- Al-Rajhi and Akeel to go head-to-head for overall Saudi Toyota Championship title
- Emirati Mohammed Al-Balooshi aims for a clean sweep of motorcycle victories
JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA: Jeddah Rally Toyota will draw the curtain on a highly competitive and increasingly popular Saudi Toyota Rally Championship this weekend.
The three-day round of the all-terrain series is based at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit (JCC) and has attracted a field of 38 cars, 16 motorcycles, and six quads. The action gets underway with a Prologue stage of 11km from 15.00hrs on Thursday afternoon.
Yazeed Al-Rajhi leads his Overdrive Racing team-mate Dania Akeel by 21 points in the Ultimate P category and has a 28-point cushion over the recent winner of the FIA Middle East Baja Cup in the overall championship standings. The duo will go head-to-head to decide both titles in their Toyota Hiluxes. Their respective navigators, Timo Gottschalk and Stéphane Duplé, are also separated by 28 points in the Co-drivers’ Championship.
The battle for third place in the points standings is still wide open: Saleh Al-Saif heads into the weekend with a 24-point lead over Hamad Al-Harbi with Moaaz Hariri, Abdulaziz Al-Yaeesh and Miroslav Zapletal within striking distance of finishing fourth.
Al-Yaeesh will also be aiming to seal victory in the Ultimate category at the wheel of his Nissan Patrol. He leads fellow Nissan driver Fares Al-Moshna by seven points with Khalid Al-Shammeri starting as the favourite to finish the season in third in class.
Al-Harbi (Can-Am) and Al-Saif (OT3) are great rivals in other FIA championships and they head into the weekend’s Jeddah showdown separated by just two points in the quest to win the prestigious Challenger category.
Maha Al-Hameli and German rival Annett Quandt are closely matched in the battle for the final place on the Challenger podium, with Hamza Bakhashab knowing that if he delivers a top performance through the deserts to the north of Jeddah he will also move into podium contention.
Four Nissan Patrol drivers are still within a shout of securing the Stock title for series-production cross-country machines. Majed Al-Thunayyan is the new FIA Middle East Baja Cup’s Stock champion and will take the start with a two-point cushion over Sufian Al-Omar and a three-point advantage over Saudi Border Guard driver Jafar Al-Qahtani. Fourth-placed Muneef Al-Shammeri is 14 points off the outright class lead.
Moaaz Hariri has already won the Can-Am-dominated SSV category in his Maverick XRS Turbo RR. The Saudi starts the event with a 42-point lead over Abdullah Al-Shegawi, who will go up against R-X Sport’s Orjwan Ammar and Abdullah Al-Haydan in the battle for second and third place.
Three-time FIM Bajas World Cup winner Mohammed Al-Balooshi has won the motorcycle category in all three rounds of this year’s Saudi Toyota Championship and starts as the clear favorite to continue his remarkable recent run of form.
The main competition for the Emirati comes from the host nation’s Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera, Ahmed Al-Jaber, and Mishal Al-Ghuneim, Lebanon’s Rafic Eid, Doha-based Australian Martin Chalmers and UAE-based Briton Alex McInnes.
Haitham Al-Tuwaijri won the quad category in Jeddah Rally Toyota for the last two seasons and will be aiming for a hat-trick when he takes on title rivals Hani Al-Noumesi, Abdulaziz Al-Shayban and Abdulaziz Al-Atawi. Al-Shayban emerged victorious at the last round in Qassim, while Al-Tuwaijri was triumphant in Tabuk back in May and in Ha’il at the start of the season.
Jeddah Rally Toyota 2024 is being organized by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF) in conjunction with the Ministry of Sport, with official partner Jameel Motorsport and strategic partner Saudi Investment Bank. It is running under the supervision of SAMF Chairman H.R.H. Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal.
Tomorrow, (Thursday), the ceremonial start will take place in the JCC F1 Circuit Parking area from 13.00hrs, before competitors tackle a nearby Prologue from 15.00hrs. This will determine the starting order for the following day’s opening desert stage.
