Three-times Lebanese Rally Champion Abdo Feghali is in for a tough fight with Gilbert Bannout, Nicolas Amiouni and Chafic Boulos for the 2013 Lebanese Rally Championship title, which hasn’t witnessed this level of competition since 2006. Bannout currently leads the championship on his MINI RRC.
Abdo is aware that his Summer Rally retirement cost him important points, however, this season has probably been his best so far, with two dominant drives at the 29th Spring Rally and 22nd Cedars Rally on his Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10; he also won the 2013 Hill Climb Championship for the 8th consecutive time, that and another title at the 2013 Lebanese Speed Test Championship for professional drivers, knowing that he never won the latter title last year, despite dominating all three events, due to the ATCL’s newly-introduced rule which prohibited national drivers (classified by the National Sports Authority) from competing for the championship title (Osmat Al Saifi won the pro category).
It is worth mentioning that Abdo simultaneously won the Lebanese Rally Championship and Lebanese Hill Climb Championship in 2006, 11 years after Jean-Pierre Nasrallah had done the same on his Lancia Delta HF Integrale.
The driver from “Wadi Chahrour” seeks to participate in the 36th Rally of Lebanon – the fourth round of the 2013 Middle East Rally Championship (held between 6-8 September) – and aims to kill two birds with one stone by winning the international rally and ridding himself of the runner-up spot which has been with him on 5 occasions.
Abdo said: “I promised myself last year that I would never get into the International Rally of Lebanon on a Group N car because these cars cannot endure a long-distance rally, in contrast to their short-distance performance. Therefore, I decided to take part on the MINI RRC, which I drove to second place at the 35th Rally of Lebanon last year.”
Although “Dado” knows the difference between the MINI RRC and the Ford Fiesta RRC following last year’s battle with his brother Roger, he still feels very comfortable in the car, in terms of braking, handling on tarmac, in addition to its low weight… The MINI is also 30 thousand US dollars cheaper than the Fiesta RRC.
“I participate in the Rally of Lebanon with support from Bassoul Heneine the exclusive MINI dealer in Lebanon, Lebanese Loto, Eurol oil and Pit Stop Karting track, as for Red Bull, they’re morally on my side, knowing that I’ve been the company’s ambassador for years.”
In all interviews with Abdo, the drive always has to mention something from the past, saying he’ll be participating on the same car for two consecutive years for the first time since 1999 and that he’s waiting for this year’s night stages to discover his car’s full capabilities. Abdo is on the lookout for his brother Roger and Qatari driver Nasser Al-Attiyah (Ford Fiesta RRC) but “the most important for me is to stay ahead of Gilbert Bannout and Nicolas Amiouni in order to win my fourth Lebanese Rally Championship title.”
Concerning the super special stage, he said: “The super special stage is very important to us as drivers and sponsors; it attracts the media and lots of spectators. The special stages are nice and diverse, and the ATCL is doing a great job in terms of organization.”
47 wins out of 49 participations since 2006 at the Speed Test and Hill Climb championships
Since 2008 and till 2013, Abdo won 24 consecutive races out of 24 in Hill Climb. Between 2006 and 2007, he won 6 out of 8 races (he lost twice to Roger Feghali in the Deir El Qamar and Rumman Hill Climbs in 2007)… and since 2006 till 2013, he won 30 out of 32 races.
Abdo also won 17 out of 17 consecutive Speed Tests from 2008 till 2013. His total wins in the Speed Test and Hill Climb championships are 41 in a row; he scored 47 out of 49 race wins since 2006.
Abdo’s records include winning the 2007 and 2010 Middle East Hill Climb championship.
The driver concluded by saying: “As usual, Mark Haddad will be my co-driver, and I’m a sporty person by nature, so I don’t follow a certain schedule for the Rally, my constant participation in rallies, speed tests and hill climbs is the best practice, and the biggest test was the Cedars Rally which included 12 special stages despite their relatively short distance; the important thing during preparations prior to each special stage is when putting on the helmet and racing suit, which puts pressure on both driver and co-driver.”