Yazeed Al-Rajhi, Alex McInnes and Haitham Al-Tuwaijri took control of the car, motorcycle and quad categories as the first leg of Saudi Baja 2022-Hail ended on Friday afternoon.
Competitors faced a 229.52km selective section west and northwest of Hail, divided by a neutralisation link into sections of 101.52km and 128.00km.
Driving an Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux, Al-Rajhi and German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz clocked 2hr 36min 19sec to move 9min 48sec clear of Miroslav Zapletal (Ford F-150 Evo) and Marek Sykora in their battle for the Drivers’ titles in the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas and the Saudi Toyota Rally Championship.
It was a nice stage and I enjoyed it a lot. There were a lot of technical places. We did a good time and Dirk did a great job. The weather was different and not too hot today. No rain but the ground is hard after the rain yesterday.
Yazeed Al-Rajhi
Fernando Alvarez tightened his grip on the FIA World Cup T3 Championship with the third fastest time, moving into third overall in his Can-Am Maverick with French co-driver Xavier Panseri. His nearest T3 rival was seventh-placed Hamed Al-Harbi, who is chasing FIA Middle East Cup glory.
We did very well and we are happy with third place. The car was perfect. We had no problems and stayed all the time on a good way. We will continue pushing all the way because I want to be on the podium for the overall with the T1s. Today was supposed to rain but we had no rain.
Fernando Alvarez, who started seventh on the road
The stage was very nice but it was very cold in the morning. It was full speed and taking care. Only Yazeed passed me on the stage today.
Hamed Al-Harbi
Eduard Pons was fastest in FIA T4, 29 seconds ahead of Kees Koolen. With Kuwait’s championship leader Meshari Al-Thefiri losing a lot of time with electrical problems, Cristiano de Sousa Batista and Koolen seized the initiative in the three-way battle for the FIA title.
We had changed the engine but still suffered in the car with some electrical problem which forced the engine to shut down many times. We managed to restart and pass De Sousa but the problem worsened after the neutral section.
Meshari Al-Thefiri
Had a wonderful day. We had minor issues, as we expect in such stages, but we finished in safely.
Khalid Al-Feraihi, fourth overall and second in T1 with Sébastien Delaunay
Qatar’s Mohammed Al-Attiyah and Emirati co-driver Ali Mirza were forced to retire their South Racing Can-Am after an accident.
Unfortunately, after 10km, we had an accident and we broke the car. Mohammed and I are okay and, hopefully, we have enough parts so we can continue tomorrow.
Ali Mirza
We tried to overtake the driver (Camelia Liparoti) in front while descending a hill, but we landed on the front tyres and rolled over.
Mohammed Al-Attiyah
I love Hail Baja, the crowds gathering to watch the stage. It was a good stage with its own challenges. We hope to finish in a good position for the next round in Dubai.
Dania Akeel, top female driver in 11th overall and fourth in T3
McInnes leads the bikes
Alex McInnes was the class of the motorcycle field on his Husqvarna FE 450. The Briton won the stage by 93 seconds from Makis Rees-Stavros and leads by 1min 43sec at the Hail night halt. Saudi Arabia’s Anass Al-Reheyani, Emirati Mohammed Al-Balooshi and Qatar-based Australian Martin Chalmers complete the top five.
Haitham Al-Tuwaijri beat arch rival Abdulmajeed Al-Khulaifi to lead the quads by 8min 43sec on his Yamaha Raptor 700. The two Saudis were the class of a field in which Hani Al-Noumesi and Abdulaziz Ahli both suffered heavy penalties after technical problems.
Ahmed Al-Shammeri leads Motab Al-Shammeri by 3min 30sec in the Saudi National Baja for cars, and Yasir Al-Khuraif leads the National motorcycle section.
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.
Saturday
Competitors face a 183.42km selective section west of Hail, split into two parts by a neutralisation and named after the nearby remote village of Farhaniyah.