Gilbert Bannout will be competing in the Lebanese 2012 Rally Championship this season with TG Rally Skills, his usual team, after being absent in the 2011 Rally of Lebanon. Bannout did not have a full season in 2011 where he skipped the most important rally due to work obligations. His best result last year was third in the Spring Rally.
This season Bannout will be having some changes ahead of the season, and he will be aiming to have a full participation. “I will be participating in a full season this year. The season will consist of 4 rallies in addition to 3 Hill Climbs.” Bannout said. “This year the regulations will not allow Lebanese drivers to collect points from other regional rallies which will give Hill Climbs, a great point value. I also believe that this is a very fair situation since Lebanese Tarmac will be the decisive factor in all battles.” He adds.
Gilbert Bannout will be participating in the group N Category, on an EVO 10 prepared by TGRS. The car is the same car he participated on last years in both the Spring and the Cedars Rally. “We have prepared the car to the best possible way and we can call the car a maximum group N car.” Bannout Said. “I will be competing to win the Group N championship this year with this car. With the Hill Climb participations I will be able to collect valuable points for the championship, and they will allow me to fight for the Hill Climb Championship which I won its group N category in 2007 and 2008.” Gilbert continues. “The competition will be very fierce this year and I believe that if my Group N competitors did not participate in Hill Climbs it will be good for me to collect points, to add to a good result in the Spring Rally and will help lead the championship early on.” He adds.
Bannout is back with his former co-driver Joseph Kmeid after more than 1 year of splitting. “Joseph was my co-driver in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. We began the 2010 season together and we had the big accident in the Spring Rally. We returned in the Rally of Lebanon and things where not great so we decided to split. After the accident we needed some time away from each other to rejuvenate. This year we are back together. The feeling is good and we started a new system of notes. The new notes will give us more accuracy especially on braking. We hope that this season will great and I am comfortable with Joseph.” Bannout continues. “We performed some tests and things were great between us in the car and will be working to improve during the season.”
About the sponsor:
Bannout will be sponsored by Cristal a sponsor that will cover his seven event participation in 2012. Cristal was present with Bannout in the first 2 events last year.
Cristal Hotels & Resorts Management LLC, a hotel management company, operates hotels in the United Arab Emirates. Its hotels’ amenities include rooms and suites, food and beverage outlets, meeting rooms, lounges, business centers, beauty salons, treatment rooms, mini bars, recreation facilities, and sauna and steam rooms. The company was founded in 2007 and is based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The company will be expanding to Lebanon in the near future. The Company will be backing up Bannout with faith that he can deliver.