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Motor Sports
Jordan Rally Middle East Championship MERC
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Before reaching the dizzy heights of the FIA World Rally
Championship or Formula One, most of the world’s leading drivers have learned
their trade in go carts.
Sebastian Loeb, Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher all started off in karting
and here in Jordan, our top drivers have started their careers in a sport that
is appealing to the youth.
Like all other forms of motor sport in Jordan, it was His Late Majesty King
Hussein who started karting in 1960.
During those early days, the Marka Airport track provided the venue for the
sport. A stunning track at the Royal Automobile Club injected new life into
karting in 1998 and events are also held on the streets of the capital, Amman.
The National Championship is composed of five rounds organized in line with
international regulations. Participation is growing with more keen karting
enthusiasts entering the scene. Recent events have welcomed in excess of 30
participants registering to compete. Many of today’s national rally champions
graduated from the karting championship, and the current crop of the talented
karting competitors are sure to be the rally champions of tomorrow.
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With the rallying scene booming, speed tests were introduced to the motor sport
calendar in 1964 and have been held at various locations throughout Jordan
since.
Most recently they have been held at the state of the art SOFEX track, the Royal
Automobile Club of Jordan and in the southern city of Aqaba. Five speed tests
are scheduled with points counting towards the Jordan Open National Speed Test
Championship.
The sport’s popularity continues to grow with the final event of last season
attracting over 50 competitors from across the Kingdom and a crowd of around
10,000 spectators lining the streets of Aqaba to get close up to the high speed
thrills.
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Jordan’s Al Hussein Rumman Hill Climb is one of the Middle East’s longest
standing sporting events and has become a highlight on the Kingdom’s social and
sporting calendar.
The first Hill Climb was held near the historical town of Jarash in 1962, after
which His late Majesty King Hussein began a project to improve the route. A few
years following its launch, the current site of Al Rumman was used and is now
earmarked for a multi-million dollar development programme that will transform
this stunning location into a prime tourist spot. King Hussein held the course
record until as recent as 2001.
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There are four national rallies organized annually in addition to the Jordan
Rally, the leading round of the FIA’s Middle East Championship since 1982.
Participation has increased over the years.
Rallying was established in Jordan by the Late King Hussein. The first rally,
held in 1961, was a scavenger hunt and the following year the rally ended with a
picnic in the Jordan Valley. This led to the organization of proper rallies
which also succeeded in raising interest in other motor sport events.
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