HAIL, SAUDI ARABIA – The Hail Toyota International Rally 2024 (Saudi Baja) starts from the Maghwat conference centre in Hail on Thursday afternoon.
Organised by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF), it opens the 2024 FIA World and Middle East Baja Cups, the FIM Bajas World Cup and a new Saudi Toyota Rally Championship. The entry of 42 cars, 25 motorcycles and six quads spans 24 nations, with a further 24 Saudi and Emirati crews in the Saudi National Baja under the chairmanship of SAMF President HRH Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal.
Saudi Arabia first hosted a motorsport event in Hail in 2006, won by Farhan Ghaleb Al-Shammeri and Bandar Al-Sandan in a Toyota Land Cruiser. The Kingdom now hosts the Dakar Rally, Formula One, Formula E, international endurance and circuit racing, and its own national championships.
The contenders
Six-time Hail winner Yazeed Al-Rajhi, the defending Saudi Toyota national champion, heads the cars in his Toyota Hilux. The Ultimate group (formerly T1 and T1+) includes Overdrive Racing team-mates Dania Akeel, Juan Cruz Yacopini and Rokas Baciuška and Portugal’s João Ferreira in an X-Raid Mini.
Saleh Al-Saif, the event’s most successful Challenger driver, teams up with Nasser Al-Kuwari aiming to repeat wins from 2020 with the late Laurent Lichtleuchter and from 2021 and 2023. His rivals include South Racing’s Diego Martinez, Santag Racing’s João Dias, X-Raid Yamaha’s Annett Quandt and Pal Lonyai, Eduardo Pons and Saudis Hamad Al-Harbi, Maha Al-Hamali and Abdullah Al-Haydan.
With no former SSV winner entered, a new winner will emerge from a field including Quaddy Racing’s Amerigo Ventura, Ahmed Al-Kuwari and Abdullah Al-Khelaifi, SRT’s Meshari Al-Thefiri and South Racing’s Fernando Alvarez. Ahmed Al-Shegawi, Ibrahim Bensahman and Majed Al-Thunayyan contest Stock.
Mohammed Al-Balooshi chases a fourth Hail bike win against riders including brother Sultan, Pedro Bianchi Prata, Andrew Houlihan, Barry Howe, Abdullah Al-Shatti, Abdullah Abu Aisheh, Salman Farhan, Simon Marcic and Martin Chalmers. Two-time defending winner Haitham Al-Tuwaijri is favourite among six Saudi quad riders.
After Wednesday’s scrutineering, the ceremonial start is at 13:30 on Thursday, followed by a six-kilometre Prologue at 15:00 that sets the order for Friday’s first stage through the An-Nafud desert.