Yazeed Al-Rajhi, Abdullah Abu Aisheh and Abdulmajeed Al-Khulaifi topped the car, motorcycle and quad categories after a shortened 3.91km Qualifying Stage at the start of the three-day Saudi Baja 2022–Hail on Thursday afternoon.

Al-Rajhi and his German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz stopped the clocks in 3min 09.9sec to win the day’s stage by 8.8 seconds in their Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilu

Brazilian driver Cristiano de Sousa Batista and his Portuguese co-driver Fausto Mota came home in second and first in T4 and Al-Rajhi’s Czech title rival Miroslav Zapletal and his Slovakian co-driver Marek Sykora were third. Fourth-placed Fernando Alvarez and Xavier Panseri topped the T3 standings.

Young Jordanian rider Abdullah Abu Aishah topped the times on two wheels with a run of 3min 33sec on his KTM Factory Rally 450. Great Britain’s Alex McInnes and Makis Rees-Stavros were second and third.

Local Yamaha Raptor rider Abdulmajeed Al-Khulaifi beat Abdulaziz Ahli by nine seconds to win the quad stage. He was also faster than the leading motorcyclist in the FIM category.

After the ceremonial start at the Al-Maghawah National Park, competitors tackled a Qualifying Stage that was reduced from 18km to just 3.91km in length. Nineteen FIA cars, 31 motorcycles, four quads and 25 vehicles running in the Saudi National Baja were permitted to start.

Majed Al-Thunayyan and Yayha Ali Abdu were disqualified from the FIA event on the grounds that their cars failed stringent technical scrutineering. Maha Al-Hameli and Annie Seel also dropped out of the FIA event and moved their Team Black Horse Can-Am into the National Baja

The seventh round of both the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas and the FIM Bajas World Cup, round three of the FIA Middle East Cup for Cross-Country Bajas and the third event in the Saudi Toyota Rally Championship is being organised by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF), in conjunction with the Ministry of Sport and in partnership with Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ) Motors.

Tomorrow (Friday), competitors will tackle a slightly revised stage of 229.52km to the west and northwest of Hail, which will be split into two sections of 101.52km and 128.00km by a neutralisation link.

The day’s selective section is named after the neighbouring city of Jubbah that is situated 90km northwest of Hail on the old caravan road between Najd and the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Saudi Baja 2022-Hail (positions after Qualifying Stage – SS1A (unofficial)):
FIA
1. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (SAU)/Dirk von Zitzewitz (DEU) Toyota Hilux Overdrive 3min 09.9sec
2. Cristiano de Sousa Batista (BRA)/Fauto Mota (PRT) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR (T4) 3min 18.7sec
3. Miroslav Zapletal (CZE)/Marek Sykora (SVK) Ford F150 Evo 3min 20.5sec
4. Fernando Alvarez (ESP)/Xavier Panseri (FRA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3) 3min 21.3sec
5. Saleh Al-Saif (SAU)/Tariq Al-Rammah (SAU) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3) 3min 21.5sec
T1 unless stated

FIM Bikes
1. Abdullah Abu Aishah (JOR) KTM 450 Factory Rally 3min 33.0sec
2. Alex McInnes (GBR) Husqvarna FE 450 3min 37.7sec
3. Makis Rees-Stavros (GBR) KTM EXC F 450 3min 47.0sec
4. Mohammed Al-Balooshi (ARE) TM 450 3min 52.6sec
5. Salman Mohamed Farhan (BAH) Husqvarna FE 450 3min 59.6sec

FIM Quads
1. Abdulmajeed Al-Khulaifi (SAU) Yamaha Raptor 700 3min 32.7sec
2. Abdulaziz Ahli (SAU) Yamaha YFZ 450R 3min 41.2sec
3. Hani Al-Noumesi (SAU) Yamaha Raptor 700 4min 11.4sec
4. Haitham Al-Tuwaijri (SAU) Yamaha Raptor 700 5min 01.7sec

Source Saudi Baja

The three-day Saudi Baja 2022–Hail gets underway with a ceremonial start and an 18km desert Qualifying Stage on Thursday afternoon.

The seventh round of both the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas and the FIM Bajas World Cup, round three of the FIA Middle East Cup for Cross-Country Bajas and the third event in the Saudi Toyota Rally Championship is being organised by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF), in conjunction with the Ministry of Sport and in partnership with Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ) Motors.
Riyadh driver Yazeed Al-Rajhi heads the FIA car field and faces a desert duel with Czech rival Miroslav Zapletal for the FIA World Cup Drivers’ Championship. The Toyota Hilux and Ford F-150 Evo drivers are separated by just one point in the standings heading into the Hail showdown. Al-Rajhi also holds the advantage at the halfway point of the Saudi Toyota Rally Championship.
The Czech’s Slovakian co-driver Marek Sykora is a firm favourite to win the FIA Co-drivers’ title in the absence of Michael Orr. The Ulsterman is still recuperating from an injury sustained in Poland and has been replaced in recent weeks alongside Al-Rajhi by German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz.
Brazilian Cristiano de Sousa Batista, Dutchman Kees Koolen and Spaniard Fernando Alvarez are locked in a three-way tie for third place in the Drivers’ Championship. They trail Al-Rajhi by 30 points and are also fighting for the FIA T4 and T3 titles in their respective South Racing Can-Ams.
Alvarez holds a 45-point lead over Saudi team-mate Dania Akeel in the T3 drivers’ rankings, while De Sousa Batista trails Kuwait’s Meshari Al-Thefiri by 18 points in the T4 tussle. Saudi driver Saeed Al-Mouri and Spaniard Eduard Pons ae also registered for T4 points in the FIA World Cup at the Saudi Baja in their Can-Ams.
Alvarez and Akeel face T3 competition from Qatar’s Mohammed Al-Attiyah, Saudi female driver Mashael Al-Obaidan and the experienced Saleh Al-Saif in their Can-Ams.
The outcome of the FIA Middle East Cup for Cross-Country Bajas is wide open: in the absence of two of his main rivals, Saudi driver Hamad Al-Harbi has the chance to snatch the overall championship lead and move ahead of both Aliyyah Koloc and her sister Yasmeen in the T3 rankings.
Italian driver Camelia Liparoti will lock horns with Lithuania’s Egidijus Valeiša and Saudi female racer Maha Al-Hamali for Middle East Cup points in T4. Liparoti currently holds third place in the points’ standings.
The Saudi Baja provides motorcycle and quad riders with the last opportunity to score FIA Baja World Cup points and qualify for the final to be held at the last round in Dubai at the start of December.
Emirati Mohammed Al-Balooshi currently tops the rankings with Portugal’s Fabio Magalhães on 45 points and knows that a win in Hail will give him a maximum 50-point score to take to the final.
Riders hoping to improve their position before Dubai include young Jordanian Abdullah Abu Aishah, Kuwait’s Abdullah Al-Shatti, Qatar-based Australian Martin Chalmers, Spaniard Margot Llobera, Briton Makis Rees-Stavros and Saudi riders, Mishal Al-Ghuneim and Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera.
Abdulmajeed Al-Khulaifi has already amassed the maximum 50 points for two wins in the quad category but the Saudi will be hoping to secure the top step of the podium once again on his Yamaha Raptor 700. Amongst his rivals in the FIM Bajas World Cup quad category are third-placed Hani Al-Noumesi and Faisal Al-Suwayh.
Leading riders in the over-450cc category include Austrian Simon Francis, the UAE’s Hamdan Al-Ali, Great Britain’s Steven Holt and the Qatari trio of Sheikh Mohammed Al-Thani, Mohammed Al-Kaabi and Yaghoob Azadi. They do not score points in the FIM series.
There is also a Saudi National Baja running behind the main FIA and FIM events and that has attracted a provisional 33-car field before final scrutineering and administration checks.
Tomorrow (Thursday), riders and drivers will cross the ceremonial start podium in Hail before tackling a challenging 18km Qualifying Stage that will determine the start order for the respective car, motorcycle and quad Bajas on Friday morning.

