FIA Cyprus Rally Underway

Round 2 of this year’s FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) got underway in Cyprus today with the Ceremonial Start of the 2008 Cyprus Rally.

Held on the seafront promenade of the popular coastal resort of Limassol, the Start attracted a strong contingent of rally fans from Cyprus and overseas who turned out to get their first glimpse of the 49 crews that will be competing this year’s Cyprus Rally. The event was also well attended by local dignitaries, including Minister of Commerce, Industry & Tourism Mr Antonis Paschalides, and a number of other government ministers and officials.

The Cyprus Rally is always a popular event with motorsport fans and with a strong field of local and international drivers competing this weekend’s event, the 2008 Cyprus Rally looks set to be the most exciting yet.

Given their considerable success in Cyprus over recent years, an impressive drive is expected of Qatar's Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and his Ulster co-driver Chris Patterson in their Subaru Impreza WRX N14. But Jordan's Amjad Farrah and Nicola Arena - seeded 2nd in their Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX.

Other familiar faces crossing the Start Ramp here today included Saudi Arabia's Yazeed Al-Rajihi, Qatar’s Misfer Al-Mari, Souhail Al-Maktoum of the UAE, Lebanon's Michel Saleh, and Qatar’s Khalifa Al-Attiyah. Current Cyprus Championship leader Constantinos Tingirides is also competing, along with fellow Cypriots Nicos Thomas, Savva Savvas, Stavros Antoniou, Andreas Tsouloftas, and Dimitris Papasavvas.

A reinvigorated event for 2008, featuring a combination of new special stages, stages that were first introduced last year, and a selection of classic stages, the Cyprus Rally is ready for its return to the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) calendar in 2009. But as Clerk of the Course Takis Kyriakides explains, it is important that the fans play their part in ensuring the event’s place in next year’s WRC:

"Everyone involved in the Cyprus Rally has worked extra hard this year to ensure that this is our most exciting event yet. But please remember that FIA observers will be here for the course of the rally, and our return to the WRC next year will depend on their report.

So I call on everyone to not only come along and support the Cyprus Rally, but also to pay careful attention to the safety guidelines. Like our island, our rally has a reputation for being friendly, fun and safe, so let’s do everything we can to keep it that way."

The action proper gets underway tomorrow morning at 08:30 at the Service Park. Day 1 will see drivers tackle a total of 453.68km, including 104.65km of Special Stage action, with the first car entering Special Stage (SS) 1 (Lagoudera – Kapouras) at 09:53, SS2 (Kourdali – Ag. Theodoros) at 10:46, and SS3 (Orkontas – Galata) at 11:54. Crews will return to Limassol Service at 13:54 and then head out again at 14:14 to tackle the last stage of the day SS4 (Anadiou – Anadiou) at 15:37. Parc Ferme in at the Service Park is at 17:35.

Crews will cover a further 456.04km on Sunday, including 122.75km of Special Stages. Parc Ferme out is at 07:00, with the first car entering the first stage of the day - SS5 (Foini – Koilinia) at 08:08, and SS6 (Anadiou – Anadiou Short 1) at 09:21, before returning to Limassol Service at 11:46. Crews will then head out for the last two stages of the event – SS7 (Anadiou – Anadiou Short 2) at 13:29, and SS8 (Panagia – Arminou) at 14:30. Cars will return to the Service Park for final Service at 16:20, with the Finish soon after. The Finish Ceremony and prizegiving will take place in Limassol later in the afternoon.

The very latest technology will be employed for monitoring and timekeeping the event and the official website - www.cyprusrally.com.cy – will be regularly updated over the weekend to keep everyone in touch with the action.

The Cyprus Rally is organised by the Cyprus Automobile Association (CAA) with support from the Cyprus Tourism Organisation, and is sponsored by Cyta, Golden Telecom, Coca Cola Zero, Compusource, and Travelscope.

Cyprus hosts two rounds of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship this year. The Troodos Rally, Round 6 of the 2008 MERC and the penultimate event in this year’s calendar, will be held in Cyprus between the 7th & 9th November.

For further information about the 2008 Cyprus Rally, www.cyprusrally.com.cy  

-Action PR Group- also photos