August 30, 2015 – Ahead of his first ever Rally of Lebanon participation, we met up with the young and talented Rodolphe Asmar to discuss his preparations for the 38th ROL, his thoughts about the competition, in addition to his future plans.
How do you feel going into and preparing for your first ever Rally of Lebanon, especially after a very good season?
Thank God, we were very fortunate this season and we improved from the beginning of the year to the last event. The excitement started about a month ago, when we started testing; the closer the rally gets, the more the adrenaline and excitement. We have been preparing in the best way possible and we’re doing everything we can. I hope we’ll have a good rally, the most important thing is to finish. For me, the person who finishes the rally is a winner. Of course, the closer we are to the front, the happier we’ll be.
Before we go into the the rally’s details, how were your tests and preparations, knowing that you should be preparing very well this summer?
The tests we underwent after the Cedars’ Rally and Bkassine Hill Climb showed that we have improved a lot.
What did you focus on in testing?
We need to gain more time on the straights, so when we traveled to Jordan, we tried to focus on having a good feeling in high speeds, while remaining relaxed and less anxious. Having a good feeling at high speed is important to gain time and be in front, and this what we’ve been trying to do. We made some high speed tests in order to have more confidence in the car and be more relaxed throughout the rally. We also focused on physical fitness, I have two hours of daily workout and I lost a lot of weight, and more importantly, I improved my cardio. We have to endure, it’s a long rally, with a 30-kilometer stage such as Toula. We must endure and we must produce the same performance from the start of stage till its end.
How would you describe the chemistry between yourself and co-driver Vicken Kanledjian? He has been with you all year long, you haven’t changed him.
And I won’t change him, for sure. If it weren’t for Vicken, we wouldn’t have progressed this much. We are working on ourselves, we are improving together and we are excited to improve even further. I’m very comfortable with him, I didn’t imagine I would be so comfortable with him. As I said, we are progressing well together and I hope we can score a good result in Rally of Lebanon.
Mathematically, you have a chance to win the championship in Rally of Lebanon. Your target is to finish, but if you’re in position to win the rally or win your category. Are you going to push or play it safe?
The whole rally is not safe. I don’t wish a retirement for anyone. Mathematically, I’m not faster than the guys ahead, so they would have retire in order for me to win, and I don’t want that to happen. However, if the competition is close, of course I’m not going to let the chance slip, and we are preparing for that.
In Group N, there are much more experienced drivers including Rodrigue Rahi, Tamer Ghandour, Eddy Abou Karam, Nicolas Amiouni and Arab drivers. Rally of Lebanon is quite lengthy and challenging, what will help you maintain your pace, considering Group N cars weren’t designed for lengthy rallies.
Everything is new in the car, we did not leave out a single screw. We hope that it doesn’t let us down, and we hope that it serves us well throughout the rally with the level of power that we want. We must be focused from the first meter of the rally in order not commit any mistakes or cause the car any stress mid-stage. We want to reach the end of the stage happy in the car, even if our time isn’t close to that of the competition.
There are two stages in ROL that you already know, Blat and Nahr Ibrahim, which you’ve contested in the Spring Rally, while other stages in Toula, Zandoukda, Ain Aaya and Zabbougha are new to you, in addition to the super special stage. What is particularly difficult and easy in those stages, and what stages do you find most difficult?
To be honest, I find all of them difficult because I haven’t been on any of them, while other drivers have been competing for years, and you are aware that rallying is all about experience. So I find all of the stages difficult, even Blat and Nahr Ibrahim, because we had a different car at the beginning of the year with less power.
But you did very well in the Spring Rally.
Thank God, we did well and better than expected; we are exceeding our own expectations in every rally. Like I told you, we are working on my physical condition so we can compensate for the time we might lose in places where the competition is faster, and so I can be more comfortable in the car and maintain my performance, perhaps they [the competition] lack in physical condition, so we’re working on it to give myself the edge.
You recently announced that you’re joining the Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy in the WRC next year. Tell us more about this subject.
I was surprised to hear my father and Philippe Kazan discuss the subject. Nothing is certain, we’re still evaluating the situation, and we want to see our result in Rally of Lebanon first of all. We want to see whether we’re well prepared for the championship, which is very difficult. Nicolas Amiouni wasn’t very fortunate these past couple of seasons, and I don’t consider myself to be better than Nicolas, he’s got a lot more experience and he’s fast; he’s currently on another level. If we’re capable of competing in the championship, we’re definitely going to try to enter. It all depends on testing.
Are you going to test an R2 car?
Of course, we’re going to test an R2 car. If we show good pace in testing, we’ll enter the championship, but if we don’t, we’ll wait, we have a long road ahead.
This is your first Rally of Lebanon, but maybe you used to watch it before and you have some memories. What’s your best memory from Rally of Lebanon and who are the drivers that you remember most?
I haven’t been watching Rally of Lebanon for a long time, so I don’t remember the stuff from when I was a kid. I remember the battle between Roger Feghali and Nasser Al-Attiyah in 2011, it was one of the best rallies I’ve ever seen. I was very happy to see Roger win in the end. The competition was fierce and the drivers were driving on a very high level, and Abdo Feghali put in a great show, as usual. That was the best rally ever, in my opinion.
In 2013, the rally was good, but Roger pulled most of the gap on the first day, and he reduced his pace on the second day in order not to take any risks.
I wish I could watch the rally and follow the competition between Roger and Nasser this year but…
What do you think of the competition this year?
I hope Roger will win. Of course, it’s not going to be easy because the Skoda Fabia R5 is currently the fastest car and it is made by Volkswagen (who are dominating the WRC), but Roger doesn’t leave anything to anyone, and I hope he’ll clinch the win.
Rodolphe, there are plenty of people around you, including friends and family. What would you like to say them, especially after seeing their excitement all year long?
They have been giving me moral support even before I got into rallying. If it weren’t for my family, friends and relatives and their support, I wouldn’t have thought about rallying and hoped to compete in the championship. Of course, I can’t forget my father’s support, without whom I wouldn’t be here. I hope I can get a sponsor next year in order to further improve, develop the car or get a new car, and faster become part of the competition.
Rodolphe, good luck; we hope that you’ll motivate people your age so that we see new faces in rallying.
Thank you very much, thank you for your coverage.