He is one of the most promising talents in Lebanon. Last year he took everyone by surprise when he won the group A and front wheel trophies in Falougha Hill Climb. This year he is back and planning for the future. Michel Abou Jawde talked to us about his dreams and ambitions in addition to his 3 runs in the official on Friday.
Michel, we saw you last year in 1 Hill Climb and you were very impressive, and now we see you again in Falougha tell us more about you coming back to racing.
Well I’m back in the race seat because I want to continue. Last year in Falougha I made a Group A record scoring 2:25:17, beating the old record by 2 seconds. Today I was testing and the car is looking good but I need to work more on my racing line and try to remember all the benefits from last year. I did not drive a rally car since last year and I need time to get back to the rhythm.
Why didn’t you test yesterday?
It was down to insurance. They insured me only for one day so I did 3 runs today were I am not really satisfied with.
Why aren’t you satisfied with it?
I’m not fully used to the car, especially that it is really different from last year’s car with respect to gear ratios, and this is leading me to attack a lot in the curves so I get a better exit speed. I am concentrating a lot on the car but I should also do the same on my racing line. I will watch the onboard today and see where to improve.
If you remember we had a conversation before on a possibility of changing car categories or upgrading to a group N, I told you the following; ‘A man with a voracious appetite was asked what is his favorite animal to eat, he answered; steak’. I tell you again whatever is the car, I will drive it and a good driver drives any car. At least we are driving and it’s amazing. Never the less the car is great and I will get used to it.
[singlepic id=1815 w=320 h=240 float=left]You are one of the new enthusiastic and talent young guys trying to find their way in this sport. What do you need to do a full season?
I need financial backing and sponsoring like all the other guys. Mentally, physically and technically I don’t need anything, it all about the financial backing. I chose to start in Falougha since it’s my home town. We are working to compete in other Hill Climbs but we can’t find the right backing.
We have 2 more hill climbs this year, do you have a defined program to participate or not?
We have a 90 % assurance that we will complete the season but we don’t have a full OK yet.
Are you planning a speed test participation this year?
We are not planning any speed test participation, but next year we will be competing in the rally season on an R3 Clio and we are in the process of ordering the car from Rome. Nothing is confirmed for sure but we are working on it.
Tell us about your sponsor in this Hill Climb especially that it has a noble message behind it?
My sponsor is Go Green which is a recycling project over the whole country and will start next year. I will be one of the advertising tools for the project.
Will Go Green be your sponsor next year?
I have many co-sponsors in addition to my personal contribution but Go Green will definitely be my main sponsor.
We know that motorsport has been your childhood passion, why is that, and why did you wait until recently to start participating?
I started participating here in Falougha since 2009. My passion for motorsport started because of my father who was into this field a lot and partly because of Joe Ghanem my friend and relative. I started trying and testing to see how good I am and with time the passion grew inside me but sponsoring is main reason behind the fact that I didn’t start earlier.
Who was your childhood Idols in Lebanese motorsport especially in the golden era, the nineties?
I was born in 1988 so I can’t recall the 90s pretty well but I remember Abdo, Roger, and Ziad Feghali. Mainly, Abdo and Roger. I remember Abdo driving a Corolla WRC with Red Bull branding 7 or 8 years ago.
Away from Motorsport how do spend your time and what are your hobbies?
I have my university and like all the guys going out and spending some good time. I also spend a lot of time on the WRC simulator at home.
At the end what are you aiming for, Sunday?
Based on last year’s results my target is to win the Group A category. Last year I won the front wheel category too, ahead of the prototypes but this year seems harder because all the guys know the road much better. I will try to catch some of the Protos. The BMWs are not in my group but I will be pushing as hard as possible to win both my category and the front wheel cup.
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