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Agencies
Nicosia
Cyprus Rally record-holder Nasser Al Attiyah and co-driver Matthieu Baumel tumbled out of the race on Saturday after their Volkswagen Polo GTi went off-road at the end of the sixth and final stage of the day, causing a bush fire and the stage to be cancelled.
The timely and effective intervention of the security and firefighting teams of the organizers, the Department of Forests and the Fire Service prevented the spread of the bush fire. The crew is in good health but the damage to the car is severe, which does not allow them to continue the rally, officials said.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s Nasser Khalifa Al Atya and co-driver Ata Al Hmoud achieved the 15th position driving Ford Fiesta R5 in the rally -- which is the fourth round of Middle East Rally Championship.
Nasser Saadon Al Kuwari and the Kuwaiti driever Meshari Althefiri finished 3rd in the MERC2 category.
Alexandros Tsouloftas / Stelios Elia (Volkswagen Polo GTi) , who finished second in all five stages, emerged as the new leaders after local rallyist Simos Galatariotis with his co-driver Antonis Loannou were handed a one-minute penalty after the end of Leg 1. They lead by 33.1 seconds with Al Rawahi and Al Hmoud 4:12.5 following behind.
Omani rallying legend Hamed Al Wahaibi impressed on his return to international competition at the Nicosia-based Cyprus Rallyas he set a fifth and a fourth quickest time on the opening two special stages before a setback cost him his place in the top five on SS3.
The 53-year-old and co-driver Tony Sircombe were revelling in their return to the stages as a partnership that thrived 20 years ago in the FIA World Rally Championship.
Despite the setback on stage three, the team will restart under Rally2 regulations on Sunday and hope to complete the Cyprus round of the regional rally series.
“Unfortunately we were not able to finish the stages on the first day,” said Al Wahaibi. “We slipped off the road entering a narrow corner. Tony and I are still learning with the new car and we will try and find out where the error occurred, maybe in the pace notes. We performed well before the accident. The car is in good condition and we can return for the last day.”
Sircombe added: “It was just one of those things. A slight mistake in the notes, it appears. It was a narrow corner with a drop off. We knew it tightened but it was a bit deceptive at the beginning. It looked like it was a lot wider than it really is and it put us out.”
Al Rawahi from Oman climbed into third place together with co-driver Al Hamoud (Jordan) in a Ford Fiesta, 5:15.2. behind Tsouloftas / Elia.
Half a minute behind them are Petros Pantelis / Pampos Laos (Ford Fiesta). Leading in MERC 2 are Christodoulou with co-driver Xenophontos and a Subaru Impreza WRX while in the two-wheeled (2WD) category Televantos / Stavrou are ahead with a Peugeot 208.
Sunday schedule
All will be determined on Sunday (26/9) with six special stages on the schedule, three in the morning and three in the noon, with a total distance of 85.98km.
In Lythrodontas, a rich spectacle is expected in a popular spot just outside the village, with the cars making a 360 degree turn with the handbrake, around an artificial obstacle. The stage of Lythrodontas starts at 08:58 CY and 13:27 CY while in the program there are two more special stages: Agios Epiphanios (09:56 CY, 14:25 CY) and Agia Marina (10:44 CY, 15:13 CY).
The rally ends at 18:00hrs at Eleftheria Square, in the courtyard of the Old City Hall.
Results
General Ranking
1. Tsouloftas/Elia (Volkswagen Polo GTi)
2. Galatariotis/Loannou (Volkswagen Polo GTi) + 33.1
3. Al Rawahi/Hmoud (Ford Fiesta) +5:26.9
4. P. Panteli/P. Laos (Citroen DS3) +5:54.3
5. Yiangou/Englezou (Hyundai i20) 6:04.5
6. Christodoulou/Xenophontos (Subaru Impreza WRX) +7:37.1
13. Televantos/Stavrou (Peugeot 208) +11:58.9
Nicosia
Cyprus Rally record-holder Nasser Al Attiyah and co-driver Matthieu Baumel tumbled out of the race on Saturday after their Volkswagen Polo GTi went off-road at the end of the sixth and final stage of the day, causing a bush fire and the stage to be cancelled.
