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The 25th Cyprus Rally was launched at a news conference at the Nicosia Hilton (the event's new headquarters) today (Sep 4th). The assembled members of the print and broadcast media were welcomed by Georgios Pavlides, Chairman of the Cyprus Automobile Association.

On behalf of the organisers, he thanked the Cyprus Sports Organisation (KOA) and the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) for their support.

Costas Papacostas, General Manager of KOA, stressed the importance of the Cyprus Rally both to the island's economy and in the promulgation of the island's struggle for justice in the face of the illegal occupation. He lauded the press, both at home and overseas, for putting Cyprus in the international sports arena through the immense coverage they give to the event each year.

Takis Kyriakides, the Clerk of the Course, said that there is a great deal of foreign interest this year because both the European Championship and the FIA European Rally Cup for Drivers (Formula 2) are again wide open. The gaps between the top drivers are very small and, as the 25th Cyprus Rally is the penultimate coefficient 20 round, the four hundred winners' points could prove decisive.

He said that seven overseas entries have already been received. Paying a return visit will be reigning European F2 Cup holders Nicolai Burkart and Regine Rausch from Germany, whose top ten finish at last year's rally consolidated their position on the leader board. They will drive a Renault Maxi Megane in an attempt to win the title for a second consecutive year.

Another return visitor will be the Czech National Team, with Jindrich Stolfa and Miroslav Fanta, again driving a Skoda Felicia Kit Car. This crew was forced to retire with a broken brake servo last year while lying in fourth overall position. They too will be trying to get the maximum points in the F2 Cup competition.

Kyriakides disclosed that route is of a total distance of a thousand kilometres, 307 of them making up the twenty special stages.

Scrutineering will be at the Mercedes garage on the morning of Friday, 26th September and the rally will start from Eleftheria Square at 19:30 hrs local time the same evening. Leg I contains just three stages and the cars will return to the Hilton for the overnight halt. Leg II, which will start at 07:30 on Saturday, 27th September, comprises eight stages in the Troodos mountains with a short rest halt and service park at Kykko Monastery. The cars will again return to the Hilton for the night.

The nine stages of the third and final leg, which will start at 07:30 on Sunday, 28th September, will take the cars south west to Limassol for a short regroup, and then along the edges of the Paphos Forest before returning to Eleftheria Square for the finish at 20:45 hours. The prizegiving will take place in Eleftheria Square immediately after the finish.

Press Officer 4 September 1997

CORPORATE STAGES

In the wake of the loss of its long-term financial backer, the Cyprus Rally is being helped by companies' sponsoring special stages. The rally, which will run from September 26 to 28, has twenty stages and seven of them have already been 'adopted'.

Sponsors may put banners etc. at the stage start and finish, and at strategic points along its route. They can also put up their stalls or booths in the vicinity of stage, from which they can dispense promotional material or 'giveaways'.

Stage advertising works in the same way as that around football pitches; spectators absorb it subliminally while consciously watching the action around it. It is, of course, also picked up by television and film cameras.

Special Stage 1 at Politiko is the Cyprus Airways stage; SS4 at Ayios Epiphanios has been bought by Opel and SS5 at Saittas by Koni. Michelin is sponsoring SS12 at Mathiatis and SS13 at Stavrovouni is the Valvoline stage. NCR has SS14 and SS20 (both at Klavdia); SS16 at Alassa has been bought by Kardanas Auto AC and the Cyprus Weekly has bought SS18 at Pakhna.

The corporate titles will be used in all documents throughout the rally.

There is still time for more companies to join in and sponsor a stage. Details can be obtained by telephoning the Cyprus Automobile Association on Nicosia 313233.

Press Officer 8 September 1997

CYPRUS RALLY ON EUROSPORT

The 25th Cyprus Rally is attracting strong international interest because, for the second year running, the European Championship may well be decided here.

