The 52nd Cyprus Rally delivered one of the most thrilling finishes of all time. Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar won by just 4.63 seconds over Simos Galatariotis, claiming the Middle East Championship title for the 21st time in his career and his 10th victory at the Cyprus Rally! It is the second-smallest margin of victory in the history of the race, which has been organized by the Cyprus Automobile Association since 1970. The smallest margin was the 0.7-second lead with which Galatariotis beat Magalhaes in 2018
The thrilling finish
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Al-Attiyah on track for victory and the title
Galatariotis / Ioannou (Skoda Fabia) entered the final stage with a 3.6-second lead after winning three consecutive special stages, making up a one-minute deficit against Al-Attiyah / Carrera, who encountered problems on the first two afternoon special stages—they finished with their Skoda Fabia damaged.
The driver from Qatar went all out on the final special stage, driving without a spare tire and managing to be 8.7 seconds faster than his formidable Cypriot rival, who claimed a spot on the Rally Cyprus podium for the third time—his first since his victory in 2018.
The 52nd Cyprus Rally was the fifth and final round of the 2026 FIA Middle East Rally Championship.
Podium for Poseidias / Laos
Michalis Poseidias and Pambos Laos finished on the winners’ podium in a Renault Clio, winning the Rally 3 class. This marks Poseidias’s first podium finish at the Cyprus Rally. The crew made up a gap of nearly three minutes on last year’s champions, Yiannis / Nikolaou (Hyundai i20), who faced numerous problems on the afternoon stages and finished fourth. In fifth place, flying the Cypriot flag, were the Turkish Cypriots Sukuroglu / Topcuoslu (Volkswagen Polo)—who finished second on the penultimate special stage—and in sixth place were Zenonos / Christofis (Ford Fiesta), who also posted a second-best time on Sunday.
Al-Attiyah / Carrera won a total of six special stages, Galatariotis / Ioannou, and one by Al-Rawahi / Itu (Skoda Fabia), who retired on the first afternoon stage while running in third place. One special stage—the first one on Sunday—was canceled because spectators failed to comply with safety officials’ instructions.
The Speedy Saudi
The 22-year-old Saudi driver Bakhashab, with Lebanese co-driver Matar, drove very fast on Sunday (they also posted two top-three times), finishing seventh in their Skoda Fabia—if for any reason they had been ahead of Al-Attiyah, the Saudi driver would have been the champion!
G. Giagou / P. Englezos (Renault Clio) finished eighth, while Prodromou / Episkopou (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X) took first in RC4 and ninth overall, and Al-Atya / Chehab (Ford Fiesta) came in tenth. In 11th place were K. Laos / Stylianou (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) in 11th place, the leading 2WD crew of Parellis / Papandreou in 12th, and the Jordanians Jweihan / Juma (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X) in 13th.
Sixteen of the 17 crews that started on Friday (10/23) entered the second leg, as Sioferos / Ilias (Peugeot 208) withdrew permanently on the first day. On the second day, two more two-wheel-drive cars withdrew: Manolis / P. Laos (Peugeot 208) and Stylianou / Makridis (Ford Fiesta).
The local race
Kokias / Konstantinou (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) won the locally significant race, which featured 11 crews, six of whom finished. Second place went to Hapelis / Chrysanthou (Subaru Impreza), and third place to Christodoulou / Nestoros (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII). In fourth place were Trikomitidis / Nikolaou (Suzuki Vitara), and in fifth place were N. Kyriakou / Zoupouris (Honda Civic), who also won the two-wheel-drive category (RCS1). G. Kyriakou / L. Laos (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII) also finished the race.
Sponsors of the 52nd Cyprus International Rally were Psaltis Auto Parts, ENEOS Motor Oil, and INEOS Grenadier, with support from ANCO Catering Equipment, AP Group of Companies, Farmakas Natural Spring Water, and STOP FIRE.
The Municipality of Larnaca hosted the race’s official ceremonies.
