Saad Al-Suwaidi
Due to the cancellation of the Lebanon International Rally, Qatari Rally Driver Nasser Al-Attiyah was crowned his 16th Middle East Rally Championship, following the cancellation of the Lebanon International Rally, the third and final round of the Middle East championship.
Automobile and Touring Club of Lebanon (ATCL) issued a statement announcing that the race was canceled: "Based on the decision of the Supreme Council for Defense after its meeting at Baabda Palace under the chairmanship of His Excellency the President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, to close the country for more than two weeks starting at five o'clock in the morning of Saturday, November 14, until five o'clock in the morning Monday, November 30, the club decided to cancel Lebanon International Rally sponsored by the President of the Republic in compliance with the official decision with the hope that the epidemic will end and that the normal wheel will return in the near future”
Imad Lahoud, Vice President of the Middle East and North Africa at the International Automobile Federation (FIA), confirmed that Qatari driver Nasser Al-Attiyah was officially crowned champion after the cancellation of the Lebanon Rally.
Lahoud said, in a press statement, that "the minimum number of races is limited to three races, and therefore the East Championship was limited to the Sultanate of Oman race, in addition to two stages hosted by Cyprus."
The 49-year-old Al-Attiyah, the 3-time Dakar Desert Rally champion, won the first stage title in the Sultanate of Oman, before the Qatar and Jordan rounds were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, and then won the two stages of the Cyprus rally on October 18.
The last phase had been scheduled to take place in Lebanon from November 13-15, prior to its cancellation.