The twenty-six minute film of the rally has already been booked by:

- Eurosport, the pan-European satellite broadcaster,

- ITV, one of the UK's terrestrial free-over-the-air biggest stations,

- RAI, Italy's main television channel,

- Globosat, the Brazilian satellite channel,

- Emirates Broadcasting Corporation,

- Canal 12, Uruguay,

- Dar El Salaam broadcasting, Tanzania.

Polish broadcasters are also expected to take film because of the participation of Krzysztof Holowczyc. The Polish driver will be the new European Champion if he wins the Cyprus Rally.

As entries have not yet closed, it is not yet certain which other countries are in the running for using the film but there is bound to be interest from the Czech Republic, Russia and Germany.

The 25th Cyprus will be run on September 26,27 and 28.

Press Officer 9 September 1997

EIGHTY ONE STARTERS

Eighty one cars from ten countries will set out next Friday, 26 September, at the start of the thousand kilometre route of the 25th Cyprus Rally.

First off the ramp in the east Mediterranean island's capital, Nicosia, will be European Championship leaders Krzysztof Holowczyc and Maciej Wislawski of Poland in the Stomil Olsztyn Mobil 1 Rally Team's Subaru Impreza 555. A win for them next weekend will assure them of the title.

Leonidas Kirkos and John Stavropoulos of Greece will be second away in their privately entered Ford Escort WRC. Kirkos is giving the Escort WRC its Cyprus debut.

Car number three, the Proton Rally Team's Wira, will be driven by reigning Cyprus Champions Lenas Cleanthous and Dimis Cacoyiannis. The first of two Astra Team Lancia Delta's comes next, with Finnish Champion Tony Gardemeister at the wheel.

1997 Cyprus Championship leaders Andreas Tsouloftas and Andros Achilleos are at number five in the Mobil 1 Mitsubishi Team's Lancer Evolution III. They will be followed by the Gazprom Team's lead car, a Ford Escort RS Cosworth, driven by Serguey Baldykov and Anton Zinoviev.

Making a return visit is Gianmarino Zenere, who will start at number seven in his Subaru Impreza 555. He is currently in second place on the European Championship leader board - 100 points ahead of his nearest rival. So a top three finish this weekend could secure him the runners-up slot.

Jindrich Stolfa and Miroslav Fanta are also on their second visit to the Cyprus Rally. They will start at number eight in the Czech National Skoda Team's Felicia 1.6.

The other overseas entries are: Jean-Pierre Nasrallah from Lebanon, driving the second Astra Team Lancia HF Delta; Russians Jeludov and Timkovski, in the second Gazprom Ford; Stefen Reininger from Austria, in a Renault Clio Williams; Tasos Gemenis and Yiannis Kepetzis from Greece, in a Mazda 323 GTX and Christakis Phitides from Burundi in a Nissan Sunny GTi-R.

When the cars leave the start ramp at 19:30 hrs local time on Friday evening, ahead of them will be twenty tough gravel stages totalling 307 kilometres.

The Cyprus Rally will finish back in Nicosia at 20:45 on Sunday and prizegiving will take place in the square immediately after the finish.

Press Officer 15th September 1997

PROGRAMME ON SALE

The official programme of the 25th Cyprus Rally is now on sale at kiosks, bookstores and newsagents, priced £1.50. The programme contains colour maps of the rally route, with recommended spectator points and detailed instructions on how to get to each place.

There are also photographs and information about the drivers and their cars, the list of entrants and a story looking back at the Cyprus Rally over the years.

The first of eighty one cars from ten countries will set out from Nicosia's Eleftheria Square on the Cyprus Rally at 19:30 hours local time next Friday, 26 September. The crews who survive the thousand kilometre route will arrive back in the square at 20:45 hours on Sunday; the prizegiving will take place on the podium immediately after the finish.

Crews from: Poland, Greece, Finland, Russia, Italy, the Czech Republic, Lebanon, Austria, Burundi and, of course, Cyprus will contest this European Championship coefficient 20 rally.

