Roger Féghali: “The Lebanese rally is like an Irish tarmac stage”

Fourteen times Lebanese Rally champion. Winner of numerous hill climb trophies. And title holder of 39 local rallies. Roger Féghali is one of the Middle East’s top drivers. This year, as he prepares for the National Rally of Lebanon, part of the Middle East Rally Championship, he’s been adding to his trophy cabinet and preparing for the big one with a number of recent wins behind the wheel of his Mitsubishi Evo.

So far, we’ve done three speed tests, one hill climb and one rally this year. Right now, in Lebanon, the situation is really unstable and there has been a lot of cancelled events, so we were so happy to get back in the bucket seat. In the speed tests, there were 90 cars taking part, which is a good turnout. I was driving a Mitsubishi Evo6 Prototype, built by my team Motortune Racing. We also took part in the Wadi Sharour in June. It’s the first race in the Lebanese Hill Climb Championship and we won it by a mile. It was a good one. My co-driver Salim Wakim and I also won the Spring Rally in our Mitsubishi EvoX. This event is organised by the Automobile and Touring Club of Lebanon and had 19 cars competing. This was the 15th time we won this rally.

All these are preparations for the National Rally of Lebanon, which is part of the Middle East Rally Championship. That’s a really important event for us. I’ve won it 14 times, and hopefully this year we can make it another win.

In the local championship I’m driving the EvoX and in the Rally of Lebanon I’m driving a Skoda Fabia R5 Evo, again using Motul lubricants.

I always compare them to Irish tarmac rallies. In Ireland, the roads are really bumpy and tight. In Lebanon, the roads are very similar and they’re bumpy, but the key difference is the tarmac is really bad quality. So, it’s very unpredictable to race on.

The Motul dealer in Lebanon is a friend of mine, and we’ve been working together since 1996. Motul’s lubricants are a major advantage. The engine and gearbox oils are always top quality. It’s not just the best product, it’s always the same product, and this consistency is what I like.