(Rally Of Lebanon 2010, Baskinta)
We met Nick at a coffee shop to discuss the upcoming season. The conversation was very engaging we ended up jumping from one topic to another. Nick can be very controversial we may say, but his friendly attitude and openness to discuss everything made it one engaging experience. We talked about 2010, the PWRC, the upcoming Lebanese championship, the new WRC championship and much more…
(Rally Of Lebanon 2010, Kfeefen)
2010 and the PWRC experience
In 2010, Nick put all his focus on the PWRC program, which he was participating in with the Pirelli Star program. He skipped the “Spring rally” and didn’t compete in every round of the championship. He was not able to compete for the Lebanese championship crown, which Roger Feghali swept with class.
Although his participation in the Lebanese competitions was minimal and sometimes unsuccessful, he was able to use the experience he gained in WRC events in the Lebanese events he competed in “Cedars Rally” and “Rally of Lebanon”. “In WRC I was off the pace a little, but when I came back here it felt good to be much faster than a lot of people” Nicks says.
When asked about the shortcomings of the last Rally of Lebanon, Nick spoke about the rally with a different view. “On day 2 I started pulling back time incredibly, I was very fast in all stages and I was pushing hard. I kept asking my Co- driver, about our position, and he would say that we overcame this guy and that we were two positions here and so on. By now I have enough experience to not get upset by mechanical failures and misfortunes because this is part of the sport.”
Pirelli star program
2010 should be Nick’s career highlight. The participation in such an important championship is a very good achievement, and the benefits that come with it are invaluable. His main strategy was to learn. “My target was to put as much mileage as possible, to learn and to improve my skills” says Giourgiou, and when asked about his teams Nick answers unashamedly “My teammates Paddon Hayden and OttTanak, were much faster, and I was mostly ranked between 3rd and 4th among the Pirelli star drivers.”
Nick finished the PWRC championship in 10th place with 24 points. He suffered a lot of mechanical problems in most of the rallies, and he was obliged to participate on super rally format 5 times. He had an excellent run in Germany to 7th place. “I could have been much higher in the points in Germany but I had to run on Super rally format from the second day.” He adds.
The upcoming season
We shift our conversation to the upcoming 2011 season. Nick confirms honestly that he will not participate abroad in any event due to financial reasons. He simply couldn’t find the budget for international outing, but his main focus is to do as many runnings as possible in Lebanon to stay in shape and not lose his skills. “My main focus is to get back to WRC in 2012, but this year I will be concentrating on Lebanon.” He adds and when asked about his competition this year he answers confidently; “I’m looking at the top. So I should narrow the list to Roger.”
Nick said that having Roger Feghali as a competitor in Lebanon gives him a high standard driver to compare to. He believes that matching Feghali would be a very good step forward and will help prepare better for the future.
Nick will be seeing some changes in his rallying this year. His previous Co-driver and one of the best ever in Lebanon Joseph Matar, would not be riding alongside him this year. As he will be the official Co –driver for Jordanian rally driver Ammar Hijazi in the MERC championship. “I will be driving with a new Co-driver this year, I can’t confirm yet who it will be but I will announce it in due time.” Nick says. He is already testing with his new Co-driver on Thursday 24 February as he confessed during the interview.
Georgiou will be participating this year on his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10, but he will be upgrading it to R4 and upon asking him about the S2000 cars and the ability to challenge them, he explains “S2000 cars should be 2 seconds faster per kilometer in comparison with group N cars. With the EVO R4 we are not sure yet but the S2000 cars should still have a respectable edge.”
“The S2000 cars are not easy to drive, and it’s more up to the driver. Someone who knows how to drive it will get the best out of it, and someone who doesn’t will be slower than a good group N driver.”
“In rally of Lebanon I was able to beat Khalid Al-Qassimi on a group N car. It not down to the car it’s the driver who makes the difference.”
Nick also spoke a little about car failures. “I believe most car failures are due to the driver committing a mistake.” He goes on to count many failures at the PWRC last year where the car broke down because of his mistakes. It’s a nice trait to admit being wrong, something that doesn’t apply to many drivers. Well Nick seems to be on the right track to a bright future.
(Rally Of Lebanon 2010, Fatre)
Hill climb
Nick has only competed in the Hill Climb competition before. He won the event and he said that it was the sort of challenges he likes. This year he will be competing in the championship with his rally car.
“What I like about it is that it does not have long mileage.It is about how fast you can go in a small length stage. There is no strategy no nothing just pure pace.” Nick Adds amusingly.
And when asked about his competition Nick says “I still haven’t looked at the entry list, but my friend Tamer Ghandour is participating and it would be fun to compete against him, or maybe bet for the win”
And although the rally season hasn’t started yet, Nick looks excited and is working on his fitness ahead of the season. “I’m doing MMA (mixed martial arts) and other general things like swimming and running for cardio and I’m working in my back and neck.”
The 2011 WRC season
At the end of our lively chat we talked a little bit about the new WRC season. Nick told us what he thinks about the competition and who his favorite drivers are. “I like Latvala and Petter Solberg, and I’m happy how Petter managed to come back to the sports and put his own team together and be very competitive. He is a good inspiration.”
“It looks like an interesting year, many drivers are capable of winning like we say in Sweden” he continues.
He also thinks that privateers have similar opportunity to win like the factory teams. “Malcolm Wilson the Ford Abu Dhabi world rally team manager told us last year that all the cars are equal. Drivers with the same ‘makes’ car are going to have equal chances” he adds.
Regarding the Citroen rivalry Nick says that he would be surprised if there is no tension in the team. He also sees an interesting scenario for the Citroen management if they have Ogier ahead in the points. Although he rates Ogier very highly he still needs a lot to catch up with Loeb on tarmac events. “It’s a recipe for conflict at Citroen” he jokes.
Nick says that the championship will be a very narrow fight between Hirvonnen, Latvala, Loeb and Ogier.
(Rally Of Lebanon 2010, Fatre)