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| 2004 Syria International Rally / FIA Middle East Rally Championship - Round 6 of 8 |
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| 1 - 3 September 2004 |
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MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION DRIVERS 2ND & 3RD IN SYRIA
Andreas Tsouloftas maintains Middle East Championship aspirations
Nine Lancer Evolution drivers in the top 10 |
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Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Gr. N
Abdullah AL-QASSIMI / Gaby KHOURY
(3 September 2004)
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Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution driver Sheikh Abdullah Al-Qassimi finished the Syria International Rally in second position today, behind victor and series leader Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi. Fellow Lancer Evolution driver Ahmed Al-Sabban claimed third, the best result of his career in this, the sixth of the eight-round FIA Middle East Rally Championship. Andreas Tsouloftas, who had dropped to third in the series following his retirement in Lebanon, finished fourth in similar machinery and climbs back up the leaderboard into second, just nine points adrift of the lead.
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Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Gr. N
Ahmed AL-SABBAN / Killian DUFFY
(3 September 2004)
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Lancer Evolutions were once again a highly popular choice for the 13-gravel stage Syrian International Rally which was contested in the hills to the north of Damascus. The event marked a successful return to action for the defending Group N regional champion Sheikh Abdullah Al-Qassimi, who had withdrawn from the series after a disappointing result in Abu Dhabi and non-finishes in Bahrain and Oman. However, the UAE driver powered his Lancer Evolution VI to a convincing second position, without the pressure of worrying about championship points.
"I made the decision to miss Jordan and Lebanon and that was a bad thing", reflected Al-Qassimi. "It was a rash thing to do. Twenty-five points was leading the series at the start of this rally and that is just five points per rally. Maybe I could have come back strongly in the second half, as I did here. Now I will look forward to 2005 and a new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII MR, which may even be ready for Dubai in December this year".
Andreas Tsouloftas claimed fourth position overall, but the Cypriot continues to fight for the Championship title and high-scoring points in Syria have aided his assault and see him move up the leaderboard into second position.
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Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Gr. N
Andreas TSOULOFTAS / Savvas LAOS
(3 September 2004)
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"This was a fantastic result for me and the team", said a delighted Tsouloftas. "I had my problems on the first few stages, but I set some fast times on the second day and the dramas with Khalid and Nasser have given me a great chance of taking the title. I cannot wait for the next round".
The event kicked off with a crowd-pleasing 2 kilometer super special stage on the outskirts of Damascus and Nasser Al-Attiyah claimed the opening honors in his Subaru Impreza. However, Qatar’s reigning champion hit problems in the first proper gravel stage of the event when he sustained a puncture and dropped over four minutes to the leaders. Khalid Al-Qassimi took stage victory and the overall lead ahead of last year’s rally winner Tsouloftas, and Jordanian Lancer Evolution driver Faris Bustami.
Tsouloftas was the next to hit problems however, and the Cypriot slipped to ninth with a flat tire as Al-Attiyah began his charge back up the leaderboard and into third. Khalid Al-Qassimi maintained his trouble-free lead and started the second leg with more than five minutes in hand to brother Abdullah. Despite the appallingly rough conditions, Tsouloftas began his charge up the leaderboard and reached the finish in fourth position, enough to boost his championship aspirations.
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Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Gr. N
(3 September 2004)
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"I really like the stages in Syria", said last year’s winner Tsouloftas. "But I lost three minutes with a flat tire, then another three minutes and then one minute. You just cannot afford to drive too fast here".
The list of retirements bore testament to the rough conditions. Haitham Al-Yousifi was one of the early retirements, the Syrian out with transmission problems on his Lancer Evolution, and he was soon followed by Lebanon’s Michel Saleh, broken suspension halting his similar machinery. Qatari female driver Nada Zaidan was also forced to retire with mechanical problems just two stages from the finish. Al-Attiyah ended up running under protest after his Subaru rival Khalid Al-Qassimi claimed his car had been serviced illegally, and the team ultimately decided to withdraw from second position at the final service, rather than face a stewards’ enquiry.
The seventh round of the series takes the crews to Cyprus for the Troodos Rally (November 5-7), where narrow mountain roads in the west of the island will pose yet another challenge for the contenders.
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FINAL OVERALL CLASSIFICATION |
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Driver / Co-driver |
Nat. |
Car |
Gr./Cl. |
Total Time |
Difference |
| 1 |
Khalid AL-QASSIMI / Michael ORR |
UAE/IRL |
Subaru Impreza |
N/4 |
2.33.55 |
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| 2 |
Abdullah AL-QASSIMI / Gaby KHOURY |
UAE |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI |
N/4 |
2.40.01 |
+ 6.06 |
| 3 |
Ahmed AL-SABBAN / Killian DUFFY |
SA/IRL |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII |
N/4 |
2.41.11 |
+ 7.16 |
| 4 |
Andreas TSOULOFTAS / Savvas LAOS |
CY |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII |
N/4 |
2.42.05 |
+ 8.10 |
| 5 |
Hassan AL-SADADI / Keith WAKE |
BAH |
Subaru Impreza |
N/4 |
2.42.45 |
+ 8.50 |
| 6 |
Faris BUSTAMI / Imad JUMAA |
HKJ |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI |
N/4 |
2.54:14 |
+ 20.19 |
| 7 |
Amir ARNAOUT / Yousef ALASMAR |
SYR/HKJ |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII |
N/4 |
2.57.00 |
+ 23.05 |
| 8 |
Yazan RJLEH / Jafar ALSOUHAIL |
SYR/UAE |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII |
N/4 |
3.02.14 |
+ 28.19 |
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| Nationalities:
BAH=Bahrain /
CY=Cyprus /
HKJ=Jordan /
IRL=Ireland /
SA=Saudi Arabia /
SYR=Syria /
UAE=United Arab Emirates /
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