The 2013 Lebanese motorsport season kicks off on Sunday April 14th with the 29th edition of the famous Spring Rally. Eighteen drivers will take part in the event which will cover a total distance of 106.64 kilometers, with a total of four special stages making up 65.62 kilometers.
Nahr Ibrahim will host the first and third special stages; the 15.42-km stage is famous for its 13 hairpins in the first section, with five more of those near the end; the Nahr Ibrahim stage is also characterized by a fast middle section.
Special stages two and four will take place on a 17.39-km course in Torzaya which features a very technical yet fast first section, a twisty middle section full of hairpins, followed by an array of fast chicanes before the finish line.
Roger Feghali dominated the event in recent years with 7 consecutive wins between 2007 and 2012; he also won back in 1999, 2000 and 2004; his brother Abdo Feghali meanwhile scored his only win in 2003.
Abdo will be looking to secure his second victory this year, especially with Roger’s absence – the 10-time Rally of Lebanon champion will be taking care of business at Motortune as the team enjoys its WRC debut in Portugal this weekend.
Other drivers aiming for the top spot of the podium include Red Bull athlete Nicolas Amiouni, Chafic Boulos, Tamer Ghandour, Eddy Abou Karam and Joseph Hindy, in addition to Gilbert Bannout on his new MINI RRC.
Chafic Boulos will be defending the Group N title this year; the Evo X driver made clear his intentions to score a second consecutive Group N championship title in 2013.
Eddy Abou Karam and Joseph Hindy will sit behind the wheels of two new TGRS-prepped Mitsubishi Evo Xs, while Nabil Abdelhak enjoys similar levels of performance in a Kazan Tuning Evo X.
An exciting challenge awaits the front-wheel drive category, with four Clio drivers expected to fight it out for top honours including Robert Aaraj, Bechara Bechir in addition to returnees Hicham Al Abiad and Walid Chlink.
Making their Rallying debut this weekend are Tony Bou Gebrayel on a TGRS Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX (Class 3) and Carl Chalhoub on a Suzuki Swift 1.6 Sport (Class 9).
The 29th Spring Rally will mark an interesting start to the season, with a mix of returnees, new drivers and new cars.