DAMASCUS, 2 July 2007 — Lebanese Rally Champion and Red Bull driver Abdo Feghali driving his Mitsubishi Evo 6 (Prototype) won the International Syrian Hill Climb Race, first phase of the Middle Eastern Championship, ending thus the Jordanian control of this kind of races with his first foreign participation in this category over the weekend.
Twenty-eight cars prepared to compete on the course located in Cherubim Heights in Seydnaya, however, only 27 cars departed on Friday 9:30 a.m. after the withdrawal of title holder, Jordanian Amir Al Najjar due to an engine failure.
The first round of the race organized by the Syrian Car Club, witnessed fierce competition and close results, but Feghali who is known as “Dado” managed to finish in 1:37:50 m, half a second less than Syrian Haitham Al Yusefi and a second ahead of Syrian Ahmed Hamshu.
During the second round, Feghali increased his speed by about half a second and registered 1:37:05 m, more than 2 seconds ahead of Jordanian Ayman Najjar and the other competitors. By then, Dado seemed heading to winning the race.
Eight out of 10 drivers were qualified for the third round after the withdrawal of both Syrian Mohamed Hamshu and Lebanese Michel Saleh due to mechanical problems.
During the final round, none of the drivers were able to beat Feghali’s 2nd round time. Being the last to depart, Feghali knew he already won the race, he therefore offered the public a spectacular eye-catching final round before final results announcement, known that the race regulations are to adopt all three times of the pilots.
This victory puts Abdo Feghali on top of the Middle Eastern Hill Climb Championship that is held under the patronage of the International Car Federation. Feghali is heading to Jordan on August 24 to compete with brothers Al Najjar on their homeland before closing the championship in Lebanon.
Red Bull pilot expressed his extreme happiness for winning, stressing on the strong competition against Syrian and Jordanian champions. He also declared himself very satisfied with the result “mainly, this was my first participation in Syria.
“I prepared for it only two days before the race with the help of my brother Roger, while the other competitors ran the race several times, and Syrian drivers were well prepared in their homeland,” he said. As to his performance during the race, he said: “Before the race, I was sure that I was going to be on the podium. During the first round, I drove carefully to avoid accidents, and then I put some pressure in the 2nd round and achieved a decisive time. After I guaranteed my victory, I decided to entertain the public, knowing that I could have done much more.” Feghali finally insisted that he was heading to Jordan in order to settle the championship.
The results for the top 5 drivers: Abdo Feghali (Lebanon), Mitsubishi Evo 6, 1:37:06 min,; Haitham Al Yusefi (Syria), Mitsubishi Evo 6, 1:38:00 m; Ahmed Hamshu (Syria), Mitsubishi Evo 7, 1:38:40 m; Ayman Al Najjar (Jordan), Mitsubishi Evo 6, 1:39:13 m; Shady Kazbary (Syria) Mitsubishi Evo 8, 1:41:27 m.
