Nicosia,(ONA) - Abdullah Al Rawahi seeks to score a result that qualifies him to continue to hold the second place in the drivers' ranking in the Middle East Rally Championship when he competes in the second round of the championship from 16 to 18 October in Cyprus.
Al Rawahi had prepared to enter the competitions of the second and third rounds of the championship in Qatar and Jordan during the last period, but the repercussions of the Corona virus led to the cancellation of the two rallies in Qatar and Jordan, while Cyprus retained the right to host after confirming to follow all measures that lead to the safety of the organizers, fans and contestants.
The Cyprus Rally, which is organized for the 49th time, consists of 6 stages on the first day and 4 stages on the second day. The competitions conclude with a demonstration stage for the masses for a distance of about 4 kilometers in a field designated for that. The rally opens on Friday, October 16 in the city center of Nicosia.
It is expected that the first stage of the rally on Saturday, called the Agios Epaphence stage, for a distance of 18 kilometers between the spheres of nature and the mountains in Cyprus, will witness a strong and intense competition between the European competitors and the champions of the Middle East Rally Championships, as the Cyprus Rally combines the competitions of the Middle East Rally and the European Rally Championship. This is followed by the second stage, called the Zalitos stage, for a distance of about 20 km, while the third stage of the rally will be in Asinho for a distance of 15 km, and these stages will be repeated twice, separated by a maintenance period.
As for the second day, the seventh stage will be held in Lefkara, for a distance of 21 km, followed by the eighth phase in Annalenuts, for a distance of approximately 14 km, as these two stages will be repeated for two times and the tournament will be concluded with holding the exhibition stage, and then the ceremony will be held to celebrate the coronation of the champions.
The Omani contestant Abdullah Al Rawahi stressed that the task is not easy, especially with the presence of a large number of contestants from the Middle East and Europe, including Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah, Nasser Khalifa and some other drivers, indicating that he will try hard with his Jordanian navigator Atta Al-Hamoud to reach the top in the championship.
He explained that the decision to cancel the Qatar and Jordan Rally Championships negatively affected the contestants' performance due to the absence of participation during the rally and tournaments stoppage period due to the Corona pandemic.
(ONA)