Syrian International Rally (SYR) - 31 Aug - 2 Sep 05

Posted: September 2, 2005 6:18 PM

Ulster / Belgian duo to handle competitor’s liaison on Rally Ireland Partnered by Northern Ireland's Chris Patterson - who secured his first regional co-drivers' title - Al-Attiyah had extended his 57 second overnight advantage over Sheikh Khaled Al-Qassimi to 2m 25s after 13 timed special stages over remote, twisty tracks in the hills, near Sednaya and Maaloula, north of Damascus.

But Al-Attiyah had been fortunate. Al-Qassimi incurred two minutes of road penalties changing a rear suspension arm on a road section and was unable to benefit from beating Al-Attiyah by around 40 seconds in the 11th stage when the Qatari sustained two slow punctures.

The pair exchanged times over the subsequent stages, as Al-Qassimi refused to relinquish his title without a fight. The UAE driver won the 14th and 15th stages, but the Qatari redressed the balance in SS16 to lead by 1m 55s and eventually emerged victorious by a winning margin of 1m 59s to record his first Syrian Rally victory and his sixth successive triumph in the region this year.

Al-Attiyah has now been unbeaten in the Middle East region since the Syria Rally last September. His success also moved Japanese manufacturer Subaru 12 points clear of arch rivals Mitsubishi in the FIA Middle East Manufacturers' Championship.

"It was not easy to push hard on these stages," said Al-Attiyah. "To drive hard was also putting you in a position where you risked wrecking the car. But I am delighted to have broken my run of bad luck in Syria and won here for the first time. Securing the championship was the priority this weekend and we can now go to Cyprus and Dubai and enjoy the last two rallies without any pressure.

"I hear rumours that Mohammed (Ben Sulayem) is thinking of making a return next year. If this is true I look forward to it. The extra competition will be great for the championship."

Qassimi was understandably disappointed at losing his regional title. "It was so frustrating," said Al-Qassimi. "I pushed hard, but we broke the rear arm and it was impossible to control the rear of the car in tight corners. We lost two minutes making repairs on the road and then gained some time on the next stage. There was always a chance that we could regain the time. I just needed a little bit of luck. I had nothing to lose and just decided to push right to the end to try and put pressure on Nasser all the time."

Former regional Group N champion Sheikh Abdullah Al-Qassimi made some minor differential setting changes to his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 8 before the restart this morning. He began the day 41 seconds ahead of Jordan's Amjad Farrah and quickly extended his advantage, as Farrah suffered centre differential problems and struggled to eat into the UAE driver's advantage. Problems on the second run through the Maloula stage spelt the end of the Jordanian's challenge for third place.

"I started this morning and was quite hopeful that I could catch Abdullah," said a disappointed Farrah. "The three drivers in front were cutting corners and dislodging rocks into the track. I think we must have hit one quite hard, because it damaged the differential sensor. It was not easy to control the car in corners for two stages."

Syria's Mirar Al-Houmsi finished in fifth position with Lebanese co-driver Ziad Chehab and the UAE's Sadiq Fadhel completed the top six in his Mitsubishi. Jordan's Faris Bustami finished seventh overall.

Electrical problems forced Bahrain's Hassan Al-Sadadi to restart the second leg under the SupeRally ruling, where he was joined by Syria's Bashar Abou Khoura, Kuwait's Mufeed Mubarak, Jordan's Mazen Tantash, Saudi Arabia's Khalid Al-Faisal and the Kuwaiti Super 1600 duo of Meshal Al-Nejadi and Shaker Al-Raies.

Kuwait's Meshal Al-Nejadi was one of the beneficiaries of the SupeRally system and benefitted from the terminal transmission problems which blighted team mate and rival Shaker Al-Raies on Thursday to stay in contention for the Super 1600 Championship with two events remaining.

