Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Lebanon’s Nicolas Amiouni and co-driver Chadi Beyrouthy on Friday were crowned champions of the first round of the National Rally Championship.

In a day filled with rain and surprises, Amiouni was able to come from behind and erase all his bad memories of last year’s first round to take the lead in 1h01m56s, leaving his teammate Nicola Gorgio in second place (1h02m22s) and Jordan’s Mazen Tantash in third place (1h05m17s).

Jordan’s Marouf Abu Samra, who made his return to the rally scene this season, finished fourth (1h09m14s).

The rally witnessed the early retirement of Lebanon’s champion Roger Feghali, who took the lead in the first and second stages until the third stage (Kafrain 1) when he and several other drivers were forced to retire due to mechanical problems.

Feghali’s teammate Shafiq Bolos, and Jordan’s Rami Hijazi and Basheer Azer also retired early opening the door for Amiouni to force his way into the lead.

Jordan’s Ala Khalifeh put more pressure on his car in the 4th and 5th stages with hopes of winning the season’s opener.

In Kafrain 2, Khalifeh crashed out with mechanical problems.

“It was a very tough rally and the level of competition was really hard. I had to put more pressure especially after Feghali’s retirement. The car was in excellent condition and did what it had to do,” Amiouni said.

A total of 12 drivers from Jordan and Lebanon took part in the event organised by Jordan Motorsports.

Ehab Bate, rally director, said that it was well-organised event and everyone was able to enjoy a day of competition without any accidents.

Drivers had to cover 87.50km of six special stages while the total distance of the rally was 206.66km.


* Jordan Times