Jeddah Rally Toyota 2024 – leading entries:
Ultimate P
200. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (SAU)/Timo Gottschalk (DEU) Toyota Hilux
201. Dania Akeel (SAU)/Stéphane Duplé (FRA) Toyota Hilux
202. Miroslav Zapletal (CZE)/Michal Goleniewski (POL) Ford F-150
Ultimate
203. Abdulaziz Al-Yaeesh (SAU)/Omar Al-Lahim (SAU) Nissan Patrol
204. Faris Al-Moshna (SAU)/Saud Al-Tamimi (SAU) Nissan Patrol
205. Khaled Al-Shammeri (SAU)/Majed Al-Shammeri (SAU) Nissan Patrol
206. Owaid Al-Shammeri (SAU)/Ayidh Al-Harbi (SAU) Toyota Land Cruiser
207. Fahad Al-Marmass (SAU)/Fayed Al-Samry (SAU) Nissan Patrol, etc
Challenger
300. Hamad Al-Harbi (SAU)/Aleksei Kuzmich (ARE) Can-Am Maverick X3
301. Saleh Al-Saif (SAU)/Albert Veliamovič (LTU) G Rally Team OT3
302. Maha Al-Hameli (SAU)/TBA Can-Am Maverick X3
303. Annett Quandt (DEU)/Annie Seel (SWE) X-Raid Yamaha YXZ 1000R
304. Hamza Bakhashab (SAU)/Marcin Pasek (POL) Can-Am Maverick X3
305. Waleed Al-Dhakeel (SAU)/Egor Alexandrovich (ANA) MC5
306. Yasir Seaidan (SAU)/Michael Metge (FRA) Taurus T3 Max
307. Rui Carneiro (PRT)/Ole Floene (NOR) Can-Am Maverick X3
308. Maria Gameiro (PRT)/José Marques (PRT) X-Raid Yamaha YXZ 1000R
SSV
400. Moaaz Hariri (SAU)/TBA Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR
401. Abdullah Al-Shegawi (SAU)/Raid Al-Assaf (SAU) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR
402. Orjwan Ammar (SAU)/Khalid Al-Kendi (ARE) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR
403. Abdullah Al-Haydan (SAU)/Bader Al-Ajmi (SAU) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR
404. Ibrahim Al-Muhanna (SAU)/Faisal Al-Suwayh (SAU) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR
405. Mona Kurdi (SAU)/Ali Hassan Abdullah (ARE) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR
406. Ahmed Al-Sabban (SAU)/Ali Mirza (ARE) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR
Stock
500. Majed Al-Thunayyan (SAU)/Fahad Al-Sufyani (SAU) Nissan Patrol
501. Sufian Al-Omar (SAU)/Yasir Al-Khuraif (SAU) Nissan Patrol
502. Jafar Al-Qahtani (SAU)/Hussam Al-Zahrani (SAU) Nissan Patrol
503. Muneef Al-Shammeri (SAU)/Joaan Al-Shammeri (SAU) Nissan Patrol, etc
Bikes
1. Mohammed Al-Balooshi (ARE) KTM Rally Bike
2. Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera (SAU) KTM Rally Bike
3. Ahmed Al-Jaber (SAU) KTM Rally Bike
4. Hanno Geyser (ZAF) Beta 430 RR
5. Mishal Al-Ghuneim (SAU) Husqvarna 450 Rally Replica
6. Rafic Eid (LBN) GasGas 450 Rally Replica
7. Ehab Al-Hakeem (SAU) Yamaha WR 450F
8. Martin Chalmers (QAT) GasGas 450 RFR
9. Abdulrahman Al-Sheeb (QAT) Fantic Enduro
10. Sarah Khuraibet (KWT) Husqvarna FE 450
11. Salman Humood (BHR) KTM 450 Rally Replica
12. Philip Horlemann (ARE) KTM 450 Rally Replica
13. Abdullah Lanjawi (ARE) Kove 450 Rally
14. Luca Passone (SAU) Husqvarna 450 Rally Replica
15. Alex McInnes (ARE) Husqvarna FE 450
16. Mohammed Meerza (ARE) Husqvarna FE 501
Quads
100. Haitham Al-Tuwaijri (SAU) Yamaha Raptor 700
101. Abdulaziz Al-Shayban (SAU) Yamaha Raptor 700
102. Hani Al-Noumesi (SAU) Yamaha Raptor 700
103. Abdulaziz Al-Atawi (SAU) Yamaha Raptor 700
104. Abdulrahman Alabdullatif (SAU) CF Moto C Force 1000
105. Osama Al-Sehaibani (SAU) Suzuki Raptor