Syria's Haitham Al-Yousifi and his Qatari co-driver Adel Hussein had been running as high as third overall during the opening leg, but they were later penalised for a pair of jump starts and handed a 10-minute penalty for a route infringement. The Syrian duly dropped out of the top 10 and decided against restarting the second leg on Friday. Chassis damage thwarted Abdo Feghali's chances of restarting under SupeRally conditions this morning. He had damaged the car in a third stage wadi on Thursday.

Additional support for the Syria Rally came from Areeba, Sheraton Ma'aret Sednaya, Almadina FM and Hamsho International. Round seven of the regional series will be the Nicosia-based Troodos Rally in Cyprus on October 6th-9th.

Positions after SS17 (provisional):
1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QA)/Chris Patterson (GB) Subaru Impreza WRX STi 2h 47m 31s
2. Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi (UAE)/Nicky Beech (GB) Subaru Impreza WRX STi 2h 49m 30s
3. Sheikh Abdullah Al-Qassimi (UAE)/Steve Lancaster (GB) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 8 2h 54m 34s
4. Amjad Farrah (HKJ)/Khaled Zakaria (HKJ) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 8 2h 59m 53s
5. Mirar Al-Houmsi (SYR)/Ziad Chehab (RL) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 7 3h 00m 17s

Results:
Syrian Rally

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PRE EVENT NEWS

• TEAMS FINALISE PREPARATIONS FOR SYRIA INTERNATIONAL RALLY
• SYRIA INTERNATIONAL RALLY GETS UNDERWAY THIS WEEK
• SYRIAN AUTOMOBILE CLUB ON TRACK FOR NEXT ROUND OF MIDDLE EAST RALLY SERIES
• SYRIAN AUTOMOBILE CLUB ANNOUNCES NEW-LOOK SYRIAN INTERNATIONAL RALLY

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30/08/05
TEAMS FINALISE PREPARATIONS FOR SYRIA INTERNATIONAL RALLY
Qatar's Al-Attiyah on brink of second regional title;
HRH Prince Feisel Al-Hussein delighted with Jordanian entry

The most talented rally drivers in the Middle East have been putting the finishing touches to their preparations for this weekend's Syria International Rally over the last two days. Teams from Syria, Jordan, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Kuwait and Qatar have taken advantage of a two-day reconaissance period to take a closer look at the 16 special stages they will face on Thursday and Friday.

Top seed is the defending FIA Middle East Rally Champion Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi, but the UAE driver is in grave danger of losing his title this weekend. The 2003 champion Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah has enjoyed a sensational season behind the wheel of his Subaru Impreza and has won each of the opening five rallies in Al-Ain, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Jordan to give himself a maximum 50 points in the FIA Middle East Drivers' Championship.

Al-Qassimi has collected 30 points from four finishes - a third place in Jordan in May and three runner-up positions - but he will relinquish his regional title on Friday evening should his Qatari rival take a sixth successive maximum points' haul.

"There were nine rallies at the start of the season, but we lost the Rally of Lebanon," said the FIA's Regional Commissioner Derek Ledger. "That meant the series being reduced to eight rounds with the best seven scores to count that had been earned by each driver eligible for the overall championship. If Nasser wins in Syria he will have 60 points from six starts and there would be no way that Al-Qassimi could catch him."

Even if Al-Qassimi was to win the final two events of the season in Cyprus and finish second this weekend, he would fall two points short of the 60-point target set by Al-Attiyah, regardless of whether the Qatari scored points on the final two rounds. Third-placed Sheikh Suhail Bin Khalifa Al-Maktoum has already conceded defeat and decided not to tackle the rally this weekend.

"It has been a great season for me so far," said Al-Attiyah, who can also mathematically take a unique double FIA victory this year. No Arab driver has ever won an FIA regional championship and the coveted FIA Production World Rally Championship (PWRC) title in the same season, but favourable performances by Al-Attiyah in Wales and Australia in the coming weeks, coupled to a favourable result by his rivals in Japan could see the Doha-based driver enter the rallying history books.

"The new stages in Syria are really impressive," added the Qatari. "They suit my driving style. This rally has not been too kind to me in the last couple of seasons, but I am determined to make amends. A win would be nice, but the championship has to be the priority."