The timely and effective intervention of the security and firefighting teams of the organizers, the Department of Forests and the Fire Service prevented the spread of the bush fire. The crew is in good health but the damage to the car is severe, which does not allow them to continue the rally, officials said.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s Nasser Khalifa Al Atya and co-driver Ata Al Hmoud achieved the 15th position driving Ford Fiesta R5 in the rally -- which is the fourth round of Middle East Rally Championship.
Nasser Saadon Al Kuwari and the Kuwaiti driever Meshari Althefiri finished 3rd in the MERC2 category.
Alexandros Tsouloftas / Stelios Elia (Volkswagen Polo GTi) , who finished second in all five stages, emerged as the new leaders after local rallyist Simos Galatariotis with his co-driver Antonis Loannou were handed a one-minute penalty after the end of Leg 1. They lead by 33.1 seconds with Al Rawahi and Al Hmoud 4:12.5 following behind.
Omani rallying legend Hamed Al Wahaibi impressed on his return to international competition at the Nicosia-based Cyprus Rallyas he set a fifth and a fourth quickest time on the opening two special stages before a setback cost him his place in the top five on SS3.
The 53-year-old and co-driver Tony Sircombe were revelling in their return to the stages as a partnership that thrived 20 years ago in the FIA World Rally Championship.
Despite the setback on stage three, the team will restart under Rally2 regulations on Sunday and hope to complete the Cyprus round of the regional rally series.
“Unfortunately we were not able to finish the stages on the first day,” said Al Wahaibi. “We slipped off the road entering a narrow corner. Tony and I are still learning with the new car and we will try and find out where the error occurred, maybe in the pace notes. We performed well before the accident. The car is in good condition and we can return for the last day.”
Sircombe added: “It was just one of those things. A slight mistake in the notes, it appears. It was a narrow corner with a drop off. We knew it tightened but it was a bit deceptive at the beginning. It looked like it was a lot wider than it really is and it put us out.”
Al Rawahi from Oman climbed into third place together with co-driver Al Hamoud (Jordan) in a Ford Fiesta, 5:15.2. behind Tsouloftas / Elia.
Half a minute behind them are Petros Pantelis / Pampos Laos (Ford Fiesta). Leading in MERC 2 are Christodoulou with co-driver Xenophontos and a Subaru Impreza WRX while in the two-wheeled (2WD) category Televantos / Stavrou are ahead with a Peugeot 208.
Sunday schedule
All will be determined on Sunday (26/9) with six special stages on the schedule, three in the morning and three in the noon, with a total distance of 85.98km.
In Lythrodontas, a rich spectacle is expected in a popular spot just outside the village, with the cars making a 360 degree turn with the handbrake, around an artificial obstacle. The stage of Lythrodontas starts at 08:58 CY and 13:27 CY while in the program there are two more special stages: Agios Epiphanios (09:56 CY, 14:25 CY) and Agia Marina (10:44 CY, 15:13 CY).
The rally ends at 18:00hrs at Eleftheria Square, in the courtyard of the Old City Hall.
Results
General Ranking
1. Tsouloftas/Elia (Volkswagen Polo GTi)
2. Galatariotis/Loannou (Volkswagen Polo GTi) + 33.1
3. Al Rawahi/Hmoud (Ford Fiesta) +5:26.9
4. P. Panteli/P. Laos (Citroen DS3) +5:54.3
5. Yiangou/Englezou (Hyundai i20) 6:04.5
6. Christodoulou/Xenophontos (Subaru Impreza WRX) +7:37.1
13. Televantos/Stavrou (Peugeot 208) +11:58.9