Saudi Baja 2022 - Hail (leading entries):
Cars
200. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (SAU)/Dirk von Zitzewitz (DEU) Toyota Hilux Overdrive
201. Miroslav Zapletal (CZE)/Marek Sykora (SVK) Ford F150 Evo
202. Salem Al-Dhafeeri (KWT)/Fares Al-Thefiri (KWT) Nissan Patrol
203. Khaled Al-Feraihi (SAU)/Sébastien Delaunay (FRA) Nissan Patrol
204. Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri (SAU)/Ashley Chavez (PER) Nissan Navara
210. Muneef Al-Shammeri (SAU)/Khalid Al-Bakr (SAU) Isuzu D-Max (T2)
211. Ahmed Al-Shegawi (SAU)/Alexei Kuzmich Nissan Patrol (T2)
212. Ibrahim Bensahman (SAU)/Mohammed Abdullah (SAU) Nissan Patrol (T2)
214. Yayha Ali Abdu (SAU)/TBA Nissan Patrol (T2)
215. Majed Al-Thunayyan (SAU)/Fahad Al-Sufyani (SAU) Nissan Patrol (T2)

Bikes
1. Mohammed Al-Balooshi (ARE) TM 450
2. Mishal Al-Ghuneim (SAU) Husqvarna 450 Rally
3. Abdullah Abu Aishah (JOR) KTM 450 Factory Rally
4. Salman Farhan (BAH) Husqvarna FE 450
5. Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera (SAU) KTM EXC F 450
6. Barry Howe (GBR) KTM SXF 450
7. Abdullah Al-Shatti (KWT) Kawasaki KC 450
8. Martin Chalmers (QAT) Honda CRF 450
9. Alex McInnes (GBR) Husqvarna FE 450
10. Makis Rees-Stavros (GBR) KTM EXC F 450

Quads
100. Abdulmajeed Al-Khulaifi (SAU) Yamaha Raptor 700
101. Haitham Al-Tuwaijri (SAU) Yamaha Raptor 700
102. Hani Al-Noumesi (SAU) Yamaha Raptor 700
103. Faisal Al-Suwayh (SAU) Yamaha YFZ 450R
104. Abdulaziz Al-Atawi (SAU) Yamaha Raptor 700
105. Abdulaziz Al-Shammeri (SAU) Yamaha
106. Abdulaziz Ahli (SAU) Yamaha YFZ 450R
107. Omar Fahmy (EGY) Yamaha YFZ 450R

Source Saudi Baja

 FIM Bajas World Cup, round 7 of 8

This weekend’s Saudi Baja 2022–Hail will be a round of the prestigious FIM Bajas World Cup for the first time.

The event is being organised by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF), in conjunction with the Ministry of Sport and in partnership with Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ) Motors and will mark the seventh and penultimate round of the flagship FIM series.
The governing body of numerous motorcycling disciplines from MotoGP to MotoCross, SuperMoto, Trial and Enduro also oversees the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship and the FIM Bajas World Cup.
While the FIM Cross-Country series featured the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia and additional rounds in Abu Dhabi, Morocco and Spain this year, the 2022 FIM Bajas World Cup is being fought out over eight shorter three-day Bajas
This season’s calendar started in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and moved on to Qatar, Portugal, Spain, Hungary and Portugal again, before returning to the Middle East for this weekend’s seventh round in Hail and the season’s finale in Dubai at the start of December. Two proposed late summer events in Chile were cancelled.
This year’s FIM Bajas World Cup is therefore being contested over seven events with a coefficient of one and the finale in Dubai, which will offer a scoring coefficient of two.
The final in Dubai is open to all competitors, but in order to have a chance of being ranked in the FIM Bajas World Cup classification, competitors must have finished one of the previous events and scored points on it. The final classification will be determined on the basis of the best two results in the series, in addition to the points awarded in Dubai.
This is valid across the motorcycle, quad and SSV categories and in the Junior, Women’s and Veteran classes.
Motorcycles up to 450cc (single or twin cylinder, 2T or 4T) are eligible in the FIM Bajas World Cup, in addition to quads and SSVs. Riders of motorcycles over 450cc are able to compete but, as per the 2022 regulations, are not permitted to score points for the Cup.
Therefore, this weekend’s Saudi Baja provides motorcycle and quad riders with the last opportunity to score FIA Baja World Cup points and qualify for the Dubai final.
Hail was the host city for Saudi Arabia’s first ever international motor sport event in 2007. The Hail International Rally joined the FIA calendar as a candidate event that year after running as a smaller club-status event in 2006.
Hail has been an integral part of the FIA calendar ever since and officials permitted motorcycles and quads to take part for the first time in 2013. On that occasion, the Emirati duo of Khalid Al-Falaisi (Honda) and Atif Al-Zarouni (Honda) won the national motorcycle and quad categories for the first time.