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is fielding seven teams in the Syrian Rally and His Royal Highness Prince Feisel Al-Hussain, Chairman of Jordan Motorsport, is understandably delighted. "I am excited at the prospect of seven teams competing from Jordan and wish them every success. Our FIA WRC bid has captured the imagination of our local competitors and it is something we hope the region as a whole will benefit from and will support. It is encouraging to see that Syria will be hosting such a strong field for a Middle East rally and we wish them every success with their event this weekend."

"We have worked hard to make the route as compact and challenging as possible ," said Hani Sheban, Chairman of the Organising Committee. "This year there will be two new special stages. One will run on Thursday and one on Friday and they will be repeated twice. We have received favourable feedback so far from all the visiting teams and that is a terrific boost for the organsing team before the weekend."

The rally starts from the Al-Jalaa Club Mezzah in Damascus on Wednesday and this will be followed by a timed 'super special' stage to be shown live on Syrian Television. There will be 16 special stages in the Sednaya and Maloula areas. Additional support for the rally comes from Areeba, the Sheraton Ma'aret Saydnaya and Hamsho International.

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28/08/05
Qatar's Al-Attiyah looks to secure second regional title; Strong Syrian contingent for home special stage event

Qatar's Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah will be hoping to clinch his second FIA Middle East Rally Championship title, when he and Ulster co-driver Michael Patterson start as favourites to win the Syria International Rally, north of Damascus, this weekend.

The Qatari won the series for the first time in 2003 and has taken five successive victories this season in his Subaru Impreza WRX STi. Should he manage to take a sixth victory of the year over the mountaineous special stages around Sednaya on Thursday and Friday, he will be in an unassailable position in the championship standings.

The Syria Rally ran for the first time in 2000 and joined the regional series the following season. It has established itself as one of the best rounds of the series and will be held under the patronage of the Ministry of Tourism this weekend, with organisational support supplied to the Syrian Automobile Club by new Swedish Clerk of the Course Bengt Gustavsson and FIA event consultant Derek Ledger.

Syria will be strongly represented this weekend with no less than five local drivers set to challenge Al-Attiyah for overall honours. Mohammed Hamsho burst on to the rally scene two years ago in a powerful Subaru Impreza, but was injured while competing in the Dubai Rally at the end of that season. He was forced to miss the following championship and the opening rounds of this year's championship, but returns to head the Syrian Rally Team in his Subaru Impreza.

He is joined by Amir Arnaout and Mirar Al-Houmsi in a pair of Syrian Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions and Bashar Abou Koura in his Areeba Rally Team Subaru. Haitham Al-Yousifi and Qatar's Abdulrahman Al-Hajri complete the Syrian Rally Team line-up in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 7. Lebanon's Abdo Feghali and Joseph Mattar have also been entered under the Areeba Rally Team banner in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 8.

While the UAE's Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi bids to challenge Al-Attiyah for the overall title with new co-driver Nicky Beech, his rival Sheikh Suhail Bin Khalifa Al-Maktoum has decided to miss the event to give his team time to prepare a new car for the Dubai International Rally at the start of December. Cypriot Andreas Tsouloftas and former Group N champion Sheikh Abdullah Al-Qassimi could also feature on the podium on Friday.

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is currently bidding to host a future round of the FIA World Rally Championship, but the Kingdom will be strongly represented in neighbouring Syria. Team Jordan driver Amjad Farrah and former championship-winning co-driver Khalid Zakaria currently hold sixth position in their respective championships and head the Jordanian contingent, which includes Mazen Tantash in his Sport Academy Racing Team Mitsubishi, Asem Aref and Faris Bustami in his Damas Rally Team Mitsubishi.

The Jordanian contingent is completed by lady driver Abir Batikhi in a two-wheel drive Opel Corsa and both Fateen Al-Baddad and Zayed Al-Baddad in a pair of Al-Baddad Rally Team Subarus.

