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The 46th edition of the prestigious race kicks off on Friday afternoon in Kaslik and will run all weekend until Sunday evening.
The 46th Rallye du Liban kicks off on Friday afternoon (5 PM) at the headquarters of the Automobile et Touring Club du Liban (ATCL) in Kaslik, in the presence of numerous political and sporting personalities, as well as the event’s organizers.
Organized by the National Sports Authority (ASN), part of the ATCL, the 46th Lebanon Rally is one of the biggest sporting events in the Middle East. This car race, which is the third round in Lebanon this year, runs until Sunday.
Roger Feghali Aims for 17th Title
Twenty-nine crews will take the start of this rally. The best Lebanese drivers are present for the occasion, including, of course, the immovable Roger Feghali, record-holder of victories in this event which he has already won 16 times, and outsiders such as Henri Kahi, Rodrigue Rahi and Bassel Bou Hamdan, who are impatiently waiting for their time to come.
The total distance of the rally is 636.10 km, including 199.82 km of speed stages, 11 of which are in Kesrouan, Byblos, Batroun and Metn. The rally will take place over three days, starting at 17:00 on Friday with a demonstration stage (2.52 km long) at ATCL headquarters in Kaslik. On Saturday, six speed stages (129.44 km) will be run in Byblos and Batroun, and on the third and final day, four speed stages (67.86 km) in Metn. The crowning ceremony will take place at 4.30 PM on Sunday at the organizing club’s headquarters.
Since 1951…
It’s worth noting that motor sport in Lebanon has a very close relationship with the ATCL, which is also the only representative of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile in the Land of the Cedars. Indeed, the first rally was organized in 1951 by José Chidiac. The 500km “Tour du Liban,” which finished at the Aley swimming pool, was won by Louis Bassoul in his Renault Fregate. In 1952, Pierre Heneiné won the “Lebanon-Syria Rally.” Three years later, the rally was renamed Tour du Liban, with a total distance of 647 km. 1968 saw the birth of the Mountain Rally, which became one of the most famous rallies in the Middle East.
Prestigious drivers have taken part, including the Italian Sandro Monari, who won the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile cup in 1977.
In 1993, the rally was renamed Rallye du Liban. Many Arab and foreign drivers took part: the Finn Tommy Makkinen, the Norwegian Peter Solberg, the Frenchman Pierre César Baroni, the Emirati Mohammad ben Sulayem (4 victories), the Saudi Abdallah Bakhashab, the Qatari Saïd el-Hajiri and his compatriot Nasser al-Attiyah, as well as Yves Loubet (France) and Piero Liatti (Italy), among others. For their part, the Lebanese drivers were not to be outdone: Roger Féghali (16 times winner of the event), Nabil Karam, Jean-Pierre Nasrallah (3 victories), Samir Ghanem, Maurice Sehnaoui (alias Bagheera), Abdo Féghali, Nadim Abboud, Doumit Bou Doumit and Michel Saleh also shone brightly in this prestigious competition.