Source Saudi Baja

2023 FIA Middle East Cup for Cross-Country Bajas, candidate event

The State of Kuwait has announced the exciting news that it has been selected to host the fifth round of the 2023 FIA Middle East Cup for Cross-Country Bajas and is set to host a candidate/trial event on December 15th-17th.
The exciting new Baja is being organised by the Kuwait International Motorsport Club (KIMC) in co-operation with the Kuwait International Automobile Club (KIAC).
Competitive action will be held over two selective sections of 175.63km apiece across the remote Kuwaiti deserts on December 16th and 17th. Each stage starts at the northern gateway town of Abdali and finishes at the Jal Al Liya escarpment, north of Al-Mutla City.
The Baja headquarters will be based adjacent to the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah bridge, near South Island, in Kuwait City. This venue will host scrutineering and administration on December 14th and the pre-event press conference and ceremonial start on December 15th.
Kuwait’s Emad Jawd Bukhamseen is the chairman of the organising committee working alongside committee members, Issa Hamzeh, Mohammed Bukhamseen, Garbis Karzelian, Hamad Marafie, Hamad Al-Saif, Meshari Al-Sabti, John Spiller and Fuad Abu Arja.

Bukhamseen said: “On behalf of the organising committee and the board of directors at the Kuwait International Motorsport Club, I would like to thank the Minister of State for Youth Affairs, His Excellency Abdul Rahman Al-Mutairi, for his patronage of the Kuwait International Baja.
“Competitive sections have been chosen in the northern region of Kuwait and we are confident that all competitors will show their skills to the limit. We extend our thanks to the Governor of Jahra Governorate, His Excellency Mr. Nasser Falah Al-Hajraf, all departments of the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Health and to the general administration of Fire Fighting for their support.”

Former international co-driver Spiller will act as Clerk of the Course for the first time working alongside his deputy Al-Sabti.
Spiller was a regular co-driver in the FIA Middle East Rally Championship between 1984 and 2002 with the likes of Saeed Al-Hajri and FIA President and former rally driver Mohammed ben Sulayem, He has recently been an integral member of the organising teams for the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and Rally Kazakhstan.
Cross-country rallying is not new to Kuwait. The Marlboro BP 2000 Desert Challenge was inaugurated across Kuwaiti terrain in 1987. Ahmed Al-Hilal and co-driver Fahed Al-Rashed won that first event in a Mitsubishi Pajero Turbo by just 14 seconds.
Assuming December’s candidate event ticks all the relevant FIA boxes, the Kuwait International Baja will take its place in an expanded 2023 calendar for the FIA Middle East Cup for Cross-Country Bajas.
The Saudi Baja moves to a slot in early February, there will be another new event in Turkey and the Jordan Baja moves from February to the start of November.

2023 FIA Middle East Cup for Cross-Country Bajas (provisional calendar):
Saudi Baja - February 2-4
Qatar International Baja - March 16-18
Baja Troia, Turkey - TBA
Jordan Baja - November 2-4
Kuwait International Baja - November 23-25
Dubai International Baja - December 1-3

Source

FIM Bajas World Cup, round 7

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is set to host a round of the FIM Bajas World Cup in Hail for the first time. This seventh and penultimate race of the season will determine the last competitors who can claim the title during the grand finale in Dubai at the beginning of December.

Twenty-six motorcycles and eight quads are entered in the FIM Bajas World Cup, including a Junior on a Husqvarna (Alex McInnes) and two competitors in the women's category - Margot Llobera (KTM) and Sarah Khuraibet (Husqvarna).
Barry Howe (KTM), Almansoori Al-Qeteti (Yamaha), Gerard Lubbinge (KTM) and Othman Al-Ghfeli (Honda) are entered in the Veterans’ section.

For the FIM Bajas World Cup, only the two best results count to qualify for the final. Mohammed Al-Balooshi (TM) already has 45 points (one victory and one second place) and, if he wins the Saudi Baja-Hail, he will have 50 points when he arrives in Dubai.
But the Emirati will have to fight against a few insiders: Farhan (KTM), Howe (KTM), Al-Shatti (Kawasaki), Rees-Stavros (KTM) and his own brother Sultan Al-Balooshi (TM).

In the Quad category, the Saudi Abdulmajeed Al-Khulaifi (Yamaha) is racing for glory and the colours of his country, as he already has the maximum 50 points. Hani Al-Noumesi, meanwhile, can still improve his score.

Administrative and technical checks will take place on Wednesday (November 9) and Thursday (November 10) in Hail, while on Thursday riders will head out from the starting podium for an 18km Qualifying Stage. This will give the starting order for the opening 229km SS1B special on Friday morning.

On Saturday (November 12), SS2 runs for 184km, making a total of 431km of selective sections at an average altitude of 900 metres on 10% dirt/gravel tracks, 5% dunes and 85% open desert.

To follow the results on SPORTITY code: HAIL22MOTO

Source FIM
Photo Rallyzone

Valid for:
FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas, round 7 of 8
FIA Middle East for Cross-Country Bajas, round 3 of 4
FIM Bajas World Cup, round 7 of 8
Saudi Toyota Rally Championship, round 3 of 4

The Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF), in conjunction with the Ministry of Sport and in partnership with Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ) Motors, has announced an impressive entry list for the Saudi Baja 2022 – Hail, which takes place on November 10-12.
The three-day event is the seventh round of both the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas and the FIM Bajas World Cup, round three of the FIA Middle East Cup for Cross-Country Bajas and the third event in the new Saudi Toyota Rally Championship.
Saudi Arabia’s top driver Yazeed Al-Rajhi and his German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz top an impressive entry of 25 cars, 36 motorcycles and eight quads in the FIM section, in addition to 32 cars and one truck in the National Baja category.
Al-Rajhi will take a one-point lead over Czech rival Miroslav Zapletal into the seventh round of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas. The Toyota Hilux driver will be hoping to put the disappointment of missing out on vital points last week in Portugal behind him, as he bids to move further clear of Zapletal in both the FIA series and the Saudi Toyota Rally Championship.
T1 competition for the title-chasing pair comes from Kuwait’s Salem Al-Dhafeeri and the Saudi duo of Khaled Al-Feraihi and Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri.
Six drivers line up in the FIA T3 category and they include runaway FIA World Cup leader Fernando Alvarez and his closest rival, Saudi Arabian female driver Dania Akeel.
Eight crews will battle for honours in the FIA T4 section. They include the title challenging South Racing Can-Am Team trio of Meshari Al-Thefiri, Cristiano de Sousa Batista and Kees Koolen and local drivers Saeed Al-Mouri and Maha Al-Hameli.
Six Saudi crews line up in the FIA T2 section for series-production cross-country vehicles.
MX Ride Dubai’s Mohammed Al-Balooshi, the winner of the 2020 Hail International Rally, tops the motorcycle field on his KTM having already won the Jordan Baja and finished second in Qatar earlier this season. His major rivals include 2021 Hail winner Mishal Al-Ghuneim (Husqvarna) and his young Jordanian protégé Abdullah Abu Aishah (KTM).
The motorcycle entry has strength in depth and also features Bahrain’s Salman Farhan, Kuwait’s Abdullah Al-Shatti, local front-runner Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera, Emirati Sultan Al-Balooshi, Great Britain’s Barry Howe, Alex McInnes and Makis Rees-Stavros, Qatar-based Australian Martin Chalmers and Spaniard Margot Llobera.
Saudi Toyota Rally Championship regulars Abdulmajeed Al-Khulaifi, Haitham Al-Tuwaijri and Hani Al-Noumesi head the eight-strong list of quad entrants on their Yamahas.
There are 10 over-450cc motorcycles also registered in category C on the FIM list. Riders include Qatar’s Sheikh Mohammed Al-Thani, Mohammed Al-Kaabi and Yaghoob Azadi, Austrian Simon Francis, the UAE’s Hamdan Al-Ali and Great Britain’s Steven Holt.
Abdulaziz Al-Yaeesh, Abdullah Al-Sanad and Jafar Al-Qahtani top an impressive field of 33 crews on the Saudi Toyota National Baja entry.

Saudi Baja 2022 - Hail is being run under the chairmanship of H.R.H. Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal.

Administration, scrutineering checks and the pre-event press conference will take place in Hail on Wednesday (November 8).

Entry list available here:  SAMF

Source SAMF

Mishal Al-Ghuneim and Abdulmajeed Al-Khulaifi win bike and quad categories
Hamad Al-Harbi wins T3 after Dania Akeel rolls and Saleh Al-Saif stops in stage

Yazeed Al-Rajhi and German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz cruised through the final 123km stage to the south-west of Buraydah to secure victory at Rally Qassim on Friday.

On the eve of his wedding, the Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux driver managed to win the rally by 19min 02sec to strengthen his lead in the Saudi Toyota Desert Championship and give his co-driver an additional birthday present.

Al-Rajhi said: “A lot of good things are happening at the same time. Happy birthday to Dirk. This race was really difficult for me. I didn’t need any surprises with my wedding tomorrow. I needed to be more cautious. Everything went well and we won the race and lead the championship. The team did a great job. I finished my last day being single with a win and hope to take the win in Andalucia next week when I am married!”

Saudi Border Guard team driver Khalid Al-Feraihi and his French co-driver Sébastien Delaunay confirmed second overall with the fourth fastest time. The Saudi said: “I was surprised. It was difficult in scorching hot weather. Anyway, we managed to reach the finish line and maintain second place and we earned precious points for the championship. My co-driver did a great job. Experienced co-drivers are valuable assets in desert rallies. It is becoming more difficult with hidden waypoints. An expert navigator is essential.”

A delighted Delaunay added: “We are very happy. We made two days without mistake and, in the end, it paid off. It was two different days. Yesterday was great for navigators, where a few mistakes and you can lose six minutes. Today, navigation was more easy but we had a lot of dunes and it was a driver’s day. If you get stuck on the dune, you can also lose 10 minutes. Both of us make no mistake for two days, so it was a good result at the end.”

Czech driver Miroslav Zapletal and Slovakian navigator Marek Sykora rounded off the podium places in their Ford F-150 Evo. Zapletal said: “Today was a nice but tricky day with a lot of sand. It was a good track and a good race. No issues for us today and everything worked very well.”

The results had been radically changed overnight when additional waypoint penalties were added. It didn’t affect the first two places in the car rankings, but Zapletal climbed to third and Saleh Al-Saif and Dania Akeel moved up to fourth and fifth overall, with Abdullah Al-Sanad still leading T2 in sixth.

But the battle for T3 honours was turned on its head during the last stage when Akeel rolled her South Racing Can-Am and rival Al-Saif stopped for over an hour with technical issues. That opened the door for Shegawi Racing’s Hamad Al-Harbi and Qatar-based Spanish co-driver Marc Serra to snatch the category win and seventh overall in their Can-Am.

Majed Al-Shammeri and Abdulaziz Al-Yaeesh rounded off the top five and sixth-placed Abdullah Al-Sanad won the T2 section for series production cross-country vehicles. Fellow Saudi Saeed Al-Mouri and Jordanian co-driver Ata Al-Hmoud finished 15th and won the T4 class in a Can-Am.

KTM rider Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera set the unofficial fastest time on the last stage, the Saudi stopping the clocks well clear of Anass Al-Reheyani and Qatar-based Australian Martin Chalmers. Overnight leader Mishal Al-Ghuneim came home in fourth but had done enough to secure a 21-minute victory in the motorcycle category on his KTM.

Behind Chalmers, super special stage winner Yasser Al-Khareef came home in third place and Al-Reheyani and Ahmed Al-Jaber rounded off the top five, with the UAE’s Hamdan Al-Ali winning the larger-engine class and finishing 10th. Qatar’s Mohammed Al-Kaabi missed a waypoint and incurred a one-hour time penalty that dropped him out of contention.

Abdulmajeed Al-Khulaifi again topped the quad rankings on his Yamaha to secure victory over Haitham Al-Tuwaijri. His rival missed a pair of waypoints on the final stage and incurred hefty time penalties that pushed him well behind Al-Khulaifi.

Rally Qassim was organised by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF), in conjunction with the Ministry of Sport and in partnership with Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ) Motors Toyota. The event was held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Dr. Faisal bin Mishaal bin Saud bin Abdulaziz, Prince of the Al-Qassim region.

