September 3, 2015 – Following a fifth place finish in the front-wheel drive class at the 24th Cedars’ Rally, Lebanese rally driver Elie Nehme is now preparing for the most important event on the 2015 Lebanese motorsport calendar, the 38th Rally of Lebanon, which is taking place between September 4 and 6.
Nehme, who will sit alongside Louay Sakr in a Renault Clio R3, has had a bittersweet season so far, with trouble in the Jezzine Rally and a fifth place in the Cedars’ Rally, and the latter has given him the motivation to score an even better result in Rally of Lebanon.
However, Nehme is aware that the competition is going to be extremely tough, and that he’ll be facing drivers with newer and better machinery.
“There are five drivers in the front-wheel drive class that have better cars, so realistically, my aim is to finish in the top 10 overall, but I’m always up for a good fight and I hope I can compete for better positions in my class.”
Working abroad and having a tight schedule meant that Nehme hasn’t had the time to properly test the Clio R3 ahead of Rally of Lebanon, but he has undertaken shakedown in order to be able to perform some last-minutetuning to the car.
Nehme will be backed by USG BORAL and X-Concepts Automobili, who both have been his main sponsors since the beginning of the season.
“I would like to thank my sponsors USG BORAL and X-Concepts Automobili, who have supported me and believed in me throughout the season. A big thank you to my co-driver Louay Sakr, who’s always helping me improve, and of course, to Ghassan Khoury and the team for the great work they’ve been doing.”
This isn’t the first time that he competes in Rally of Lebanon; he partook in the 2001, 2002, 2003, 2013 and 2014 editions of the event, and clinched the 1600cc class win in 2013 onboard a Suzuki Swift Sport, before finishing second in the front-wheel drive class in the Renault Clio R3 last year.
The 38th Rally of Lebanon will consist of 13 special stages, starting with a super special stage on Friday, September 4, in RPM circuit in Mtein at 7:30 PM, followed by 6 special stages on Saturday in Blat, Toula and Ain Aaya, and another 6 in Zandouka, Zabbougha and Nahr Ibrahim on Sunday.
