Cyprus Rally kicks off with a ceremonial start in Larnaca Promenade

Cyprus rally got underway on Friday, 27 September with 43 cars getting off the ramp during the ceremonial start held in Larnaca Promenade.

 As the Cyprus Rally is the penultimate round of the ERC the top three drivers, Britain’s Chris Ingram, the reigning champion, Russian Alexey Lukyanuk and Poland’s Lukasz Habaj will battle for this year’s title which is up for grabs, while Ingram and Lukyanuc are separated by just one point. Qatar’s Nasser Al Attiyah, a winner of five Cyprus Rally past editions, seeking to score points for the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) is expected to a force to be reckoned with in this year’s event, as well as WRC star, Finland’s Mikko Hirvonen, a previous Subaru World Rally Championship driver.

 Following the ceremonial start, the crews returned to the Nicosia Service Park with race action beginning on Saturday, 28 September. Cyprus Rally is the seventh round of the ERC and fifth round of the FIA’s MERC.

 The crews will be called on to tackle six special stages with a total distance of 94.45 kilometres. SS one ,totaling 14.6 kms, will take place in Politico, followed by the Lefkara stage with a distance of 23.23 kms, the race’s longest special stage. The crews will then head for Analiontas and SS3 totalling 14.41 kms and will return back in Nicosia to service. The first two special stages will be repeated in the afternoon followed by the spectacular Super Special Stage to take place in Nicosia city streets. The SSS will start at 17:07 local time from Omirou Avenue and will finish in the vicinity of the Nicosia District Court, racing through the buffer zone and the northern part of the capital. Drivers from Europe and the Middle East will go head to head during the 3.53 km Super Special, with the route designed to enable spectators to safely enjoy the rally.

 After negotiating the Nicosia Super Special Stage, the drivers will return to the Service Cars to prepare the cars for rally’s second leg.

PRESS OFFICE CYPRUS RALLY 2019