Lebanon’s Feghali wins Al Hussein Rumman Hill Climb

AMMAN — Lebanon’s Roger Feghali on Friday was crowned champion of Al Hussein Rumman Hill Climb after clocking 1m51.78s in his Mitsubishi EVO Proto.

Feghali deprived 2012 winner Husam Salem the opportunity to conquer the Hill again after the latter clocked a best time of 1m54.02s.

Salem settled in the second place after a disappointing 2m00.51s in the top 10 round.

Jordan’s Fadi Bikawi came third (1m56.21s).

Feghali expressed his happiness of winning this year’s event saying: “I am really proud to win the event again this year. The event was challenging and hopefully next year I will be able to continue this winning streak.” 

Twenty-five drivers from Lebanon, the UAE and Jordan took part in the event organised by Jordan Motorsport.

This year’s racetrack created a challenge to drivers especially after several cars had minor accidents that left the track slippery due to oil to which drivers of the top 10 round requested that the last round to be cancelled.

Jordan Motorsport officials after a considerable delay decided to continue the last round after the maintenance and safety officials made sure that every drop of oil was handled and that the track was ready to host the last crucial round.

Salem told The Jordan Times that Jordan Motorsport should have responded to the calls of drivers.

“The poor track conditions prevented me from going faster and registering a better time. I clocked my best time in the first round with 1m54.02s and the second round with 1m56.46s but the top 10 round I had to be careful and clocked a disappointing 2m00.51s,” he said.

“I believe Jordan Motorsport should have cancelled the last round as it was really dangerous to drive or even to push the car harder and that is why I registered the first two rounds under the two-minute barrier and failed in the top 10 round,” he added.

Meanwhile, Ziyad Masanat, race director, responded by saying that the track was cleaned and was up to hosting the final round.

“Safety is our main concern and we cleaned the track and it received the approval of the safety committee. The track was fine and some drivers even registered better timings in the top ten round. Jordan Motorsport will not allow drivers to continue unless we are sure 100 per cent that the track is safe and conditions do not pose any danger to the lives of the drivers,” he said.

The Hill Climb course is exactly three kilometres in length and three metres in width with an average rise of 8.5 per cent. There are a total of 24 bends and corners including four hairpin bends. The course is situated two kilometres north of Rumman.