Press Officer 19 September 1997

SPECTATE IN SAFETY

The 25th Cyprus Rally gets under way at 19:30 local time on Friday, when the first of eighty one cars from ten countries will set out from Nicosia's Eleftheria Square. The crews who survive the tough three-day event will arrive back in Eleftheria Square at 20:45 hours on Sunday for the finish and prizegiving ceremonies.

Most of the foreign crews, from Poland, Greece, Finland, Russia, Italy, the Czech Republic, Lebanon, Austria and Burundi, have arrived on the island and are busy recceing the route and preparing their pace notes.

Thousands of spectators are expected to be watching in the special stages over the weekend and the rally's safety officer has given us few suggestions that will make spectating safer and more enjoyable.

Special stages are run on roads closed to all other traffic and on which the competitors race against the clock. These roads are closed to the public an hour before the first car is due and they are only re-opened when all the cars have gone through and the route has been checked by a safety car.

If you take your car into a stage, won't be able to move it for several hours. So if you only want to watch the first cars, leave your car outside -- parked well clear of the route -- and walk in.

While we want you to enjoy the rally, please don't forget that rally drivers can make mistakes and we don't want you to be in the way when they do. Remember that the police and marshals are not there to spoil your fun, any instructions they give you are in your interest so please obey them.

The fire hazard is extremely high, so ensure that you extinguish your cigarettes properly and don't light fires.

If you use the diagram to find the "no-go" areas and follow the hints below, you will have a great weekend at the 25th Cyprus Rally.

NEVER

Stand on or below the level of the track.

Stand on the outside of a bend, unless well above the track.

Stand in prohibited areas or block escape routes.

Aim your camera into the faces of the drivers when taking photographs at night.

Play games either with your safety or that of the drivers.

ALWAYS

Expect the unexpected.

Listen for approaching cars.

Remain alert.

Leave yourself room to move quickly.

Keep children under supervision.

Do as the marshals ask and help them run a safe stage.

STAY WHERE IT'S SAFE!

end

Press Officer 22 September 1997

CYPRUS RALLY ON THE INTERNET

During the 25th Cyprus Rally, results, stage times and retirments will be available from the public information office in the lobby of the Nicosia Hilton.

Computer buffs will be able to get up-to-the-minute results and news bulletins by logging on to the 25th Cyprus Rally's home page on the Internet at Http://www.cytanet.com.cy/CAA

Press Officer 22 September 1997

VIPS TO 'FLAG OFF' RALLY

The 25th Cyprus Rally will be officially started by Pantelis Kouros, Undersecretary to the President of the Republic. The first of the 81 cars will leave the ramp in Nicosia's Eleftheria Square at 19:30 hrs local time on Friday (September 26).

Also 'flagging off' cars will be Shekhar Mehta, Chairman of the International Rallies Commission - and winner of the 1976 Cyprus Rally; Derek Ledger, who is an FIA Vice-President and the Chairman of the Panel of Stewards at the 25th Cyprus Rally; Georgios Pavlides, Chairman of the Cyprus Automobile Association; Lellos Demetriades, the Mayor of Nicosia; Demos Georghiades, the Chairman of the Cyprus Sports Organisation (KOA); Costas Papacostas, Director General of KOA and Ouranios Ioannides, Chairman of the 25th Cyprus Rally's Organising Committee.

The rally will finish back in Eleftheria Square at 20:45 on Sunday (September 28).

Press Officer 23 September 1996

FIREWORKS AT FINISH

The 25th Cyprus Rally will round off a Formula 1 style prizegiving and a magnificent firework display in Nicosia's city centre Eleftheria Square on Sunday night (September 28).

The prizegiving ceremony will take place immediately after the finish of the three-day rally. And for the first time, the award winners will receive their trophies in front of their fans - Formula 1 style. The awards will be presented by Pantelis Kouros, Undersecretary to the President of the Republic.

The firework display, which has been sponsored by BP Cyprus Ltd, will start at 21:00 hours and it will mark the Cyprus Rally's silver anniversary.

Press Officer 23 September 1997