Bustami, the former Jordanian National Champion, is joined in a five-strong Damas Rally Team by the UAE's Abdullah Tamjid and Sadiq Fadel, Germany's Edith Weiss and Kuwait's Meshari Al-Thafazri. Mufeed Mubarak and Super 1600 Championship front-runners Shaker Al-Raies and Meshal Al-Nejadi complete the Kuwaiti line-up, with Al-Raies taking a slender four-point lead into the Syrian event in his nimble Citroen Saxo.

Although Ahmed Al-Sabban will miss this weekend's event, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be represented by Khalid Al-Faisal in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 7 and Abdullah Armiri in a Subaru Impreza.

"We are delighted to welcome all the foreign teams and officials to this weekend's event," said Hani Sheban, Chairman of the Organising Committee. "The popularity of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship increases each year and we at the Syrian Automobile Club are proud to be putting on an event of international stature again this year."

The event is based at the Sheraton Ma'aret Sednaya and starts from the Al-Jalaa Club Mezzah in Damascus on Wednesday, August 31st. The finish will take place at the Sheraton Ma'aret Sednaya on Friday, September 2nd. There will be a total of 16 special stages in the Sednaya and Maloula areas, with additional support for the Syrian Automobile Club coming from Areeba, the Sheraton Ma'aret Saydnaya and Hamsho International.

Syrian Rally

• 2005 FIA Middle East Rally Championship

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07/08/05
SYRIAN AUTOMOBILE CLUB ON TRACK FOR NEXT ROUND OF MIDDLE EAST RALLY SERIES
Testing Syrian gravel stages lie in wait for international entry; Bumper entry expected after Middle East summer break

It has been three months since competitors last tackled a round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, but the Syrian Automobile Club is putting the finishing touches to the route and timetable for the 6th Syria International Rally, round six of the increasingly-popular championship.

The event will run under the patronage of the Ministry of Tourism and takes place on August 31st-September 2nd. The only tarmac round of the series in Lebanon was cancelled at the start of last month, thus reducing the number of rounds in this year's series from nine to eight.

Teams from all across the Middle East will face 16 timed special stages over 260 kms in the Sednaya and Maloula areas, north of Damascus, with eight timed sections in the agenda for Thursday, September 1st and a further eight the following day.

To bolster the strength of the organising team, local organisers hired the services of Sweden's Bengt Gustavsson to work in the role of Clerk of the Course and have recently appointed the FIA's Derek Ledger as a consultant to ensure that the event adheres to the latest FIA guidelines, including the controversial SupeRally format.

This is an idea which first began in the Australian Rally Series and was introduced into the FIA World Rally Championship this year. SupeRally was tried for the first time in the Middle East series in Oman in March and officially used in Jordan back in May.

The system enables drivers who have retired on the opening day of a rally to restart the following day with time penalties. But the controversial nature of the system also means that a top-seeded driver who fails to finish the opening leg can still finish in a higher position overall than a slower driver who has tackled the entire rally and score more points!

"I would like to welcome all competitors, team officials, guests and members of the media to Syria for our rally," said Hani Sheban, Chairman of the Organising Committee. "It has been an integral part of the regional rally championship for five years now and we hope it continues to be one of the most popular rallies in the calendar."

Qatar's Nasser Saleh Al-Attityah - fresh from taking a maiden PWRC victory in the Rally of Argentina - is likely to be the man to beat in Syria. The Qatari has taken five victories so far in the region in 2005 and has a 20-point lead in the championship over the UAE's Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi, who is closely followed by Sheikh Suhail Bin Khalifa Al-Maktoum. All three drivers have driven Subaru Impreza WRX STIs this season and their results have given Subaru a 10-point lead over Mitsubishi in the FIA Manufacturers' Championship standings.

"We are putting together the final touches to the route, the staffing of the media and rally offices and the positioning and logistics of the special stage, refuelling zone and service park marshalling," said Omar Elbacha, Deputy Chairman of the Organising Committee and Chief Safety Officer. "The club is expecting all the championship regulars to attend this year and we hope that the event will be as well received as it was last year."