Rally Qassim 2022 – positions after SS2:
Cars
1. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (SAU)/Dirk von Zitzewitz (DEU) Toyota Hilux 3hr 35min 27sec
2. Khalid Al-Feraihi (SAU)/Sébastien Delaunay (FRA) Nissan 3hr 54min 29sec
3. Miroslav Zapletal (CZE)/Marek Sykora (SVK) Ford F-150 Evo 3hr 59min 53sec
4. Majed Al-Shammeri (SAU)/Abdulaziz Al-Ramali (SAU) Nissan 4hr 12min 03sec
5. Abdulaziz Al-Yaeesh (SAU)/Omar Al-Lahim (SAU) Nissan 4hr 44min 06sec

Bikes
1. Mishal Al-Ghuneim (SAU) KTM 4hr 59min 11sec
2. Martin Chalmers (QAT) Honda 5hr 20min 11sec
3. Yaseer Al-Khaleef (SAU) KTM 5hr 46min 49sec
4. Anass Al-Reheyani (SAU) KTM 6hr 00min 03sec
5. Ahmed Al-Jaber (SAU) KTM 6hr 01min 11sec

Quads
1. Abdulmajeed Al-Khulaifi (SAU) Yamaha 6hr 01min 04sec
2. Haitham Al-Tuwaijri (SAU) Yamaha 10hr 13min 52sec
3. Abdulaziz Al-Atawi (SAU) Yamaha 14hr 43min 38sec
3. Hani Al-Noumesi (SAU) Yamaha 17hr 31min 02sec

Source SAMF

 Mishal Al-Ghuneim and Abdulmajeed Al-Khulaifi snatch bike and quad advantages

Yazeed Al-Rajhi and German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz increased their lead in Rally Qassim to 10min 35sec after setting the fastest time on a tricky desert selective section of 184km on Thursday.

The Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux driver stopped the clocks in a time of 1hr 39min 22sec on the Ash Shimasiyah stage, despite a puncture near the finish.

Al-Rajhi said: “It was a good day. Everything went well for us. We start in 10th position. I think the first car it was difficult to open because some places were tricky navigation. We lead now and that should be more than enough for tomorrow.”

Co-driver Von Zitzewitz added: “It was a good day. It was exciting. I didn’t know what to expect from this rally championship in the open desert. The road book was challenging. We had to look a little bit at the navigation and slow down a little to understand the road book. But Yazeed did a great job. It was a difficult stage, I have to admit. It was tricky in some places. Good fun and many friendly people here. Yazeed is a hero here and the people are very open-minded and great. Three kilometres before the end we hit a stone and got a puncture on the rear-right but decided to drive it to the finish, so no problem.”

Saudi Border Guard team driver Khalid Al-Feraihi benefitted from the navigational prowess of his experienced French co-driver Sébastien Delaunay to set the second quickest time and move into a similar position in the overall rankings. The Saudi said: “It was a good day overall. We did not get lost.”

Navigational delays cost Czech driver Miroslav Zapletal some time and the Ford F-150 driver slipped to fourth place behind Al-Mashna Al-Rimali.

Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri now holds fifth place. The Saudi said: “It was a fast stage; the weather was moderate. We expected it to be hotter. It was difficult to navigate with long sandy tracks. We got lost several times and broke the drive shaft in the first 80km, so I lose the four-wheel drive and there was a puncture at the end.”

Sixth-placed Abdullah Al-Sanad moved to the top of the T2 standings for drivers of series production cross-country cars and Saleh Al-Saif edged into a 2min 18sec advantage over fellow Can-Am rival Dania Akeel in the T3 tussle.

Akeel said: “We had a great time. It was smooth, excellent. We practiced a lot to find the cap to save time and avoid going in circles. In the beginning we went off track for around two minutes and then made sure it didn’t happen again.”

It was a difficult day for eighth-placed Ahmed Al-Shegawi. “The car jumped high and landed on a rock, so we broke the drive shaft. We stopped to check the car and we could not fix it, so we decided to complete the stage as we could and we were lucky to reach the finish line.”

Saeed Al-Mouri and Jordanian co-driver Ata Al-Hmoud hold a 15min 42sec lead over Maha Al-Hameli and her Swedish co-driver Annie Seel in the T4 rankings.

Mishal Al-Ghuneim moved into a useful 20min 45sec lead over Qatar-based Aussie Martin Chalmers in the motorcycle category. The Saudi KTM rider won the stage comfortably and his cause was further aided when Chalmers picked up a three-minute time penalty for over-speeding in a restricted zone. Fawaz Al-Toami came home in third place.

Al-Ghuneim said: “It was a good start. I had a good pace in the first 30km or so. But, when I arrived at waypoint four, I realised that my Stellar didn’t track the waypoint before and I got frustrated a bit and I headed back seven kilometres to retrack the waypoint and start again. By then, I had lost so much time. At km40, I got lost a bit and lost another 10 minutes there. I thought it was not my day. I saw everyone start ahead of me but then I noticed, at km140, that everyone came off the track and I saw no tracks in front of me and I got excited again. I was surprised to finish first!”

Abdulmajeed Al-Khulaifi snatched the laurels in the quad section on his Yamaha. The Saudi finished the special over 13 minutes in front of Abdulaziz Al-Atawi and over half an hour ahead of overnight leader Haitham Al-Tuwaijri after both his rivals incurred time penalties for missing a waypoint and for over-speeding.
Rally Qassim is being organised by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF), in conjunction with the Ministry of Sport and in partnership with Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ) Motors Toyota. The event is being held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Dr. Faisal bin Mishaal bin Saud bin Abdulaziz, Prince of the Al-Qassim region.

Tomorrow (Saturday), competitors tackle a shorter selective section of 123km to the south-west of Buraydah. A liaison of 54km takes crews to the start of the action.

