Roger Feghali and co-driver Joseph Matar (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10) won the 46th Coral Rally of Lebanon – Feghali’s 17th victory in the event – after dominating all three days. Bassel Abu Hamdan and Firas Elias (Volkswagen Polo GTI) finished second, with Rabih Ayoub and Georges Nader (Skoda Fabia) third.
Feghali, born in 1973, has written another historic chapter – one that would be hard, if not impossible, for any driver to match. The Rally of Lebanon has become synonymous with his name, and a 17th win is a legendary record.
Having led from Friday evening’s opening super special and ended Saturday in front, Feghali adopted a cautious strategy on the final day with a big margin over second place. Abu Hamdan drove with his usual skill to reach the podium again as he did last year, while Ayoub proved he belongs among the elite with third overall.
Special mention goes to promising young driver Carl Rizk, who finished fourth. He went off and hit a barrier on Friday’s opening super special, damaging his car, but continued with determination – only to receive a two-minute penalty for breaching parc fermé rules, which dropped him from third to fourth.
The rally, round three of the 2024 Lebanese Rally Championship, was held in hot summer weather in front of big crowds on the stages, and covered 636.70km including 199.08km over 11 asphalt special stages in Keserwan, Jbeil, Batroun and the Metn.
Unofficial final classification
- Roger Feghali / Joseph Matar – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10: 1h54m44s
- Bassel Abu Hamdan / Firas Elias – Volkswagen Polo GTI: 1h56m13s
- Rabih Ayoub / Georges Nader – Skoda Fabia: 1h58m54s
- Carl Rizk / Karim Abou Elias – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10: 1h59m31s
- Rodrigue Rahi / Nabil Kombaz – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9: 2h02m39s
- Tarek Younis / Salim Jleilaty – Ford Fiesta RS: 2h04m07s
- Ahmad Khaled / Musa Djiyerian (Jordan) – Ford Fiesta: 2h05m33s
- Charbel Chebli / Dolyne Chlink – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9: 2h05m44s
- Paul Ksaifi / Rawad Issa – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8: 2h09m23s
- Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah (Qatar) / Ziad Chehab – Ford Fiesta: 2h09m35s
- Chadi Fakieh / Samer Sfeir – Renault Clio 1.3: 2h10m14s
- David Mezher / Chady Nasr – Citroën DS3: 2h10m51s
- Joseph Salem / Carlos Hanna – Peugeot 208: 2h10m54s
- Rouwad El-Hachem / Gary Koundakjian – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9: 2h12m30s
- Ria Dagher / Nadim Abou Elias – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10: 2h16m17s
- Henry Kahy / Ramy Menhem – Citroën DS3: 2h25m23s
- Serge Akiki / Elie Mhanna – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8: 2h31m30s
- Joey El Hajj / Christopher Kanledjian – Hyundai: 2h43m57s
- Joanna Hassoun / Clara Janbar – Renault Clio RS: 2h51m08s
- Camille Moucharrafieh / Naji Sfeir – Honda Civic: 3h04m11s
- Jason Wehbe / Andre Mhanna – Citroën DS3: 3h07m39s
- Nidal Al Jurdi / Fouad Harb – Peugeot 206: 3h12m23s
Class awards
- RC2 NR4: 1. Carl Rizk / Karim Abou Elias, 2. Rodrigue Rahi / Nabil Kombaz, 3. Tarek Younis / Salim Jleilaty (also homologation cup)
- RC3 Rally3: Ahmad Khaled / Musa Djiyerian
- RC2 NR4 cup and women’s co-driver cup: Charbel Chebli / Dolyne Chlink
- RC5 Rally5: 1. Chadi Fakieh / Samer Sfeir, 2. Joey El Hajj / Christopher Kanledjian, 3. Jason Wehbe / Andre Mhanna
- RC4 R3T: 1. David Mezher / Chady Nasr, 2. Henry Kahy / Ramy Menhem
- RC4 Rally4: Joseph Salem / Carlos Hanna
- RC4 R3 and young female driver and co-driver cup: Joanna Hassoun / Clara Janbar
- NS NS3: 1. Serge Akiki / Elie Mhanna, 2. Camille Moucharrafieh / Naji Sfeir
- NS NS1: Nidal Al Jurdi / Fouad Harb
- Ladies’ Cup: Ria Dagher
Podium ceremony
The podium ceremony at the ATCL in Kaslik was attended by official, military and sporting figures, club officials, guests, sponsors and motorsport fans, led by Youth and Sports Ministry director-general Fadia Hallal, representing Minister Dr George Kallas; Lebanese Olympic Committee president Dr Pierre Jalkh; Brigadier General Georges Sofia, representing Army Commander General Joseph Aoun; Lieutenant Colonel Georges Salloum, representing ISF Director General Major General Imad Osman; Major Dimitri Sakr, representing acting General Security Director General Major General Elias Baissari; ATCL president lawyer Elie Assaf; secretary-general Camille Eddé; treasurer lawyer Gilbert Massihi; Miss Lebanon Nada Koussa; ATCL motorsport committee head and FIA rally committee chairman Imad Lahoud; ministerial advisers Dr Raja Labaki and lawyer Ibrahim Chouairi; ATCL board members; the family of the late Dr Robert Sassi, long-time clerk of the course of the Mountain Rally and the Rally of Lebanon, after whom SS11 was named; the family of the late ATCL board member Sheikh Nabil El Khazen, after whom the classic car race was named; national sports committee director Sleiman Khattar; motorsport department head Gaby Kraiker; clerk of the course lawyer Ziad Jammous; rally officials and sponsors.
Photos: MMS Racing.