At 5pm on Friday, August 30, 2024, the first cars will roar away to officially start the 46th Coral Rally of Lebanon, round three of the 2024 Lebanese Rally Championship. The start ceremony takes place at the headquarters of the Automobile and Touring Club of Lebanon (ATCL) in Kaslik, and the rally runs for three consecutive days.
The rally covers 636.70km, including 199.08km across 11 asphalt special stages in Keserwan, Jbeil, Batroun and the Metn. 29 cars take part – an excellent number given the situation in Lebanon and the region – with Arab participation from Qatari driver Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah and Jordanian co-driver Musa Djiyerian.
There is no doubt that Roger Feghali has his eyes set on a 17th win, which would be a new record, with competition from many drivers for the top places and the class titles. A host of Lebanon’s leading drivers have completed their preparations for the final round of the Lebanese Rally Championship, aiming for Sunday’s podium.
Friday programme
Friday features a display of 16 classic cars, which will each run the opening super special from 3pm; the fastest will receive the Cup of the late Sheikh Nabil El Khazen, an ATCL board member who died recently in a tragic accident. Drift demonstrations follow, before the rally proper begins at 5:03pm with SS1, the 2.52km super special inside the ATCL grounds (closed from 11am to 9pm). Cars then go to parc fermé at the President Fouad Chehab complex in Jounieh from 5:30pm, restarting at 8:15am on Saturday towards Jbeil, Amchit and Mansaf.
Six special stages follow on Saturday in Jbeil and Batroun and four on Sunday in the Metn, with the podium ceremony at 4.30pm on Sunday at the ATCL. The 11th and final stage will bear the name of the late Robert Sassi, who served for many years as clerk of the course of the Mountain Rally and the Rally of Lebanon.
Jammous: still the “icon” of the Middle East
On the eve of the rally, clerk of the course lawyer Ziad Jammous said:
Friends, as the rally starts on Friday, the roar of engines will break the calm of the villages and mountain roads, with 29 drivers competing astride their horses. This year’s scene has a negative point that happens for the first time: the Rally of Lebanon will not be a round of the Middle East championship this year, a first in its history. There is a lump in our throats because the country’s circumstances forced us to cancel the international edition of the rally, and great pride in our hearts at our determination to organise it, even within the national championship, without changing anything in the programme or the route.
Ziad Jammous
We wanted the 46th Rally of Lebanon to be not only the biggest sporting event this summer, but also a message of peace from Lebanon to the whole world, and an expression of our insistence and determination to show our people’s love of life through the sparkle in the competitors’ eyes and the strength of the organisers’ arms. Finally, whether our race is on the Middle East championship calendar or only in the national championship, it will always remain the “icon” of rallies in this region. A thousand greetings to you all, and our best wishes of success and safety to the competitors.
Ziad Jammous