Rally Day 2: Feghali leads decisively, with Abou Hamdan second and Ayoub third. The intense battle promises a thrilling final day.
46th Coral Rally of Lebanon – Day 2
Roger Feghali dominates as Bassel Abou Hamdan and Rabih Ayoub battle for second and third.
The second day of the 46th Coral Rally of Lebanon saw Roger Feghali, along with his co-driver Joseph Matar, in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10, take a commanding lead. Feghali, a seasoned veteran and 16-time winner of the Lebanon Rally, maintained his lead throughout the day, finishing with a total time of 1:15:40.3 hours. His performance left the competition scrambling to keep pace.
Bassel Abou Hamdan, with co-driver Firas Elias, driving a Volkswagen Polo GTI, finished the day in second place, 1:33.5 minutes behind Feghali with a total time of 1:17:13.8 hours. Abou Hamdan delivered a solid performance but couldn’t close the gap with Feghali, leaving the battle for second place wide open.
Rabih Ayoub, partnered with Georges Nader in a Škoda Fabia, secured third place with a time of 1:17:46.8 hours, trailing Abou Hamdan by just 33 seconds. Ayoub’s consistent performance kept him ahead of the fourth-placed Carl Rizk, who, along with Karim Abou Elias in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10, finished just 1.4 seconds behind with a time of 1:17:48.2 hours.
Feghali’s dominance was evident from the very start. He set the fastest time in the opening special stage on Friday evening and continued his winning streak by recording the best times in all six stages held on Saturday. The “Son of Wadi Shahrour” demonstrated his exceptional skills, leaving the battle for second place to Abou Hamdan, Ayoub, and Rizk.
The rally, held under scorching summer conditions, is part of the third round of the Lebanese Rally Championship. It covers a total distance of 636.70 km, including 199.08 km of special stages, with 11 stages held in Keserwan, Jbeil, Batroun, and Metn on asphalt roads.
Twenty-nine cars started the rally, but only 22 crossed the finish line on Saturday afternoon. Several drivers, including Elias Dehni, Jason Wehbeh, Joanna Hassoun, Tony Germanos, Nidal Al Jurdi, Henry Kahi, and Sami Daou, had to withdraw due to various issues.
Standings at the End of Day 2:
- Roger Feghali and Joseph Matar – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10: 1:15:40.3 hours
- Bassel Abou Hamdan and Firas Elias – Volkswagen Polo GTI: 1:17:13.8 hours
- Rabih Ayoub and Georges Nader – Škoda Fabia: 1:17:46.8 hours
- Carl Rizk and Karim Abou Elias – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10: 1:17:48.2 hours
- Joseph Hindy and Vicken Keldjian – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10: 1:19:37.0 hours
- Rodrigue El Rahi and Nabil Qombaz – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9: 1:21:06.4 hours
- Tarek Younis and Salim Jleilati – Ford Fiesta RS: 1:21:58.4 hours
- David Mezher and Shadi Nassar – Citroën DS3: 1:22:39.2 hours
- Ahmad Khaled and Mousa Jaherian (Jordan) – Ford Fiesta: 1:22:54.2 hours
- Charbel Chebly and Dulin Schlink – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9: 1:23:11.0 hours
- Rhea Dagher and Nadim Abou Elias – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10: 1:24:16.4 hours
- Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah (Qatar) and Ziad Shehab – Ford Fiesta: 1:24:49.6 hours
- Paul Kosseifi and Rwad Issa – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8: 1:25:20.5 hours
- Shadi El Fakih and Samer Safir – Renault Clio 1.3: 1:25:53.6 hours
- Joseph Salem and Carlos Hanna – Peugeot 208: 1:26:55.3 hours
- Charbel Khalife and Roger Ghosn – Renault Clio RS: 1:29:16.9 hours
- Rawad El Hachem and Gary Kondakjian – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9: 1:29:30.3 hours
- Walid Schlink and Andre Ashqouti – Renault Clio RS: 1:31:10.6 hours
- Serge Akiki and Elie Mehanna – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8: 1:44:51.5 hours
- Joey Hajj and Christopher Keldjian – Hyundai: 1:48:51.8 hours
- Camille Mechref and Naji Safir – Honda Civic: 2:03:46.6 hours
- Anna Simone Yazbeck and Francis Said – Škoda Fabia: 2:06:58.0 hours
Sunday Stages:
The final day of the 46th Coral Rally of Lebanon will feature four special stages, totaling 67.86 km, all taking place in the Metn area. The second section of the race begins at 8:15 AM with the first car departing from the Fouad Chehab Complex in Jounieh.
- Special Stage 8 – Zandouka – Baabdat (16.85 km):
This stage starts from Zandouka, moving towards Qsaybeh, then to the church and Al-Arbanieh, descending to Dleebeh, and finally ascending to Baabdat. The road will be closed from 7:38 AM until 10:38 AM. After this stage, participants will proceed towards the Baabdat square on the main road, turning right towards the roundabout, ascending through Al-Airon. When reaching the Bikfaya-Dhour Shweir road, they will descend left towards Bikfaya and Al-Muhaidthe, then continue left towards Hammana, descending to Wadi Abu Mizan, and arriving at Zbogha. - Special Stage 9 – Zbogha – Kfartai (16.30 km):
This stage begins at the Zbogha junction, ascending towards Zbogha, passing through Kfarakab, Ain El-Qabou, Mrach Kfarakab, and Wadi El-Karm, and finally arriving at Kfartai. The road will be closed from 8:36 AM until 11:36 AM. After completing this stage, cars will descend towards Kfardebian, pass the Ashqout roundabout, turn right into Ashqout, then left towards Bzommar, Ghazir, Harissa, Bkerke, and finally reach the service area at Fouad Chehab Complex – Jounieh starting from 11:36 AM. - Special Stage 10 – Zandouka – Bzebdine (17.67 km):
This stage starts from Zandouka, moving towards Qsaybeh, Khenchara, and Al-Arbanieh, descending to Dleebeh, ascending to Hasbaya, and ending at Bzebdine. The road will be closed from 11:29 AM until 2:29 PM. After this stage, participants will gather at the Metn Vocational School for a 30-minute break. - Special Stage 11 – Zbogha – Kfartai (16.30 km):
The final stage of the rally begins at the Zbogha junction, ascending towards Zbogha, passing through Kfarakab, Ain El-Qabou, Mrach Kfarakab, and Wadi El-Karm, and finishing at Kfartai. The road will be closed from 1:02 PM until 4:02 PM. After completing this stage, cars will proceed towards Kfardebian, pass the Ashqout roundabout, turn right into Ashqout, then left towards Bzommar, Ghazir, Harissa, Bkerke, and finally reach the service area at Fouad Chehab Complex – Jounieh from 3:47 PM.
The day will conclude with an award ceremony at 4:30 PM at the organizing club’s headquarters, marking the end of this prestigious rally.
