Rally1 machines may attract most of the attention on rounds of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC), but the FIA MERC2 category caters for competitors running production-based four-wheel drive machines and is aimed at amateur drivers and rising talent.
This weekend’s Jordan Rally, which is running over a dozen special stages in the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley areas, will see promising local star Shaker Jweihan bidding for his third victory of the season in the FIA MERC2 section at the wheel of his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X.
He dominated the opening two rounds in Oman and Qatar and success in the Hashemite Kingdom would mark another major step towards a second title for Jweihan and a first for co-driver Mustafa Juma. The duo currently has a 19-point cushion over the Kuwaiti duo of Jassim Al-Muqahwi and Sulaiman Al-Helal, although Jordanian and Omani drivers offer competition this weekend.
Zakariya Al-Aamri has been knocking on the door of regional success for several seasons in his Subaru Impreza and the Omani finished as runner-up to fellow countryman Abdullah Al-Zubair in 2025. He and Mohammed Al-Mazrui are currently third in the points’ standings.
Local driver Sami Fleifel is three points behind the Omani in his Mitsubishi and teams up with Ameer Nassif at the Dead Sea. Fleifel is equal fourth in the championship with the absent Lebanese driver Charbel Chebly.
Meshari Al-Thefiri was the dominant force in regional Group N and MERC2 rallying for many years before switching to a variety of FIA cross-country disciplines.
The Kuwaiti won two Group N titles with Mubarak Al-Thefiri in 2013 and 2014 before going on a run of five successive MERC2 title successes with Qatar’s Nasser Al-Kuwari between 2017 and 2021. The duo were triumphant again in 2023.
Jweihan’s 2023 title was not the first for a Jordanian, however. Issa Abu Jamous teamed up with Emad Juma to take the title in 2022 after a close battle with fellow Jordanians Ihab Al-Shorafa and Yousef Juma. Abu Jamous clinched the title by 17 points at the final round in Lebanon.
A new Shakedown stage of 4.83km kickstarts the competitive action at the Jordan Rally on Thursday. A maximum of two passes per driver will be permitted, as teams adjust their car set-ups before the meat of the on-stage action begins on Friday morning.
2026 FIA MERC2 – positions after round 2:
Drivers
1. Shaker Jweihan (JOR) 60pts
2. Jassim Al-Muqahwi (KUW) 41pts
3. Zakariya Al-Aamri (OMA) 24pts
4. Charbel Chebly (LBN) 21pts
4. Sami Fleifel (JOR) 21pts
6. Mohammed Mansoor Parol (IND) 19pts
Co-drivers
1. Mustafa Juma (JOR) 60pts
2. Sulaiman Al-Helal (KUW) 41pts
3. Mohammed Al-Mazrui (OMA) 24pts
4. Ibrahim Ali (JOR) 21pts
4. Carlos Hanna (LBN) 21pts
6. Lenin Joseph (IND) 19pts
FIA MERC2/Group N Cup – recent previous winners:
Group N Cup
2012 Nick Georgiou (LBN)/Joseph Matar (LBN)
Group N
2013 Meshari Al-Thefiri (KUW)/Mubarak Al-Thefiri (KUW)
2014 Meshari Al-Thefiri (KUW)/Mubarak Al-Thefiri (KUW)
2015 Saleh Bin Eidan (KUW)/Vili Oslaj (SLO)
MERC2
2016 Rodolphe Asmar (LBN)/Nicola Arena (ITA)
2017 Meshari Al-Thefiri (KUW)/Nasser Al-Kuwari (QAT)
2018 Meshari Al-Thefiri (KUW)/Nasser Al-Kuwari (QAT)
2019 Meshari Al-Thefiri (KUW)/Nasser Al-Kuwari (QAT)
2020 Meshari Al-Thefiri (KUW)/Nasser Al-Kuwari (QAT)
2021 Meshari Al-Thefiri (KUW)/Nasser Al-Kuwari (QAT)
2022 Issa Abu Jamous (JOR)/Emad Juma (JOR)
2023 Meshari Al-Thefiri (KUW)/Nasser Al-Kuwari (QAT)
2024 Shaker Jweihan (JOR)/Samer Issa (JOR)
2025 Abdullah Al-Zubair (OMA)/Taha Al-Tadjali (OMA)