September 17, 2016 – Despite missing the first three rounds of the Lebanese Rally Championship season, Elie Nehme achieved his target for the fourth and final round, the 39th Rally of Lebanon, by climbing on the podium for the fourth consecutive year.
Nehme drove the Renault Clio R3 that powered him to the podium in the past two seasons. However, he was co-piloted for the first time by his cousin and best friend Chadi Beyrouthy, who took overall victory in Rally of Lebanon back in 2014 alongside Nicolas Amiouni.
The 2016 Rally of Lebanon featured 11 special stages that covered 209.10 kilometers of the rally’s 664.13-kilometer total distance. It was held over 3 days, from September 2 until September 4.
Elie successfully emulated his performances from previous years by pulling off a highly consistent drive. He was one of the few drivers to enjoy untroubled running and was quick enough all through the event to eventually claim 3rd place in the RC3 category.
Elie now celebrates four consecutive podium finishes in Rally of Lebanon: he took an RC5 class win in 2013 onboard a Suzuki Swift Sport, finished second in the RC3 class in the Renault Clio R3 in 2014 and 2015, and he has now added another podium position to his record, further extending his success streak.
“It’s a brilliant result; I did not expect to be that quick. We practiced a little bit before the rally, but the teamwork before and during the event was fantastic. I would like to gift this result to my co-driver Chadi who has been absolutely great. Special thanks to Ghassan Khoury and the team, and thank you guys for the coverage and the ATCL for the organization.” said Elie in a post-race interview.
In the end, Elie hoped he can attract enough sponsors next year to compete full-time in the local championship.
