July 10, 2015 – Elie Nehme successfully completed the 24th Cedars’ Rally, the third round of the 2015 Lebanese Rally Championship, crossing the chequered flag in the top 10 and fifth in his class.
Sponsored by USG BORAL and X-Concepts Automobili, Elie Nehme teamed up with his regular co-driver Louay Sakr for the event in a Renault Clio R3.
Nehme put on a super consistent and composed performance amid fierce competition and was able to better his times stage after stage to eventually and most importantly finish the rally with no issues whatsoever, whilst plenty of others retired.
The 24th Cedars’ Rally consisted of 12 special stages covering 97 kilometers of the 345-kilometer total distance. SS1, SS5 and SS9 took place on a 5.47-kilometer stage in Kfarhazir. SS2, SS6 and SS10 on a 9.2-kilometer course in Bhabbouch. SS3, SS7 and SS11 on a 5.07-kilometer stage in Sereel. SS4, SS8 and SS12 on the lengthiest 12.73-kilometer stage in Mazraat El Toufah.
In the end, Nehme was officially classified fifth in the front-wheel drive class and 10th overall ahead of faster cars that were part of a 24-car entry list.
Besides taking the chequered, Nehme and Sakr also focused on improving the car and accumulating valuable kilometers ahead of the biggest event of the year, the 38th Rally of Lebanon, which is the fourth round of the 2015 Middle East Rally Championship.
The 38th Rally of Lebanon, which is also the fourth and final round of the 2015 Lebanese Rally Championship, is scheduled on September 4-6-5, and Nehme’s target for the event is to emulate his performance from last year’s edition, in which he finished a fantastic second in the front-wheel drive class.