Total Liban, the exclusive fuel provider of the annual Lebanese Rally Championship, has collaborated with ATCL and Tamanna Association – a non-profit organization that grants the wishes of children with critical illness – in order to add a special flavor to this year’s Rally of Lebanon activities by making a wish come true for Elie Al Khoueiry, a young man with a big dream of racing in a rally car alongside a professional rally driver.
The first step towards making Elie’s dream come true was a co-piloting training session organized especially for him on RPM Karting track in Mtein with the professional rally driver, Eddy Abou Karam. The encounter was magical. For Elie, striding alongside Eddy Abou Karam, towards the race track, was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Before he could actually co-pilot, Total Liban needed to make sure that Elie was briefed on the ins-and-outs of co-piloting, including all road safety measures and co-piloting communication strategies, emphasizing that race speeding follows specific rules and is only applied during races on secured tracks. The training session was followed by trial co-piloting trips to test Elie’s newly acquired skills and a high adrenaline driving experience that certainly fueled his excitement.
And it didn’t end here… Elie was invited to attend the Super Special Stage and watch the race up close for the first time in his life. The VIP treat he received drew on the young man’s face the biggest smile as he saw race cars cross the departure line. “I keep thinking I don’t want anyone to pinch me so I wouldn’t wake up from this amazing dream”, he exclaimed.
For children with critical illness, recovery depends on both medical and psychological treatments. Tamanna’s mission is to do what medicine can’t do; empower children to combat their illness, giving them hope and happiness in times of great stress and hardship. “It is with the support of entities like ATCL and Total Liban that we are able to pursue our mission”, said Soraya Barbir, Executive Director of Tamanna, when asked about this collaboration.
From his side, Total Liban Managing Director, Daniel Alvarez, commented: “This year marks our 9th in a row as the exclusive fuel provider of the Lebanese Rally Championship. A very special year since it also witnessed the launch in April of our newest fuel innovation, TOTAL EXCELLIUM, the chosen fuel of the Rally of Lebanon. And to make it even more special, we decided to work hand in hand with ATCL and Tamanna to bring a young man’s dream to life. We are proud to have helped Elie in achieving his dream”.
Total Liban continues its commitment to offer not only the best racing products possible in order to keep raising the bar when it comes to rally racing, but also the best experiences to rally fans while giving back to the community.
