December 14, 2015 – Eddy Abou Karam’s 2015 season was bittersweet: he lost his chance to fight for the Lebanese Rally Championship Group N title when a mechanical failure forced him to sit out the first day of Rally of Lebanon, the final and championship-deciding round. However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom for Eddy as he took home the 2015 Lebanese Hill Climb Championship Group N crown.
Eddy began his Hill Climb season spectacularly in Deir El Qamar; setting the quickest time in Group N in all three heats of the race to eventually score a class victory onboard his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X. His drive to victory was nothing short of faultless.
In the Falougha Hill Climb, the Group N class witnessed superb competition between Eddy and his main rival Tamer Ghandour, who skipped the first round. Eddy held the advantage in the first two heats, but he lost out to Tamer by 0.63 seconds in the end. However, he maintained his championship lead after finishing second in class.
With a comfortable championship lead going into the Bkassine Hill Climb, Eddy did not need to push to secure the Group N title; he settled for fourth place in the class after losing third to his teammate Rodrigue Rahi by just 0.15 seconds in the final heat. Nonetheless, he successfully bagged the Group N title.
EAK showed great pace in 2015; beside his Hill Climb Championship triumph, he enjoyed success in the Lebanese Rally Championship with a class win (and second overall) in Spring Rally and a second place in Group N in the Cedars’ Rally. However, he was also faced with bad luck on the way, which masked his full potential.
If Eddy Abou Karam’s luck turns around in 2016, he could spring a surprise on the championship.
