He finished last year’s Lebanese Rally Championship in second place behind Roger Feghali and was extremely impressive in the 33rd edition of the rally of Lebanon, finishing fourth, in addition to winning the Group N Hill Climb challenge. We spoke briefly with Tamer Ghandour about his 2011 plans and ambitions.
You had an excellent 2010, finishing 2nd in the Lebanese Rally Championship and 4th overall in ROL in addition to winning the Group N Hill Climb challenge, what are you looking forward to, this year?
This year I’m looking forward to maintain this position especially in the championship, and off course every driver wants to be the best, so winning the championship will be a great reward. In short my aim is to build on 2010 success. Roger Feghali might be skipping one round of the championship, so this might give us a point’s advantage.
How do you see the competition in general this year, and who is your main threat?
Well this year is very competitive. Everybody is preparing very hardm and everyone is trying to beat the rest. I believe all the guys are my main threats because we have a bunch of really talented drivers.
What is your schedule for 2011?
I am planning on participating in both the Lebanese rally championship and the Lebanese Hill Climb challenge. I am also planning to participate in the Middle East Hill Climb challenge. And if everything went into place we will be participating in the last round of the Jordanian local Rally Championship, so we can prepare for a full participation in 2012.
So what about the car and testing ahead of this hectic 2011 season?
I will start testing probably from mid-February. Every single weakened we will be testing in a place of our choice to maximize our preparation and readiness. I will compete on my Mitsubishi Evo 9, like last year, but we already have enhanced brakes and other new components. The car is still very competitive and one of the best out there especially within the regulations we have. Off course If we start speaking about Evo 10 we will be on another level.