The 51st Cyprus Rally starts on Friday, October 18th
The Ceremonial Start of the 51st international Cyprus Rally is taking place on Friday, October 18th at 17:30 at Spyridaki Square (Makariou Avenue) in the heart of Nicosia. The Cyprus is organized by the Cyprus Automobile Association since 1970
It is the third, final and decisive event of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship, which will determine the 2024 Champion! Additionally, it counts as the third and fourth rounds of the Cyprus National Championship, as each day of the race is considered a separate championship event, with a coefficient of 1.5.
Cyprus Rally route
The action starts on Saturday, October 19th, with six special stages: three in the morning, which will be repeated in the afternoon. These are the familiar special stages of Xyliatos (9:33 & 14:17), Kapouras (10:01 & 14:45), and Kourdali (11:04 & 15:48), with a total distance of 49.33 km for each pass.
The main service of the day will take place at 5:18 PM at the Service Park in Nicosia, near the Police HQ & Rally HQ.
On Sunday, October 20th, there will be three more gravel special stages, with both morning and afternoon passes — 41.81 km for each pass. The day begins with the Doryforikos stage (8:58 & 13:07), followed by Lefkara (9:41 & 13:50), and the loop concludes with Geri (11:04). During the second pass, the Geri special stage, covering a distance of 9.63 km, will be held as the ' Visit Qatar Power Stage ' at 3:43 PM, and the winner will receive 5 points in the FIA Middle East Rally Championship, the second place 4 points, while a total of the top five will score points.
The Ceremonial Finish will take place on Sunday, October 20th, at 5:30 PM, at Spyridaki Square, on Makariou Avenue, in Nicosia.
The Crews
The FIA Middle East Rally Championship points leader Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (49 points) from Qatar is aiming to win the first Championship title in his career. His is followed by the Jordanian Shaker Jweihan (37 points) and the 19-time Middle East Rally Champion — eight-time winner of the Cyprus Rally - Nasser Al-Attiyah (35 points). The two drivers from Qatar will be driving Skoda Fabia R5s, while Jweihan will compete in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X.
Having won the first two rounds of the championship, Jweihan has already been crowned the 2024 FIA MERC 2 Champion.
In the Cyprus Rally, a total of 90 points are at stake for the National Championship. The leaders, Galatariotis/Ioannou, with 60 points, will compete in their Volkswagen Polo GTi R5, while P. Yiangou/Nikolaou, with 48 points, will race in a Hyundai i20 R5. In third place in the national championship, with 30 points, are Nestoros/Kalli, participating with a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X. Following them with 21 points are Zenonos/Christofi, racing in a Citroen DS3 R5.
Rashid Al-Muhannadi / Ata Al-Hmoud are racing is the 3rd Qatari Skoda Fabia R5 of the event while Lebanese crew Shadi El Fakih / Samir Sfaeir, leaders of the MERC 4 Category are driving Peugeot 208.
A total of 21 crews from five countries are participating.
The scrutineering took place on Thursday at the School of Automotive Engineering in Nicosia. The reconnaissance of the special stages began and will be completed on Friday morning.
The 51st Cyprus International Rally is sponsored by the Qatar tourism organization "Visit Qatar," Psaltis Auto Parts, ENEOS Motor Oil, Sparco, Cablenet, Farmakas Natural Spring Water, ANCO Catering Equipment, and Stop Fire.
Supporters include the Municipality of Nicosia, Kapnos Airport Shuttle, and the Jeep Club Cyprus.