Galatariotis leads 50th Cyprus Rally after first day

Simos Galatariotis / Antonis Ioannou (Volkswagen Polo GTi R5) lead the 50th Cyprus Rally after the first day of the event.

Second overall are Nasser Al-Attiyah (Qatar) / Mathieu Baumel (Andorra) driving a Volkswagen Polo GTi R5, just 15.2 seconds behind.

Christos Demosthenous / Kypros Christodoulou with a Skoda Fabia R5 were promoted to third after the last stage of the day, leaving one minute behind the leaders of the Middle East Rally Championship, Abdullah Al-Rawahi / Att Hmoud (Skoda Fabia) who had a flat front tire, losing three minutes.

Winning the first two special stages, Al-Attiyah took the lead by 13.6 seconds, a lead that Galatariotis overturned by winning the next four stages. Although Demosthenous only entered the top three twice, he finished the day third. In fifth place are Petros Pantelis / Pambos Laos with a Renault Clio Rally3, 19.4 seconds in front of Panayiotis Yiagkou / Andreas Nicolaou (Hyundai i20).

Among the most significant retirements of the first day were those of Zenonos / Christofi (steering problem) with a Citroen DS3, Al-Thefiri / Al Kuwari with a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO X, and Manolis / Kalli with a Peugeot 208.

Out of the 23 crews that started on Friday night, 16 completed the first leg. Most of the seven crews that retired will return to the race on Sunday.

The Rally concludes today with three repeated special stages. At 08:43 in the morning, the first crew will enter SS7 in Yeri and then will proceed to Lefkara and Agios Epifanios.
At 13:22 the second loop of the three stages will start, while the finish ceremony will take place at 18:30 at the old city hall of Nicosia, in Eleftheria square.

This year’s event is sponsored by Honda – Galatariotis, ANCO Catering Equipment, Cablenet, Stop Fire, Andreopoulos Signs, Farmakas Natural Spring Water, Jeep and TGI Friday’s. It is supported by the Nicosia and Aglantzia municipalities.

OVERALL CLASSIFICATION (Day 1)
1. S. Galatariotis / A. Ioannou Volkswagen Polo GTi R5 1:38:03.4
2. N. Al-Attiyah / M. Baumel Volkswagen Polo GTi R5 +15.2
3. Chr. Demosthenous / K. Christodoulou Skoda Fabia R5 +3:05.9
4. A. Al-Rawahi / A. Hmoud Skoda Fabia R5 +4:07.1
5. P. Pantelis / P. Laou Renault Clio +5:42.4
6. P. Yiagkou / A. Nicolaou Hyundai i20 R5 +6:01.8

Live results at https://timing.sporttraxx.com/races/cyprus-2023/itinerary/

The route of the 2023 50th Cyprus Rally:

Length (km) First car due
Sunday 8 October
SS7 Yeri 1 14,10 08:43
SS8 Lefkara 1 19,78 09:51
SS9 Agios Epifanios 1 14,88 10:54
SS10 Yeri 2 14,10 13:22
SS11 Lefkara 2 19,78 14:30
SS12 Agios Epifanios 2 14,88 15:33
Finish ceremony Nicosia – 18:40

Route Maps

Day 2:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1o9Dub-CUtA8Ru6bhzeZ0Ex4Oj1SU8Rg

This year’s event is sponsored by Honda – Galatariotis, ANCO Catering Equipment, Cablenet, Stop Fire, Andreopoulos Signs, Farmakas Natural Spring Water, Jeep and TGI Friday’s. It is supported by the Nicosia and Aglantzia Municipalities.

More info on www.cyprusrally.com.cy.