Exclusive feature interview with Gilbert Bannout

(rally of Lebanon 2010 day 3, Baskinta)

This is not your usual interview; this is practically a long chat about absolutely everything. We talked with Gilbert about issues starting from his upcoming participation in the 207 RC Volant championship in France, to the new WRC season, and the test he did with Tony Germany Rally Skills for Sysley (Joseph Bechara) on his new EVO 9.

We met Gilbert in the garage of Jean Lisa, one of the most famous Rally car tuners in Lebanon. We passed upon Tony Germany and his team preparing Sysley’s car, grabbed some coffee and started talking about Gilbert’s participation in the 207 Volant in France. He explained in details about his participation and the story behind it dating back to the Rally of Lebanon 2009.

Gilbert’s performance in that rally was amazing. He finished second overall alongside Co-Driver Joseph Kmeid, behind Roger Feghali and impressed all observers. Back then KSA rally driver Yazid Al Rajihi was participating in the rally on a new Peugeot 207 S2000 car with Kronos racing. The people at Peugeot were very impressed with what they saw from Gilbert and contact between both parties was established.

Gilbert followed the matter and started preparing a presentation to participate in the Peugeot 207 RC Volant. The presentation included some onboard footage of his driving in the 2010 rally of Lebanon. During his thorough explanation about the process of acceptance, Gilbert seems grateful to one person in particular “During that time I should say that I’m thankful to Tony Germany for teaching me many things and helping me to develop my skills.” Both driver and team manager enjoy a very close relationship.

(rally of Lebanon 2009 day 3, Baskinta)

So what is the 207 RC Volant?

The 207 RC Volant championships, is a local championship taking place in France. It usually consists of 3 combinations of rallies.

1-      5 Asphalt rallies

2-      3 Gravel rallies

3-      8 rallies combining 5 on asphalt and 3 on gravel

The rally takes place under the supervision of Peugeot sport, and it is usually followed closely by the main rally teams in the world in search for new rally talents. The Volant also has different categories on higher levels especially with the S2000 format. In parallel to the 207 RC Volant, other marks such as Citroen also have their own series where drivers compete on similar cars.

Gilbert was accepted for the final test of the competition and he was chosen between 30 drivers to participate in the championship, from 5000 applications. After his acceptance, Gilbert will become the first Lebanese to participate in the ancient Rally of Corsica, the first rally of the series. Corsica will be followed by 4 asphalt rally rounds on asphalt across France. He will be handed a team including 4 mechanics and an engineer, alongside a team manager and a truck driver who will be driving his car between testing and rallying throughout this season.  It will be an excellent opportunity for Gilbert to prove himself. The best thing about this participation is that he will be driving on level grounds with his competitors. “The drivers that are accepted for this championship are the elites. They come from universities in France and across Europe, and this competition has produced quality drivers, most recently Bryan Bouffier who won the last edition of the rally of Monte Carlo.” Gilbert Explains

Although things look straight forward from now on, Gilbert still faces many challenges. His main challenge is his weight. The weight factor is very important in this championship, especially because it has direct effects on his performance so he was asked to lose 12 Klg. He also needs to pick a co-driver, and his choice in now short listed down to 3 names, 2 girls and a guy and he is definitely looking for the lighter of the 3. The other challenge facing Gilbert is the sponsoring. He has to pay 80000 euros for insurance in order to fulfill his participation, and he says he is confident he will be able to find all the needed financial support.

ROL 2011 and MERC

We shifted the conversation to talk a little about the upcoming rally of Lebanon. Gilbert is hoping that through his connection with Kronos and their interest in the Middle East, he might secure a drive on a Peagot 207 S2000 car especially if he excels in the 207 RC Volant in France. But although he might fancy a drive on an S2000 car, he also believes that the Mitsubishi lancer EVO 10 R4 might have the edge. “I feel both cars will be very close with a little advantage for the EVO 10 R4, because of both its characteristics and those of the rally.”

(rally of Lebanon 2010 day 2, Sourat)

We also talked about his participation in the Middle East championship. Gilbert doesn’t seem to be impressed in such a championship, saying that the organization levels are very low and the experience derived from its rallies is minimal. “I prefer to invest in participating in a European rally because it’s much more rewarding. The organization is much more professional and the level of competition is much higher.” Gilbert concludes.

The 2011 WRC season

Moving the conversation out of Gilbert’s plans and participation, we started talking about the new WRC season. We talked about the new rules and the first rally in Sweden and although he looks ahead for a beautiful season to come, he doubts the ability of Privateers in threatening the dominance of the factory teams like what happened in Sweden. “ The factory teams get around 400 km of testing ahead of every rally and that’s practically 4x of what a privateer gets, and usually a privateer is more cautious about his car, so he might not take as much risks as the drivers in the top teams do.” Gilbert says.

Sysley’s Saturday Test

We hooked up again with Gilbert after the test for Tony Germany rally skills, to stand on the outcome of the test. Gilbert started by speaking proudly about the car which was his road car before Tony Germany turned it into a rally car in Lebanon. Germany is now the agent for the KBT roll cage for rally cars and turned this car into a significant fighter. The car has been converted into a total group N car from A to Z including the engine and the gearbox as well as the body and the suspension. “This is one of the best ever group N cars I’ve ever seen in my life especially for an EVO” Gilbert explains after testing the car. “ My visit to Lebanon was to do the suspension setup for the car, especially that Tony knows my driving and this will assist Sysley, the man who is going to drive the car in the spring rally.” Gilbert adds.

Sysley drove the car after Gilbert’s setup modifications and seemed comfortable in the car as he has confirmed for us in the interview we had with him. Gilbert believes that 1 month from now with some more testing, Sysley will be ready for the challenge. He migh come back to Lebanon 2 weeks from now to test the car again in “Arjes” to perfect the setup, especially that this stage will help the driver understand practically all the characteristics of the car. “if you get right in Arjes you can take your car anywhere” gilbert adds, and upon asking him if this can be a winning car he Answers “absolutely, this car can compete and win and although Sysley doesn’t have the experience of rallies is well known to be one of the fastest drivers in Lebanon and he will be able adjust fast”

Gilbert ends this amazing conversation hoping that the ATCL would do some changes to the Spring Rally, to increase competition and the surprise factor. He also hopes that this year, nobody will have the chance to test his rally car on the rally stages and adjust the setup accordingly.

Gilbert’s 2011 Participation calendar in the 207 RC Volant:

to check all Gilbert’s updates go

www.gilbertbannout.com