The 2014 Spring Rally holds a lot of unknowns especially after the many changes that took place in the offseason as we have written before in a previous feature. There is no doubt that Roger Feghali and Abdo Feghali in addition to Nicolas Amiouni will be the favorites to close down the podium. Competition in the group N category this year will be tough as always especially after the full return of Tamer Ghandour and the good preparation of Eddy Abou Karam, Joe Kfoury and many others. The rally though will witness the absence of Joseph Hindy, Chafic Boulos and Gilbert Bannout for different reasons.
Although things look interesting in the Group N Category, The FWD category will witness all the action and thrill. This category is now under the spotlight for many reasons, most notably the availability of new cars in the form of 2 Citroen DS3 R3. The category will witness this time around; the return of Lebanese rally Legend Christian Kurban on a Clio R3 Maxi prepared by Lebanese FWD Rally Champion Ghassan Khoury, in addition to Henry Massad who is back for a full season on a Clio R3 Maxi managed by Motortune (Same car that was driven by Robert Aaraj last year). On the other hand the championship witnesses the return of Bassel Abou Hamdan but this year on a brand new Citroen DS3 R3 which will be managed by TGRS. Aaraj who won the championship last year in the absence of any competitor has also made the shift to the DS3 that will be managed by Motortune. On the other hand Ziad Feghali has made a return to the championship on a Clio RS, a car relatively older and slower than the ones mentioned above but Ziad has the experience and speed to challenge upfront. Many usual faces have returned to scene such as Hisham Al Abiad, Walid Chlink, and Bechara Bachir with the new entry of Tarek Jaber.
Looking at the names above, we can absolutely notice that many got a lot to prove. Kurban needs to prove he still as it, while Henry also fits in the same category. Bassel will be looking to take advantage of a new car and try to prove himself while Aaraj is under a lot of pressure to defend his title against drivers who are reputed to be faster. Ziad Feghali on the other hand will be looking to be the dark horse and prove that he has speed. All factors are building up to make the championship in this category very interesting.
From a personal point of view, I guess that Bassel Abou Hamdan and Christian Kurban will need the first 2 stages to get the momentum. Bassel has never practiced on the car and Christian will a bit Rusty after being away for so long. On the other hand Aaraj, and Massad should grasp the opportunity to create a gap. Looking into the battle we can also see that their will be a big competition between Aaraj and Massad within the same team. Massad driving Aaraj’s old car will be looking forward to beat him in the same manner as he did in Summer Rally 2013 when Massad was driving a much slower Clio RS. Its also a chance to see if Aaraj’s choice of shifting to the DS3 is right.
There are a lot of new factors in the game, and with no doubt 5 drivers are driving totally new cars for the first time in a Rally. In an interview with Christian Kurban he said he is in it to win and this is reasonably the target of all drivers, but with the rain factor looming in the horizon, big risks will be taken and action would be at its utmost.
… excitement at its most and many facts will be unveiled. FWD the mother of all battles.