July 10, 2017 – Roger Feghali and Joseph Matar claimed victory in a chaotic 26th Cedars Rally that saw just 10 cars cross the finish line out of 16.
Roger’s brother Abdo ranked first at the end of the first three special stages, leading his brother by 2 seconds only, but Roger fought back and stole the lead during the second loop and managed to extend it to 14.3 seconds by the end of the rally to claim his second win in 2017 and his first on the Skoda Fabia R5.
Abdo, who was second quickest, retired after the nine special stages were over as his Fabia R5 went up in flames on his way to the podium ceremony, meaning Mitsubishi Evo X R4 driver Joseph Hindy moved up to 2nd place overall, while Eddy Abou Karam ranked 3rd overall in his third race on the Hyundai i20 R5.
Rabih Ayoub beat his rival Nadim Halabi to the Group N class victory after a race-long battle between the two. Halabi was 2nd, ahead of Rodrigue Rahi in 3rd.
Patrick Njeim drove a lonely race to 1st place in the RC3 category and 1st in front-wheel drive.
It was a difficult day for Qatar’s Nasser Al Attiyah who suffered from mechanical gremlins and ended up 7th overall onboard his Ford Fiesta R5.
Provisional final classification:
01. Roger Feghali, 1:02:17.6
02. Joseph Hindy, +3:58.9s
03. Eddy Abou Karam, +4:23.1s
04. Rabih Ayoub, +4:18.9s
05. Nadim Halabi, +4:59.9s
06. Rodrigue Rahi, +5:16.3s
07. Nasser Al Attiyah, +5:20.7s
08. Nassib Nassar, +6:25.7s
09. Patrick Njeim, +12:00.9s
10. Mshari Al Thefiri, +16:37.3s