In an editorial ahead of the 38th Rally of Lebanon, organising committee chairman Fady Y. Aoun looks back at how far motor racing has come since its early days, when an event was a simple mix of standard production cars, combustible fuel and brave, talented gentleman drivers, some of whom even raced wearing neckties.
More than a century later, he notes, racing cars are built with avant-garde technology: engines, gearboxes and differentials are made from exotic materials, and tyre compounds are so varied that choosing between them has become a tricky business.
Science behind the wheel
Aoun cites two interviews broadcast on CNN International in July. In the first, Prof John Eric Goff, a physicist at Lynchburg College, argued that science can help predict the winner of the Tour de France by feeding the right statistics into a computer, including stage profiles, riders’ power output and aerodynamic data such as tyre friction, tarmac condition and the weather forecast.
The second featured a senior Shell petroleum engineer on the evolution of racing fuel, which began in the 1920s and 1930s as a cocktail based on methanol, ethanol and nitrobenzene and today is a complex of 200 individual compounds derived from crude oil treated with secret ingredients.
Manufacturers and teams have pushed their limits through advances in physics, mechanics and other sciences, Aoun writes, to the point that WRC cars, despite having several hundred horsepower less, have caught up with the Group B monsters and are now faster in most circumstances. Even drivers are changing their lifestyles to meet the demands of the sport.
Is it still a sport?
Fady Y. Aoun
The 2015 route
This year, 13 challenging special stages on slippery tarmac will again pit man against machine. Two stages will be run at night: Toula, 28.86km long, and the 21.40km Ain Aaya stage.
The rally opens with a Ceremonial Start at 19:30 on Thursday, September 3, 2015, from the ATCL headquarters in Kaslik, Jounieh. On Friday, September 4, a 2.33km head-to-head Super Special Stage will be held in Beirut Central District.
The event follows a compact concept. With 244km of special stages, a single service park in Jounieh, two remote refuelling zones in Yarita and Faytroun, and altitudes ranging from sea level to 1,200 metres, Aoun describes the 38th Rally of Lebanon as the most demanding event of the Middle East Rally Championship.
Yet, as others did before, you cannot but fall in love with it.
Fady Y. Aoun
On behalf of the organising committee, he thanked the event’s sponsors and supporters, the Automobile et Touring Club du Liban and all the volunteers, and wished competitors a safe rally, urging them to “push the envelope and enjoy the thrilling action.”