Cypriot drivers win Cyprus Rally, round 6 of 2007 MERC

Cypriot drivers Charalambos Timotheou and Pambos Laos in their Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX won the Cyprus Rally, round 6 of the 2007 FIA Middle East Championship (MERC), making Timotheou the first Cypriot driver to win the island’s leading international sports event since 1991.

Defending Middle East and P-WRC champion Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar and co-driver Chris Patterson secured second place in their Subaru Impreza, finishing the event 1 minute 18.7 seconds behind Timotheou.

Current Middle East Championship leader Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi of the UAE and co-driver Nicky Beech steered their Team Abu Dhabi-backed Subaru Impreza to fourth place overall, retaining their Championship lead, but by a reduced margin of 9 points over Al-Attiyah.

The 2007 Cyprus Rally was also an official round of the 2007 FIA Historic Rally Championship and nine Historic Cyprus Rally competitors began the Rally on Saturday morning.

Dimitris Vazakas and Maria Gemeni of Greece showed winning form from the start in their Ford Escort, winning every stage of the event bar the last, which went to Cypriots Christakis Michael and Georgios Lysandrou in their Mk1 Ford Escort who finished third overall. Second place in the event went to Cypriots Pantelis Poetis and Andreas Xydias in a Volkswagen Golf.

The 2007 Cyprus Rally and 2007 Historic Cyprus Rally are organised by the Cyprus Automobile Association (CAA).