Rally Flash News (After SS3)

1        Nasser AL-ATTIYAH (QAT) / Matthieu BAUMEL (AND)

“It is not easy, as the first car, we are ‘cleaning’ the road. We lose a lot of traction, but I tried to do my best, and the second loop we will be much better.”

5          Alexandros TSOULOFTAS (CYP) / Stelios ELIA (CYP)

“We ‘cleaned’ the special stages together with Nasser (Al-Attiyah) and faced several problems. We had a flat tire, and some other issues during the loop. Everything is running as expected from a tough Cyprus Rally. We are looking forward to the next loop."

6          Abdullah AL RAWAHI (OMN) / Ata AL HMOUD (JOR)

“We managed to finish the first loop, that was our aim for the beginning. We can now do a little bit of adjustments. So far, so good, for a first day and hopefully we can finish the second loop in a good position.”

4          Simos GALATARIOTIS (CYP) / Antonios IOANNOU (CYP)

“We went fast, but carefully. Later we can go even faster, and we will do that. We have no other worries; we will continue like this until the end."

8          Petros PANTELI (CYP) / Pambos LAOS (CYP)

“We are not going well at all. In the first stage we had a flat tire that cost us about a minute. As soon as we entered the second stage, the suspension from the flat tire caused us problems, by losing oil. We essentially had no rear suspension. We came to the service to repair the car and continue.”

3          Nasser Khalifa AL ATYA (QAT) / Giovanni BERNACCHINI (POL)

“Unfortunately, this is my first ever rally in Cyprus. It is very beautiful and rough, I like it, it suits me, but I have zero data. Our first goal was to have the first experience and correct our notes even during the stages. I am starting to discover my best side now and I hope we will do better. We need to get our first data and learn, we want to finish the rally, so we can have data for next year. The Cypriot drivers are very fast, they are experienced. Thank you to the organizers for all the hard work done”.

15        Rauf DENKTAS (TUR) / Mehmet MISON (TUR)

“We had a flat tire and engine start problems, but it was OK. We will push at the rest of the rally.”

14        Christos DEMOSTHENOUS (CYP) / Costas PAVLOU (CYP)

“We hit something on the front bumper, so we removed it. We are racing for the first time with our new car. We will try to do our best, we are satisfied with the result so far.”

10        Panayiotis YIANGOU (CYP) / Pavlos ENGLEZOU (CYP)

“We drove carefully in the first special stages, to see where we are. I think with the situation on the roads, with all the stones, we will try to continue at the same pace. We are happy with our performance and hope to continue like this.”

9          Stavros ANTONIOU (CYP) / Demetris PIERI (CYP)

“We are going very well. We are taking care of the car, in these difficult special stages. We are second in Group N, with a small gap from the first place. Our strategy is going very well, and we are aiming to win Group N.”

2          Mshari ALTHEFIRI (KWT) / Nasser ALKUWARI (QAT)

“We faced problems with the car, we chose the wrong tire compound. So, it was very slippery. We want to go to the service now and change what we can. I focused on staying on the track. I am angry now. We will see!”

18        Savvas SAVVA (CYP) / Andreas PAPANDREU (CYP)

“We had a problem with the car, we do not have power at low speeds and because the special stages are very tight, the problem becomes bigger. Everything else works very well, we hope to fix the problem and enjoy our rally.”

COMMENTS

Halfway through day 1, with three special stages complete, local champion Simos Galatariotis is in the lead, 27.9 seconds ahead of compatriot Alexandros Tsouloftas and 46.9 seconds in front of Nasser Al Attiyah.