Cyprus Rally 2012

This year’s much-anticipated Cyprus Rally takes place on the eastern Mediterranean island this weekend and the organizers have announced a late change in the itinerary.

As previously announced, the event gets underway at 19:00hrs of Friday 2nd November, with Special Stage 1 – a 3.2km all-tarmac Super Special Stage through the streets of Pafos, with the start located outsidePafosTown Hall. A similar Super Special kicked off last year’s event in dramatic style and is sure to draw the crowds once again. Spectators for this stage need to be in place by 18:20.

As before, the event will continue to be held over the next two days, however the Saturday and Sunday itineraries are now swapped. The decision has been made due to the popularCyprushunting season, with certain special stages latterly falling within established hunting zones. The revised itinerary will effectively remove the risks that might have been posed to competitors, spectators and hunters, but the organizers encourage all spectators to study the new itinerary carefully before heading out to watch the action.

Saturday will see competitors tackle six special stages in the countryside east of Pafos. The first car will leave service at 07:15 and go on to cover a total of 343.99km on Day 1. The first car will enter SS2 (Koilinia) – a mostly gravel stage – at 08:13, and SS3 (Salamiou) – 57% tarmac – at 09:16. Crews will then tackle SS4 (Panayia) – 100% gravel – from 09:59, before returning to service in Pafos at 11:49. After exiting service at 12:19, drivers will repeat the morning stages – SS5 (Koilinia) at 13:17, SS6 (Salamiou) at 14:20, and SS7 (Panayia) at 15:03.

Sunday will see crews tackle a further six special stages, amounting to 100.32km of competitive action. Day 2 will see drivers cover a total of 350.77km. The first car will exit service at 08:30 and enter Special Stage 8 (Prodromi) – a predominantly gravel stage – at 09:28, and SS9 (Gialia) – 100% gravel – at 10:21. SS10 (Stavros) – a 100% tarmac stage – gets underway at 11:04. Drivers will then return to Pafos for service at 12:34, before heading out again at 13:04 to tackle the repeat loop of stages. The first car will enter SS11 (Prodromi) at 14:02, SS12 (Gialia) at 14:55, and SS13 (Stavros) at 15:38. Crews will return to service at 16:58.

The finish will now take place outsidePafosTown Hallat 17:30 on Sunday.

The Cyprus Rally is organized by the Cyprus Automobile Association (CAA) and will serve as both the season closer of the 2012 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC), and the penultimate round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC).

An impressive roster of international, regional and national drivers will take to Friday’s start ramp, including defending IRC champion Andreas Mikkelsen ofNorwayin his Skoda Fabia S2000, and 2010 Cyprus Rally winner Nasser Al-Attiyah ofQatar, who will field an M-Sport Ford Fiesta RRC.

The 2012 Cyprus Rally will see crews cover a total of 694.76km, of which 237.14km will be special stages. 30.97% (73.45km) of the stages will be tarmac, and 69.03% (163.69km) gravel.

For further information, visit the official event website at www.cyprusrally.com.cy