Cyprus Rally: Zooming Ahead Of Competition

Middle East Rally Champion from Qatar, Nasser Ali Attiyah on board a Ford Fiesta RRC, conquered the CNP ASFALISTIKI Cyprus Rally after a relentless battle with Poland's Kajetan Kajetanowicz in a Ford Fiesta R5, who finished just seven seconds after the Qatari driver.
This is his fourth victory in the Cyprus Rally that equalled to France's Sebastian Loeb's record. CNP ASFALISTIKI Cyprus Rally counted as the ERC's eighth round and round five of the Middle East Rally Championship (MERC). Attiyah scored maximum points in the MERC in his bid to secure a ninth Middle East Rally title.
Despite a setback on the day's first stage due to a puncture, Attiyah set the two fastest times in SS10 and SS11 during nine special stages.
Qatari Abdulaziz Al Kuwari, with co-driver Clarke Marshall behind the wheel of a Ford Fiesta RRC, finished third overall and second amongst the MERC drivers, ahead of Portugal's Bruno Magalhaes, who was aboard a Peugeot 208 T16 that took second place among ERC crews. France's Robert Consani driving a Citroen DS3 R5 made it to the top 5. Hungary's David Botka, on board a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9, won ERC2 finishing eighth overall.
The Cypriot team
Christos Demosthenous and Pambos Laos behind the wheel of a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 took top honours among the Cypriot crew, finishing ninth overall. Scoring top times among the Cypriots in 11 special stages, Demosthenous clinched the Cypriot Rally Championship title after securing four victories in the local championship. Savvas Savva and Andreas Papandreou driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 followed in second place, and 12^th overall as Cypriot crews. Costas Zenonos with Kyriacos Damianou, also driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9, ranked among the top three Cypriot drivers.