Rally Qassim 2022 – positions after SS1 (unofficial):

Cars
1. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (SAU)/Dirk von Zitzewitz (DEU) Toyota Hilux 1hr 55min 52sec
2. Khalid Al-Feraihi (SAU)/Sébastien Delaunay (FRA) Nissan 2hr 06min 27sec
3. Al-Mashna Al-Ramali (SAU)/Murdi Al-Shammeri (SAU) Nissan 2hr 11min 44sec
4. Miroslav Zapletal (CZE)/Marek Sykora (SVK) Ford F-150 Evo 2hr 16min 40sec
5. Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri (SAU)/Hector Garcia (PER) Nissan 2hr 20min 45sec

Bikes
1. Mishal Al-Ghuneim (SAU) KTM 2hr 47min 48sec
2. Martin Chalmers (QAT) Honda 3hr 08min 33sec
3. Fawaz Al-Toaimi (SAU) Yamaha 3hr 25min 25sec
4. Yaseer Al-Khaleef (SAU) KTM 3hr 34min 40sec
5. Ahmed Al-Jaber (SAU) KTM 3hr 41min 50sec

Quads
1. Abdulmajeed Al-Khulaifi (SAU) Yamaha 3hr 38min 30sec
2. Abdulaziz Al-Atawi (SAU) Yamaha 3hr 53min 38sec
3. Haitham Al-Tuwaijri (SAU) Yamaha 4hr 09min 06sec
4. Hani Al-Noumesi (SAU) Yamaha 13hr 26min 24sec

Source SAMF

The Saudi Arabian trio of Yazeed Al-Rajhi, Yaseer Al-Khaleef and Haitham Al-Tuwaijri recorded the fastest times in the car, motorcycle and quad categories after the opening super special stage of Rally Qassim through the Buraydah National Park on Wednesday afternoon.
Al-Rajhi and German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz carded the fastest time through the 6.22km test to steer their Toyota Hilux into a lead of 1min 12sec over second-placed Czech driver Miroslav Zapletal. Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri came home in third place in the car section and Khalid Al-Feraihi and Al-Mashna Al-Ramali rounded off the top five.
Al-Khaleef pipped Mishal Al-Ghuneim and Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera to the bragging rights on two wheels and Haitham Al-Tuwaijri was the early pace-setter in the quads. Qatar-based Martin Chalmers was the first of the non-Saudis in fourth place in the motorcycle category, with the UAE’s Hamdan Al-Ali tied with the Aussie.
Sixth-placed Ahmed Al-Shegawi claimed the early T2 lead, Saleh Al-Saif finished the stage in ninth to lead the T3 section in his Can-Am and Saeed Al-Mouri was the early front-runner in T4.
Times on the stage were multiplied by a coefficient of six to make the opening stage as competitive as possible.
Thirty cars, 18 motorcycles and four quads passed all the administration and scrutineering checks and were permitted to start the three-day event. Cars tackled the opening stage in reverse order with Al-Rajhi the last car driver on to the track before Ibrahim Al-Muhanna’s Mercedes T5 truck wrapped up proceedings.
Rally Qassim is being organised by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF), in conjunction with the Ministry of Sport and in partnership with Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ) Motors Toyota. The event is being held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Dr. Faisal bin Mishaal bin Saud bin Abdulaziz, Prince of the Al-Qassim region.

Tomorrow (Friday), teams will tackle the first of two selective sections that runs through the deserts to the west and north of Buraydah. After a run out of 43km, the Ash Shimasiyah stage will be fought out over 185 competitive kilometres and a liaison of 58km then returns competitors to the service park.

Rally Qassim 2022 – positions after SSS (unofficial):
Cars
1. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (SAU)/Dirk von Zitzewitz (DEU) Toyota Hilux 16min 30sec
2. Miroslav Zapletal (CZE)/Marek Sykora (SVK) Ford F-150 Evo 17min 42sec
3. Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri (SAU)/Hector Garcia (PER) Nissan 17min 48sec
4. Khalid Al-Feraihi (SAU)/Sébastien Delaunay (FRA) Nissan 19min 18sec
5. Al-Mashna Al-Ramali (SAU)/Murdi Al-Shammeri (SAU) Nissan 19min 26sec

Bikes
1. Yaseer Al-Khaleef (SAU) KTM 18min 42sec
2. Mishal Al-Ghuneim (SAU) KTM 19min 36sec
3. Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera (SAU) KTM 20min 12sec
4. Martin Chalmers (QAT) Honda 20min 18sec
4. Hamdan Al-Ali (UAE) Husqvarna 20min 18sec

Quads
1. Haitham Al-Tuwaijri (SAU) Yamaha 21min 30sec
2. Abdulmajeed Al-Khulaifi (SAU) Yamaha 22min 12sec
3. Abdulaziz Al-Atawi (SAU) Yamaha 23min 54sec
4. Hani Al-Noumesi (SAU) Yamaha 26min 24sec

Source SAMF

The Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF), in conjunction with the Ministry of Sport and in partnership with Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ) Motors Toyota, is putting the finishing touches to Rally Qassim 2022, this weekend’s second round of the Saudi Toyota Rally Championship.
Series leader Yazeed Al-Rajhi and German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz top an impressive entry of 45 cars, 23 motorcycles and five quads for the three-day event.
Rally Qassim 2022 is based out of the city of Buraydah, gets underway with a ceremonial start (14.00hrs) and power stage (15.00hrs) on Wednesday (October 12) and continues with two desert selective sections of 185km and 123km on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
Al-Rajhi claimed a comfortable victory at the opening round of the series – the Aseer Rally that was based in Abha last month - and the Toyota Hilux driver arrives back in his native Saudi Arabia fresh from finishing fourth overall at last week’s FIA Rally of Morocco. Yazeed secured victory over the UAE’s Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi by a narrow 10-second margin when Rally Qassim ran for the first and only time in 2019.
Al-Rajhi’s closest rival is again likely to be the Czech driver Miroslav Zapletal, who shadowed the Riyadh driver to the finish in Abha in his self-built Ford F-150 Evo. Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri rounded off the podium places last month and is seeded at three with Peruvian co-driver Hector Garcia.
Other potential front-runners in the T1 category include the Saudi drivers, Khalid Al-Feraihi, Abdulaziz Al-Yaeesh, Muneef Al-Salmani and Abdullah Al-Haydan.
Saleh Al-Saif and Spanish co-driver Oriol Vidal finished fourth overall in Abha and won the T3 section in their Can-Am Maverick. Al-Saif faces three Saudi rivals this weekend – the talented female driver Dania Akeel, Hamad Al-Harbi and Shaker Al-Tuwaijri. Al-Harbi and Akeel finished sixth and seventh overall on the opening round and second and third in T3.
Fourteen Saudi drivers line up in the T2 section for series-production cross-country vehicles. Saudi Border Guard team driver Jafar Al-Qahtani finished a superb eighth overall and won the section on round one, where Haylan Al-Subaie and Ahmed Al-Shegawi were his closest challengers.
Saeed Al-Mouri got the better of Maha Al-Hamali in T4 at round one and both Saudis return to action in their Can-Ams. They face additional competition from Mishal Al-Shammeri.
Ibrahim Al-Muhanna wheels out his customary Mercedes truck as the sole entrant in T5, alongside crew members Osama Al-Sanad and Raed Abu Theeb. The trio won their class on the event in 2019.
Twenty-three motorcycles and five quads also grace the entry list. The KTM duo of Mishal Al-Ghuneim and Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera head the two-wheel contingent, which also includes entries from Kuwait’s Sarah Khuraibet, the UAE’s Othman Al-Ghefeli and Qatari riders, Mohammed Al-Kaabi, Martin Chalmers and Gerard Lubbinge.
Haitham Al-Tuwaijri faces Abdulmajeed Al-Khulaifi, Hani Al-Noumesi, Abdulaziz Al-Atawi and Abdulaziz Al-Shammeri in an experienced line-up of five Yamaha riders in the quad category. Al-Khulaifi topped the quad standings at the first ever Rally Qassim, when it ran out of its base in Buraydah three years ago.
After administration and scrutineering checks tomorrow (Tuesday), the event gets underway with the ceremonial start at Dates City in the centre of Buraydah, the capital of the Al-Qassim region, from 14.00hrs on Wednesday.

