Lebanon’s Feghali wins 1st round of National Rally

DEAD SEA — Lebanon’s Roger Feghali on Friday was crowned champion of the first round of the National Rally Championship.

Feghali and co-driver Joseph Matar in their Ford Fiesta RRC reigned over the 13 strong drivers after clocking 45m02s, followed by Jordan’s Khaled Juma and co-driver Imad Juma (55m17s), in their Mitsubishi Evo 7, and Amjad Sheikh and co-driver Abdullah Ebdah (58m 10s), in their Subaru N 14.

Only seven out of 13 cars reached the finish line in the event, organised by Jordan Motorsport, which was plagued by early retirements, and one accident by Basheer Azar and co-driver Mohammad Azarbeh at Al Moujeb stage.

Jordan’s four-time champion and veteran driver Marouf Abu Samra, Yazan Qatan and Suhail Abu Roos retired before the start due to mechanical problems. Jordan’s Ihab Shurafa and Lebanon’s Patrick Najm both retired in the first stage due to mechanical problems.

Feghali forced his way into controlling the rally from the start. He won the first stage in 4m55s, leaving Najm and Juma behind. This scene was repeated in the second and third stages. 

Balata 1 witnessed Najm’s withdrawal which gave a precious opportunity for Juma to move to second place.

Othman Naseef, Jordan Motorsport CEO said that it was a tough challenge.

“Usually the first round is tough as drivers try to find harmony in dealing with the first challenge. It is unfortunate that we had to witness some early retirements but this is rallying and anything can happen,” he said.

“I believe all drivers did their best in their mission and the competition was high among drivers. We need more female drivers to participate in rallying and maybe this will happen in the second round,” he added.

Drivers had to cover a total distance of 221.47km with seven special stages.

Lebanese drivers are taking part in the event after the FIA, the governing body of motor sports worldwide, decision to divide the Middle East Rally Championship into zones.

The first zone consists of Lebanon, Syria, Cyprus and Jordan while the second consists of Dubai, Qatar and Oman.