Al-Attiyah in the lead, following Galatariotis’ retirement

A broken radiator during SS7 in Yeri, on Sunday morning (08/10), forced Simos Galatariotis and Antonis Ioannou, with a Volkswagen Polo GTI R5, to retire from the anniversary 50th Cyprus Rally 2023, while they were leading the event.

The unfortunate moment came at the well-known jump point of the Yeri special stage, when on landing, the radiator of Galatariotis' car was damaged. At the conclusion of day 1, the 2018 Cyprus Rally winners had a lead of 15.2 seconds from Nasser Al-Attiyah / Mathieu Baumel, also in a Volkswagen Polo GTI R5.

The Qatari took advantage of the retirement of Galatariotis, to climb in the lead, with a significant difference from second placed Abdullah Al-Rawahi (Oman). The gap between the two had reached 4 minutes after SS7, due mostly to a flat tire Al-Rawahi suffered on Saturday in SS6.

The three morning SS

In the three morning special stages of the 2nd day of the event on Sunday, which is organized since 1970 by the Cyprus Automobile Association, Al-Attiyah won SS7, +8.2 seconds faster than Al-Rawahi. The latter, with co-driver Ata Al-Hmoud (Jordan), then won SS8 in Lefkara (+18.7 faster than Al-Attiyah) and SS9 in Agios Epifanios (+5.1 ahead of the Qatari). These were also the first victories on a special stage in Cyprus achieved by the 26-year-old driver, who made his debut in our national race in 2021.

With the two wins in stages SS8 and SS9, Al-Rawahi reduced by 23.8 seconds his distance from the leader Al-Attiyah, with their gap now standing at 3 minutes and 36 seconds, with three stages remaining, a particularly significant lead for the seven-time winner of the Cyprus Rally.

As for the Middle East Rally Championship title battle, the scenario of Al-Attiyah finishing first and Al-Rawahi second is now very likely.

In this case Al-Attiyah will receive 30 points and Al-Rawahi will get 24 points, bringing them both at 108 points, and the standings in a dead heat, with both having two wins, two second places and one abandonment this year. FIA will then have to determine the winners of the championship, according to the Sporting Regulations for FIA Regional Rally Championships.

Demosthenous the leading Cypriot

Christos Demosthenous with co-driver Kypros Christodoulou, in a Skoda Fabia, are in 3rd place of the general classification, having "inherited" the first place among the Cypriot crews after the retirement of Galatariotis. Demosthenous was 10th due to a flat tire in SS7, and 3rd in SS8 and SS9, bringing himself 5 minutes and 3 seconds behind Al-Attiyah.

In 4th place and 2nd among the local crews, 2 minutes and 12 seconds behind Demosthenous with the end of the first nine special stages, are Yiangos Yiangou / Aristos Nicolaou, with a Hyundai i20 R5. Just 11.4 seconds behind Yiangou, in 5th place are Petros Panteli with co-driver Pambos Laos, in a Renault Clio.

Positive are the results on the 2nd day for Costas Zenonos / Phanos Christophi with a Citroen DS3 R5. Returning to action, after retiring in SS2, they took 3rd in SS7 and 6th in SS8 and SS9.

The 2nd day of the 50th Cyprus Rally counts as a separate race for the Cyprus championship. On Saturday, the lead of Simos Galatariotis also gave him his 3rd victory in three races in the local championship.

Three stages left

The cars returned to the service park in Aglantzia at noon for servicing and will then repeat the morning routes, at Yeri (13:42), Lefkara (14:50) and Agios Epifanios (16:13). At 18:30 at the old Nicosia City Hall, in "Eleftheria" square, the finishing ceremony and the awarding of prizes to the winners of the various categories will take place.

This year’s event is sponsored by Honda – Galatariotis, ANCO Catering Equipment, Cablenet, Stop Fire, Andreopoulos Signs, Farmakas Natural Spring Water, Jeep and TGI Friday's. It is supported by the Nicosia and Aglantzia Municipalities.