Ghassan Khoury proves himself yet another time on the Lebanese Tarmac and dominates his category despite some difficulties in the first 2 stages. After ROL Ghassan can be very optimistic about his car and performance and his hard work is paying off. Check out this interview after the rally.
Tell us more about today’s Rally, Ghassan.
First of all, this rally is very similar to Rally of Lebanon, especially SS1, SS3 and SS5.
It takes skill to finish those stages. We hit our “train arriere” in SS1, we drove through SS 2 but we fixed it in the service and all was well.
How much did the damage cost you?
It took me 6 minutes and 30 seconds to finish the stage when I had the damage, and 5’50 after we fixed it, so 30 seconds is a big difference.
Was the first stage hard on your car? there were sections with no tarmac, and it was slippery, don’t you think the FWD cars were disadvantaged?
It was tough on everyone else, it was also hard on them because the road is very tight, it takes a lot of technique.
How do you compare your R3 to Robert Aaraj’s R3? Does Robert have the newer generation clio?
It’s not just about the generation; there are 3 types of R3s, R3 Access with 200hp, normal suspension and sequential gearbox; R3 Maxi with 230 hp, big improved suspension; and then there’s the R3 Maxi Evo with 250hp. Robert, I think, has a R3 Maxi Evo, I have a R3 Access with 200hp.
What are the main differences between Rami Meneim and Cathy Derousseaux, your co-driver in ROL 2011?
Cathy participates in 18 rallies per year, she drives you, she finds and fills every gap. A local co-driver participates in 2 or 3 rallies a year and this is not enough to improve.
Why didn’t you bring her here today?
It’s a short rally, so it’s not worth it budget-wise. She can definitely be of much more benefit in longer rallies.