chairmanship of QMMF President Abdulrahman Al-Mannai, senior committee member Abdulrazaq Al-Kuwari and the QMMF’s Executive Director Amro Al-Hamad. Portugal’s Pedro Almeida again works as the Clerk of the Course alongside his deputy Rashid Al-Sulaiti.

“No sooner have we crowned our champions for 2025 and we are looking ahead to the first of our exciting international sporting events in 2026,” enthused QMMF Executive Director Amro Al-Hamad.

“Our team at the QMMF has been working hard in recent weeks to fine-tune another challenging route to test competitors for the second round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship. This is the 46^th Qatar International Rally to be held in the last 51 years. It is one of the oldest motor sport events in the Middle East and continues to write its own chapter in the expanding history of the QMMF.”

Supplementary regulations and further details are available from www.qmmf.com, with the first closing date for entries set for Wednesday, January 7^th. A final cut-off has been set for Wednesday, January 21^st.

The QMMF has also announced a series of generous concessions for international and GCC competitors. International entrants will be given a $6,000 shipping allowance, with GCC teams receiving $3,000, subject to all vehicles passing scrutineering and administrative checks.

In addition, the QMMF will arrange a flight ticket allowance for both driver and co-driver and supply one twin room with breakfast for five nights, again subject to vehicles passing scrutineering and administrative checks. Full details are available in the supplementary regulations.

Start prizes will also be awarded: entrants who pass scrutineering and administrative checks and enter before the first cut-off date will receive QR 2500 and QR 2000 will be awarded to starters who enter after the early cut-off and before January 21^st.

For further information about the 2026 Qatar International Rally, contact the Qatar Motor and Motor Cycle Federation (QMMF), P.O. Box 8708, Doha, Qatar, Tel: + 974 443 79885, Fax: + 974 443 79732, E-mail: info@qmmf.com.qa and www.qmmf.com