In 2004, Syrian organisers moved the event from a base in Damascus and an overnight halt in the ancient Roman town of Palmyra to a permanent base in the mountains bordering Lebanon, north of Damascus, at the scenic town of Sednaya. The stages were much twistier and more technical than the high-speed sand flats of the eastern deserts and similar terrain is being used again this year.

The event will be based at the Sheraton Ma'aret Sednaya for the second time and officially starts from the Al-Jalaa Club Mezzah in Damascus on Wednesday, August 31st. The finish will take place at the Sheraton Ma'aret Sednaya on Friday, September 2nd. Additional support for the event comes from Areeba, the Sheraton Ma'aret Saydnaya and Hamsho International.

Syrian Rally

• 2005 FIA Middle East Rally Championship

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16/05/05
SYRIAN AUTOMOBILE CLUB ANNOUNCES NEW-LOOK SYRIAN INTERNATIONAL RALLY
Sweden's Bengt Gustavsson appointed new Clerk of Course; New gravel stages for next round of Middle East rally series

The Syrian Automobile Club announced details of the 6th Syrian International Rally today (Tuesday). The event will run under the patronage of the Ministry of Tourism and is the sixth round of the eight-event FIA Middle East Rally Championship and takes place on August 31st-September 2nd, 2005.

The Syrian round of the regional series ran as an FIA candidate event for the first time in 2000 and was accepted into the championship for the first time the following season. Since then it has become one of the most popular rounds of the series and will be based at Sednaya, north of Damascus, for a second consecutive season after three years utilising an overnight halt at Palmyra in the eastern deserts.

"Changing the rally area from Palmyra to Saydnaya was well received," said Omar Elbacha, Deputy Chairman of the Organising Committee and Chief Safety Officer. "Using mountain gravel roads instead of the desert was a first in the FIA Middle East Championship and it saved teams and officials a lot of effort in changing hotels during the rally."

The event is the next round of the hotly-contested series, following the recent decision to cancel this year's Rally of Lebanon. Last year's Syrian event was won by Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi, who went on to win the regional championship for the first time in his Subaru Impreza WRX STi. He is likely to face a fierce challenge this year from runaway series leader Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and UAE-based rival Sheikh Suhail Bin Khalifa Al-Maktoum, in addition to a strong field of drivers from Syria, Jordan, Cyprus, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait.

Officials, teams and members of the media will again stay at the Sheraton Ma'aret Sednaya, although the event will officially start from the Al-Jalaa Club Mezzah in Damascus at 16.00 hrs on Wednesday, August 31st. Ahead of what the organisers hope will be a bumper entry will be two days' of special stage action along twisty and technical gravel stages in the hills around Sednaya and Ma'aloula. The podium finish and prizegiving will take place at 16.00 hrs at the Sheraton Ma'aret Sednaya on Friday, September 2nd.

"The area of Saydnaya has a unique and holy atmosphere," said Khaled Atassi, Deputy Chairman of the Organising Committee and Route Manager. "Its people are friendly and interested in the motor sport. The town is only a short distance from Damascus and this makes it easy for anyone to follow the rally."

The Syrian Automobile Club has appointed a new Clerk of the Course to oversee this year's event. Sweden's Bengt Gustavsson is a former Clerk of the Course of the Oman International Rally and has worked in a similar capacity on recent rallies in Abu Dhabi and Dubai on behalf of the Automobile Touring Club of the United Arab Emirates.

"Bengt is an experienced and well respected member of the international rally community and is a welcome addition to our organising team," said Hani Shaban, Chairman of the Syrian Automobile Club. "We hope that this year's Syrian International Rally will be the strongest in the five years since we joined the regional championship."

Entries open next week for the all-gravel rally and close on Wednesday, July 27th. Teams will be permitted to carry out a full recce of the route on Monday, August 29th and Tuesday, August 30th. Additional support so far received comes from Areeba, the Sheraton Ma'aret Saydnaya and Hamsho International.

Syrian Rally

• 2005 FIA Middle East Rally Championship