MEDIA INFORMATION
FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies
For immediate release
Tuesday, September 1st, 2015
NISSAN’S T2 CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDER
EMIL KHNEISSER TARGETS LATE PUSH FOR WORLD TITLE
· Nissan Middle East-backed star maintains second place in T2 Championship
ABU DHABI (UAE): Abu Dhabi-based Lebanese driver Emil Khneisser is targeting a late push to try and win the T2 World Championship, held in conjunction with the 2015 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies.
After finishing fourth in the T2 category at Baja Spain Aragon in late July, Khneisser strengthened his hold on second place in the championship and he maintained that position at the Hungarian Baja, despite losing his grip on second position in the race with a late technical issue.
Running with support for his Nissan Patrol from Nissan Middle East, the Lebanese now looks ahead to the final two rounds of the series knowing that a pair of wins could give him the opportunity to claim the prestigious T2 title.
“Hungary, I was delayed a bit on the first stage because my Sentinel (horn used to warn other competitors of passing cars) was not working properly. Then I managed to push my way up the leader board to second position. On the last stage I was pushing even harder to try and get the first place, but we had a minor mechanical problem about 40km from the finish and had to stop.”
Kazakh driver Denis Berezovskiy extended his overall championship lead with victory in Hungary at the wheel of his Nissan Patrol. Qatar’s Sheikh Hamed bin Eid Al-Thani finished second and Alessandro Bellini of Italy was third.
Khneisser now faces a fascinating showdown with Berezovskiy for the T2 title, while he also has to keep a close eye on the likes of Russian driver Maxim Kurpilev and Al-Thani, who are targeting the Nissan driver’s second place in the T2 World Championship.
FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies T2 – positions after round 7 (unofficial):
1. Denis Berezovskiy (KAZ) 164 pts
2. Emil Khneisser (ARE) 117 pts
3. Maxim Kurpilev (RUS) 114 pts
4. Hamed bin Eid Al-Thani (QAT) 106 pts
5. Mansour Al-Helai (ARE) 50 pts
5. Elvis Borsoi (ITA) 50 pts, etc
Ends