One island. Two FIA Championship rounds. Lots of rallying!
Cyprus broke new rallying ground when it hosted the first ever entirely mixed surface rallying event. The beautiful island of Venus is set once again to break new ground. The 2014 Cyprus Rally prepares to host the 9th round of the FIA European Rallying Championship and the 5th round of the FIA Middle-East Rallying Championship. This marks the very first time that a rallying round will host two FIA Championship events on the same weekend. The rally will take place from the 19th to the 21st of September.
Much like the previous year, the event is once again hosted in Nicosia. Being the capital, Nicosia offers an assortment of historical sites, a wealth of cafes, restaurants, and much, much more. Nicosia is a vibrant and lively blend of old and new. The Rally HQ will be based in the well-known Cyprus International Conference Center, which hosted the Cypriot Presidency of the EU in 2012 while the Service Park will be but a stone’s throw away from the HQ at the Lieutenant general Evangelos Florakis street in Nicosia.
On Tuesday and Wednesday leading up to the event (16th and 17th) all crews will have the customary Recce stages while the shakedown is scheduled for Thursday the 18th. The shakedown stage also acts as a qualifying stage for the ERC crews. The ERC priority drivers, after completing their passes will convene at the Service Park where a ceremony will take place during which, starting with the fastest driver, the crews will pick their starting position for the first leg of the 2014 Cyprus Rally.
The ceremonial start of the 2014 Cyprus Rally will take place on the afternoon of Friday the 19th of September in the heart of Nicosia with the crews immediately tackling a spectacular Super Special-Stage through the city streets once they descent from the starting ramp.
Competitors will head out from the city to tackle the special stages situated in the Nicosia and Larnaca districts. Cyprus Rally will continue to feature mixed surface stages of gravel and tarmac, which we introduced to great success back in 2009. Saturday the 20th will see crews tackling 8 Special Stages while Sunday the 21st will host 6 Special Stages for total of 15. The 2014 Cyprus Rally will be organized by the Cyprus Automobile Association. The event will be sponsored by CNP Asfalistiki, Nicosia Municipality and the Cyprus Tourism Organization. The Rally will be support by CYTA, the official telecommunication provider and the Cyprus Police Organization.
