Similar to what happened ahead of the Cedars rally this year, ATCL set 2 days for official testing before the first Hill Climb event of the season in Falougha. The road which is widely known to all drivers is also the hometown of Lebanese Rally Legend Samir Ghanem.
Spectators filled the first day of testing which saw over 15 drivers trying their cars. Drivers were allowed only 3 runs today and have the opportunity to run 3 times again tomorrow. Hill Climb Champion Abdo Feghali will start his runs tomorrow in addition to Ziad Feghali who will be participating on a new Prototype EVO 7.
The day went on smoothly in spite of a small shunt by MMW driver Carlos Chamoun. The car was slightly damaged from the left front and was fixed immediately and Carlos continued his runs.
As usual we were there to cover the test and had some interesting quotes from group of the drivers.
Garo Haroutiounian: “The car was amazing and I’m getting used to it little by little. The road is amazing and I’m enjoying it because it’s my first time on this road. Tomorrow’s test will be much better for me and Carlos who had a little shunt but was able to continue his runs today.”
Joe Ghanem: “It’s my first run in an EVO 10 ever and my first time using a Dogbox. The car is really good and is a full new generation car. Everything is different in the car starting from the seating reaching the power of the car and every other single detail. The road has degraded a little because of all the dust and debris. This is truly my hometown road but the road is different every year and you have to find the right racing line, because of the minor natural changes in it. I’m an expert on this road and I feel confident for Sunday. I am aiming for the win and if nothing goes wrong we will be in the hot seat.”
Nicholai Georgiou: “I find it a little weird in the testing to do only 3 runs especially in the absence of a co-driver. If there was a co-driver maybe 2 runs would be enough. I will not be working on setup or anything else but only on memorizing the road.”
Sysley: “Our day was smooth and we were taking it easy. We were getting used to the road and the car more and more. With all respect to all drivers, I feel comfortable and I’m going flat out to the end.”
Tamer Ghandour: “We have only 3 runs every day and we completed them all today. – The car was perfect. We tried to minimize mistakes and get used to everything. Tonight we will watch the on boards and try to correct our mistakes. Tomorrow we will push more and got to the limit.”
Georges Diabes: “We are getting used to the car. It’s my second ever Hill Climb and my first time on an EVO9. We are aiming for a full Hill Climb season. Today was all about learning and tomorrow we will correct our mistakes and push more.”
Carlos Chamoun: “I had a small shunt. It was because of the big amount of gravel on the road, plus a small error by me. Anyway I had very old and used tyres but tomorrow I will install new tyres for my 3 runs. My first run was ok but I was a little bid tense. My second 2 runs were much better; don’t forget that this is my second outing in Hill Climb after Deir Al Kamar last year.”
Rony Kanaan: “I’m back after 15 years of stopping. It’s my hobby and I will enjoy it to the Max. We are improving run after run and we I’ll be testing tomorrow too.”
Bechara Beshir: “The test day was very good but the road was full of dust and debris. The car is very good, but in such a place you need a car with more torque. The car is the same since the Cedars Rally and we will be back tomorrow for some more runs.”
Nadim Halabi: “We had some problems that we fixed today and everything is looking now. Tomorrow will be better for us for sure but mainly we are happy with our day. It’s my first year and I will try to improve myself as much as possible.”
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