June 17, 2016 – The Lebanese Renault Clio R3T team that consists of Henry Massaad and Ramy Menhem was forced to retire from the 5th Jezzine Rally, despite showing front-running pace in the early stages of the event.
The 5th running of the Jezzine Rally – second round of the 2016 Lebanese Rally Championship – comprised eight special stages: a 4.54-kilometer special stage in Mlikh on Saturday afternoon – run twice (SS1 & SS2), in addition to three loops of two special stages in Bqosta and Barti on Sunday. SS3, SS5 and SS7 held in the 11.41-km Bqosta stage, while SS4, SS6 and the final stage, SS8, ran in the 16.80-km Barti stage.
Massaad and Menhem completed the first day in Mlikh, successfully finishing the two stages on Saturday and ranked 3rd in the hotly contested RC3 category after a great performance in the Renault Clio R3T.
However, a minor off-course moment on Sunday’s opening stage forced Henry and Ramy to stop and eventually retire from the event that covered a total distance of 248.43 kilometers. Nonetheless, Saturday’s pace was a sign of good things to come for the pair.
Sponsored by Bassoul Heneine, the Renault crew now aims to bounce back in the upcoming round, the Cedars’ Rally, that is taking place on July 9-10, and emulate their outstanding Spring Rally performance, after which they managed to secure a place on the podium by finishing second in the RC3 category.
