QNA
Qatari driver Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah moved to the top of the general standings of the Middle East Rally Championship after taking second place in the 43rd Lebanon International Rally, the third round of the 2021 season, which was held over three days with the participation from 27 Arab and international countries.
Al Attiyah, accompanied by Frenchman Mathieu Baumel in a "Volkswagen Polo GTI R5", broke the race in a time of 1.51.41 hours, and finished second, only 26 seconds behind the Lebanese driver Roger Feghali, accompanied by his navigator and his compatriot Joseph Matar in the "Skoda Fabia Rally". 2", the first with a time of 1.51.15 hours, which achieved his 15th victory in the Rally of his country, enhancing his record.
The Lebanese Alex Feghali, accompanied by his navigator, and his compatriot George Daibes in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, ranked third with a time of 2.01.15 hours, while the Lebanese Shadi Fakih, accompanied by his navigator and his compatriot Samer Sfeir in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9, came fourth with a time of 2.05. 13 hours, while the Lebanese Tariq Younes, accompanied by his navigator and his compatriot Ronny Bou Abdo in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 car, completed the list of the first five places with a time of 2.06.34 hours.
Occupying second place, Hafez Attiyah ranked first in the Middle East Championship and came very close to winning the 17th title in this championship, after raising his score to 102 points, far ahead of his closest competitor, Kuwaiti Meshary Al-Dhafiri, who ranked second with 60 points, after he finished eighth in the Lebanon Rally.
Al Attiyah expressed his happiness at maintaining the overall lead in the Middle East Championship and finishing the Lebanon Rally in second place, despite the difficulties he faced, pointing out that he faced problems on the second day of the rally, which led to his relegation and second place, 35 seconds behind the Lebanese Roger Feghali. On the final day, he tried a lot to hold on to the lead, but the problems did not leave him to finish the rally in second place.
The Lebanon Rally is considered one of the most difficult rounds of the prestigious regional championship due to the diversity of the nature of its tracks between gravel and asphalt requires special specifications and a state of great focus and ability to control on the part of the drivers. The total distance of the rally is 478.83 km, of which 192.30 km are the length of the 10 special stages. Stages (opening demo stage and special speed stages) on an asphalt track.