Al-Attiyah leaves victory to Galatariotis in Cyprus

Le Rally of Cyprus will have been cruel for Nasser Al-Attiyah (Ford). Ultra favorite, the Qatari was condemned to a comeback race after suffering a double puncture in the first stage when he only had a spare wheel.

The star of the event thought he had done the hardest part after regaining the lead of the Cyprus Rally at the end of the penultimate special, but he was slowed down again by a slow puncture relegating him to fourth place more than two minutes from the winner. He nevertheless won the ranking of the Middle East Championship with almost a minute ahead of the Czech Vojtech Stajf (Skoda).

It was finally the local driver Simos Galatariotis who won by six tenths ahead of Bruno Magalhaes. Norbert Herczig completes the podium more than a minute behind, the top three being monopolized by the Skoda Fabia R5. Laurent Pellier won in ERC at the wheel of his Peugeot 208 R2.

Discover the report of the Cyprus Rally in issue 2170 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.