Rally Qassim 2022 is being run under the chairmanship of H.R.H. Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal and supervision of former FIA Middle East rally champion Abdullah Bakhashab.

This year’s Saudi Toyota Rally Championship consists of four rounds. The Ha’il Baja (November 10-12) and Jeddah Rally (December 15-17) will bring the series to a conclusion.

Rally Qassim 2022 – leading entries:
Cars
200. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (SAU)/Dirk von Zitzewitz (DEU) Toyota Hilux
201. Miroslav Zapletal (CZE)/Marek Sykora (SVK) Ford F-150 Evo
202. Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri (SAU)/Hector Garcia (PER) Nissan
203. Khalid Al-Feraihi (SAU)/Sébastien Delaunay (FRA) Nissan
204. Jafar Al-Qahtani (SAU)/Ali Al-Yami (SAU) Nissan
205. Haylan Al-Subaie (SAU)/Hussam Al-Zahrani (SAU) Nissan
206. Ahmed Al-Shegawi (SAU)/Waleed Al-Shegawi (SAU) Nissan
207. Abdulaziz Al-Yaeesh (SAU)/Omar Al-Lahim (SAU) Nissan
208. Ahmed Al-Qashami (SAU)/Nawaf Al-Enezi (KWT) Nissan
209. Majed Al-Thunayyan (SAU)/Fahad Al-Sufiany (SAU) Nissan

Bikes
1. Mishal Al-Ghuneim (SAU) KTM
2. Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera (SAU) KTM
3. Fawaz Al-Toami (SAU) Yamaha
4. Bader Abalkhail (SAU) Yamaha
5. Anass Al-Reheyani (SAU) KTM

Quads
30. Haitham Al-Tuwaijri (SAU) Yamaha
31. Abdulmajeed Al-Khulaifi (SAU) Yamaha
32. Hani Al-Noumesi (SAU) Yamaha
33. Abdulaziz Al-Atawi (SAU) Yamaha
34. Abdulaziz Al-Shammeri (SAU) Yamaha

Source SAMF

Saudi Toyota Rally Championship, round 1 – September 22nd-24th, 2022

Toyota Hilux driver Yazeed Al-Rajhi and his German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz stayed clear of trouble to clinch an emphatic victory at the Abha-based Rally Aseer, round one of the 2022 Saudi Toyota Rally Championship.

The Saudi was fastest on both selective sections on Friday and Saturday and a time of 1hr 36min 54.6sec for the longer of the two stages earned the Toyota man a winning margin of 26min 01.5sec.

Al-Rajhi said: “This was a challenging rally, not easy, but the car was perfect and Dirk did a great job with the navigation. It’s great to get back to winning ways and to make such a good start to the Saudi Toyota Championship.”

Event Stewards awarded Miroslav Zapletal and his Slovakian co-driver Marek Sykora a 12-minute penalty for a timing infringement on Friday afternoon and the Czech was pushed down from second to sixth place before the final 186.73km selective section got underway. The Ford F-150 driver’s misfortune promoted Al-Saif into second place and the Can-Am driver started the day 14min 44sec behind Al-Rajhi.

The final day’s action was split into two sections and passed between Tareeb and Al-Qa’ah. Al-Saif and his Spanish co-driver Oriol Vidal were unable to hold on to their position and set the fourth quickest time in the Black Horse Can-Am Maverick X3. The Saudi duly finished fourth overall, sealing victory in the T3 category in the process.

Zapletal was second on the day and managed to overhaul four crews, including Al-Saif and third-placed Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri and his Peruvian co-driver Hector Garcia, to regain second position in the overall standings. Khalid Al-Feraihi and French navigator Sébastien Delaunay finished fifth.

Hamad Al-Harbi and Russian co-driver Alexey Kuzmich managed to fend off a late challenge from Dania Akeel and her Uruguayan navigator Sergio Lafuente to confirm sixth overall and second in T3 in their Al-Shegawi Racing Can-Am. Akeel was seventh, despite finishing the stage with a cracked windscreen after an impact with a tree branch.

Saudi Border Guard (SBG) team driver Jafar Al-Qahtani secured eighth and outright success in the T2 section for series-production cross-country vehicles. SBG team-mate Haylan Al-Subaie and Ahmed Al-Shegawi were second and third in the showroom section.

Both Saeed Al-Mouri and Maha Al-Hamali failed to finish the opening stage and the duel for the T4 category win was fought out over the final morning with both drivers carrying massive time penalties from the previous day. Al-Mouri and his Jordanian co-driver Ata Al-Hmoud pipped Al-Hamali and her Spanish co-driver María de Los Angeles to the day’s stage win and snatched T4 success, courtesy of having less time penalties for missing waypoints.

