The 39th Rally of Lebanon has taken on a Qatari flavour after five Qatari drivers entered to challenge the Lebanese on home soil, led by two-time Dakar winner Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah, who wants to make up for his disappointment at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics by winning in Lebanon.
Al-Attiyah competed in skeet shooting in Brazil hoping for gold, but strong winds during qualifying cost him a place in the final. The 11-time Middle East champion (he won the title between 2003 and 2015, with the exceptions of 2004, when it went to Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi, and 2010, when it went to the late Misfer Al-Marri) has one target in Lebanon: Roger Feghali (Ford Fiesta R5), who will be backed by his brother Abdo (Skoda Fabia R5) in a bid to keep the title at home.
Al-Attiyah arrives from Baja Poland, round seven of the FIA Cross-Country Rallies World Cup, where he was chasing a fifth consecutive win since joining Overdrive Racing’s Toyota Hilux team. He holds the record for Middle East Championship wins after taking his 63rd in Jordan, beating the previous record of 60 held by the UAE’s Mohammed Ben Sulayem. He won the first three rounds of the year in Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan to lead the standings on 117 points and will drive a Skoda Fabia R5 carrying number 1 with French co-driver Mathieu Baumel. His adventure last year ended on the third stage when his Skoda went off on its first tarmac outing.
Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari
Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari’s season began with disappointment when he crashed his Race Pro-prepared Skoda Fabia R5 in Qatar, and he missed Kuwait because his car did not arrive in time following the events at Brussels airport. Second overall in Jordan earned him 18 points and seventh in the standings on 28 points, level with Khalifa Saleh Al-Attiyah, Nasser’s younger brother. He arrives with co-driver Killian Duffy after finishing 10th in WRC 2 at Rally Germany and contesting the Wartburg Rally in the German championship, and he finished third in Lebanon in both 2012 and 2014.
Al-Suwaidi, Abdullah Al-Kuwari and Al-Naimi
Khalid Al-Suwaidi will drive a Ford Fiesta R5 with Marshall Clarke, Abdulaziz’s former co-driver, who replaced Italy’s Giovanni Bernacchini. Al-Suwaidi is second in the standings on 63 points after finishing second in Qatar, fifth in Kuwait and fourth in Jordan, and says he wants to collect as many points as possible to consolidate his position.
Abdullah Al-Kuwari (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X), Abdulaziz’s uncle, leads the MERC 2 (formerly Group N) standings on 83 points ahead of local driver Rodolphe Asmar (62). He has recruited Jordanian champion co-driver Ata Al-Hmoud, who also partners Roger Feghali, as his usual co-driver Adel Hussein has moved to cross-country. Abdullah won Group N in Lebanon in 2002 and this year finished third overall and first in class in Jordan, eighth overall in Kuwait and fourth in Qatar.
Rashid Al-Naimi switches from a Subaru Impreza to a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 with experienced Italian co-driver Nicola Arena. He is third in MERC 2 on 58 points and still in the title fight, with Cyprus and Oman remaining after the Dubai International Rally was officially cancelled. Al-Naimi won MERC 2 in Qatar before retiring in Kuwait and finishing eighth in Jordan.