Yazeed Al-Rajhi, Abdullah Abu Aisheh and Abdulmajeed Al-Khulaifi topped the car, motorcycle and quad categories on a shortened 3.91km Qualifying Stage at the start of the three-day Saudi Baja 2022-Hail on Thursday afternoon.
Al-Rajhi and German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz stopped the clock in 3min 09.9sec to win by 8.8 seconds in their Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux.
Brazil’s Cristiano de Sousa Batista and Portuguese co-driver Fausto Mota were second and first in T4, with Al-Rajhi’s Czech title rival Miroslav Zapletal and Slovak co-driver Marek Sykora third. Fourth-placed Fernando Alvarez and Xavier Panseri led T3.
Young Jordanian Abdullah Abu Aisheh was quickest on two wheels in 3min 33sec on his KTM Factory Rally 450, ahead of Britain’s Alex McInnes and Makis Rees-Stavros.
Local Yamaha Raptor rider Abdulmajeed Al-Khulaifi beat Abdulaziz Ahli by nine seconds to win the quad stage, and was also faster than the leading FIM motorcyclist.
After the ceremonial start at Al-Maghawah National Park, the Qualifying Stage was cut from 18km to 3.91km. Nineteen FIA cars, 31 motorcycles, four quads and 25 Saudi National Baja vehicles were allowed to start.
Majed Al-Thunayyan and Yayha Ali Abdu were excluded from the FIA event after their cars failed stringent technical scrutineering. Maha Al-Hameli and Annie Seel also withdrew from the FIA event and moved their Team Black Horse Can-Am into the National Baja.
The event is organised by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF) with the Ministry of Sport and in partnership with Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ) Motors.
Friday
Competitors tackle a slightly revised 229.52km stage west and northwest of Hail, split into sections of 101.52km and 128.00km by a neutralisation link. It is named after the neighbouring city of Jubbah, 90km northwest of Hail on the old caravan route between Najd and the Eastern Mediterranean.