Mubarak Al-Zubaidi and Abdullah Al-Sanad joined Muneef Al-Salmani on the list of retirements, as 17 crews tackled the final stage. Ibrahim Bin Sahnan and Fahad Al-Maioweed withdrew during the morning.

The event was organised by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF) in conjunction with the Ministry of Sport, the Saudi Motorsport Marshals Club and the Saudi Motorsport Company, in partnership with Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ) Motors Toyota.

Rund two of the Saudi Toyota Rally Championship will be Rally Qassim on October 12-14.

Aseer Rally 2022 – positions after leg 2 (186.73km) – unofficial @ 15.30hrs:
1. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (SAU)/Dirk von Zitzewitz (DEU) Toyota Hilux 3hr 19min 58.7sec
2. Miroslav Zapletal (CZE)/Marek Sykora (SVK) Ford F-150 Evo 3hr 46min 00.2sec
3. Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri (SAU)/Hector Garcia (PER) Nissan 3hr 49min 42.4sec
4. Saleh Al-Saif (SAU)/Oriol Vidal (ESP) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3) 3hr 50min 06.4sec
5. Khalid Al-Feraihi (SAU)/Sébastien Delaunay (FRA) Nissan 3hr 55min 21.7sec
6. Hamad Al-Harbi (SAU)/Alexei Kuzmich (RUS) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3) 4hr 07min 45.0sec
7. Dania Akeel (SAU)/Sergio Lafuente (URY) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3) 4hr 16min 48.2sec
8. Jafar Al-Qahtani (SAU)/Ali Al-Yami (SAU) Nissan (T2) 4hr 51min 57.4sec
9. Haylan Al-Subaie (SAU)/Hussam Al-Zahrani (SAU) Nissan (T2) 4hr 55min 50.3sec
10. Ahmed Al-Shegawi (SAU)/Waleed Al-Shegawi (SAU) Nissan (T2) 5hr 00min 10.9sec
T1 unless stated

Source: www.saudi-championship.com

Toyota Hilux driver Yazeed Al-Rajhi and German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz lead a 42-car field into this weekend’s Rally Aseer 2022, the opening round of the 2022 Saudi Toyota Rally Championship. The event is based out of the city of Abha in the Aseer Province in the south-west of Saudi Arabia.
Von Zitzewitz replaces Al-Rajhi’s usual co-driver Michael Orr, who is still recovering from a fractured fibula that he sustained at Baja Poland earlier this month.
The event is being organised by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF) in conjunction with the Ministry of Sport, Saudi Motorsport Marshals Club and the Saudi Motorsport Company, in partnership with Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ) Motors Toyota
The series ran for the first time in 2019 and Yazeed Al-Rajhi sealed the inaugural title at the Sharqiya Baja that year.
This event marks the return of the Saudi Toyota Rally Championship to the Saudi Arabian motor sporting calendar after a two-year absence and is the first of four rounds being organised by the SAMF. Subsequent rounds of the series will be Rally Qassim (October 12-14), the Ha’il Baja (November 10-12) and the Jeddah Rally (December 15-17).
Al-Rajhi is a multiple winner of cross-country events in his home country and starts as the favourite to win this weekend. His closest rival is likely to be Czech veteran Miroslav Zapletal and his Slovakian co-driver Marek Sykora in the former’s self-built Ford F-150 Evo.
Twenty-three cars have been entered in the T1 category, with further competition likely from a host of Saudi drivers, including Muneef Al-Salmani, Khalid Al-Feraihi, Mutair, Sami and Al-Mashna Al-Shammeri and Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri, the latter taking part with Peruvian co-driver Hector Garcia.
Thirteen Saudi drivers line up in the FIA T2 section for series-production cross-country vehicles and the likely front-runners include Ahmed Al-Shegawi, Jafar Al-Qahtani and Khalid Al-Hamazani.
The experienced Saleh Al-Saif makes a switch from international competition to top the FIA T3 section in his Black Horse Can-Am Maverick X3. He teams up with Spain’s Oriol Vidal and faces competition from Dania Akeel (Can-Am) and her Uruguayan navigator Sergio Lafuente and a pair of Al-Shegawi Racing machines in the hands of Hamad Al-Harbi and Abdullah Al-Shegawi.
Drifting specialist and regular cross-country rally driver Saeed Al-Mouri teams up with Jordanian co-driver Ata Al-Hmoud to head the FIA T4 section in his Can-Am. Al-Mouri faces a duel with Saudi Arabia’s Maha Al-Hamali for T4 honours. The female Can-Am driver has recruited the services of Spain’s Maria de Los Angeles as her co-driver.
Rally Aseer 2022 is based out of the Abha Palace Hotel and is being run under the chairmanship of H.R.H. Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal and supervision of former FIA Middle East rally champion Abdullah Bakhashab.
Competitive action will take place over two selective sections at altitude on Friday and Saturday with 372.19 competitive kilometres in a total route of 769.10km. The opening 183.83km stage is split into two sections and runs between Al-Ghadah and Al-Qaah on Friday and the longer second stage of 188.36km passes between Tareeb and Al-Qaah.

Tomorrow (Thursday), select drivers will attend the official pre-event press conference at 17.20hrs at the Abha Palace Hotel before the ceremonial start takes centre stage at Sama Abha Parks from 19.00hrs.

Aseer Rally 2022 – leading entries
200. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (SAU)/Dirk von Zitzewitz (DEU) Toyota Hilux
201. Miroslav Zapletal (CZE)/Marek Sykora (SVK) Ford F-150 Evo
202. Muneef Al-Salmani (SAU)/Fahad Al-Omar (SAU) Nissan
203. Al-Mashna Al-Shammeri (SAU)/Hani Al-Shammeri (SAU) Nissan
204. Owaid Al-Shammeri (SAU)/Metlaq Al-Shammeri (SAU) Toyota
205. Abdullah Al-Haydan (SAU)/Sultan Al-Masoud (SAU) Nissan
206. Muteb Al-Shammeri (SAU)/Bader Al-Ajmi (KWT) Nissan
207. Reda Al-Shammeri (SAU)/Saud Al-Tamime (SAU) Nissan
208. Mubarak Al-Zubaidi (SAU)/Saad bin Juraybah (SAU) Toyota
209. Saadi Al-Shammeri (SAU)/Khalid Al-Shammeri (SAU) Nissan
210. Khalid Al-Feraihi (SAU)/Sébastien Delaunay (FRA) Nissan