Paphos, Cyprus: The organisers of the Cyprus Rally have been putting the final touches to what promises to be a terrific weekend of fast and furious action at this year’s much-anticipated race.
As both the season closer of the 2012 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC), and the penultimate round of the 2012 FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC), this year’s Cyprus Rally has attracted an impressive line-up of international, regional and national drivers, including defending IRC champion Andreas Mikkelsen of Norway, and 2010 Cyprus Rally winner Nasser Al Attiyah of Qatar.
Crews have been busy testing set-ups this week on stages similar to those that will feature in this weekend’s rally. Andreas Mikkelsen currently leads the IRC in his Fabia S2000 with an unassailable 136 points, which means that he will essentially enjoy a 3-day victory lap here this weekend.
Mikkelsen admitted that he will face tough competition from Qatar’s Al Attiyah, who has enjoyed a string of Cyprus victories: “Nasser is a very good driver and I think he’ll have an advantage with the turbo-charged Fiesta RRC. It should be a good fight and I’m looking forward to it.”
Al Attiyah currently sits joint 2nd on the MERC leaderboard, alongside Lebanon’s Roger Feghali.
The pair are 9 points behind championship leader Abdulaziz Al Kuwari of Qatar, also here this weekend with a MINI JCW, so fans can expect a no-holds-barred battle for points among the MERC drivers. be plenty of blisteringly fast rally action.
The 2012 Cyprus Rally gets off to a flying start today at 19:00hrs with Special Stage 1 - the 3.2km all-tarmac LTV Super Special Stage - which will see competitors race through the narrow streets of Pafos. The mixed-surface event will play out over the next two days and will take in some of the island’s most breathtaking scenery.
The finish will take place outside Pafos Town Hall at 17:30 on Sunday. The 2012 Cyprus Rally will see crews cover a total of 694.76km, of which 237.14km will be special stages. 30.97% (73.45km) of the stages will be tarmac, and 69.03% (163.69km) gravel. THE PENINSULA
