JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA – Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and French navigator Max Delfino took the lead of the Jeddah Baja Toyota Rally after Friday morning’s opening desert stage, edging ahead of local rival Yazeed Al-Rajhi on round two of the 2026 Saudi Toyota Rally Championship.
The Qatari’s rear-wheel-drive Optimus MD Rallye finished the demanding stage 1min 07.8sec ahead of Al-Rajhi and his German navigator Dennis Zenz in their Overdrive Toyota Hilux GR. On the unofficial overall times after leg one, Al-Attiyah leads by 47.8 seconds.
Al-Rajhi said the opening kilometres cost him: “Today was not easy. After the start we lost some time. The road was not clear. We lost a few seconds in this area and then gained some time back in the second part. I think the first 5km was difficult navigation and not easy to find the correct road.”
Al-Saif holds third, Al-Hamali leads SSV
Saleh Al-Saif and Albert Veliamovič kept the upper hand over Challenger rivals Dania Akeel and Sébastien Delaunay, stretching their hold on third overall to 2min 16.9sec in their G Rally Team OT3. Khalaf Joan Al-Shammeri and Mashal Saleh Al-Shammeri completed the top five in a Nissan Patrol.
In SSV, Maha Al-Hamali fought off fellow Can-Am driver Hamad Al-Harbi to hold sixth overall, 3min 03.6sec clear of Al-Harbi and navigator Faisal Al-Suwayh.
Abdulaziz Al-Yaeesh and Omar Al-Lahim missed Thursday’s Prologue in their Isuzu D-Max but jumped to the top of the Stock category with the 11th-fastest time on the stage. Mohammed Al-Asiri did not finish the stage and was given a notional penalty time.
Bikes and quads: Al-Balooshi and Al-Tuwaijri pull clear
Emirati Mohammed Al-Balooshi added the stage win to his Prologue victory and now leads his brother Sultan by 6min 13.3sec. Dominic Wells was a distant third on his Yamaha, ahead of Ibrahim Al-Jaralla and Abdullah Al-Jahdali. Al-Jaralla took a 15-minute penalty before the restart for a time card offence on Thursday, but a strong stage lifted him to fourth. Ahmed Olfat retired his KTM.
On quads, Yamaha rider Haitham Al-Tuwaijri stretched his lead over CF Moto C Force 1000 rider Badr Al-Hamdan to more than 14 minutes as he chases a fourth Jeddah win in five years. Abdulrahman Alabdullatif and Yassin Mahmoud Al-Hamad held third and fourth.
What’s next
Saturday brings a single 82.57km selective section before the crews return to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit for the ceremonial finish. Read our event preview for the full background on the title fight.
Positions after leg 1 (unofficial)
Cars
- 1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT) / Max Delfino (FRA), Optimus MD Rallye – 1hr 33min 47.1sec
- 2. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (KSA) / Dennis Zenz (GER), Toyota Hilux GR – 1hr 34min 34.9sec
- 3. Saleh Al-Saif (KSA) / Albert Veliamovič (LTU), G Rally Team OT3 – 1hr 45min 12.9sec
- 4. Dania Akeel (KSA) / Sébastien Delaunay (FRA), Taurus T3 Max – 1hr 47min 29.8sec
- 5. Khalaf Joan Al-Shammeri (KSA) / Mashal Saleh Al-Shammeri (KSA), Nissan Patrol – 2hr 01min 03.7sec
- 6. Maha Al-Hamali (KSA) / Aleksei Kuzmich (UAE), Can-Am Maverick R – 2hr 06min 32.3sec
- 7. Hamad Al-Harbi (KSA) / Faisal Al-Suwayh (KSA), Can-Am Maverick R – 2hr 09min 35.9sec
- 8. Ayyadah Al-Shammeri (KSA) / Abdulrahman Al-Shammeri (KSA), Nissan Patrol – 2hr 12min 12.8sec
- 9. Meshaal Al-Howaish (KSA) / Taye Perry (GER), Can-Am Maverick X3 – 2hr 15min 15.2sec
- 10. Ahmed Al-Shammeri (KSA) / Abdulaziz Al-Manea (KSA), Nissan Patrol – 2hr 16min 33.1sec
Bikes
- 1. Mohammed Al-Balooshi (UAE), Husqvarna 350 – 2hr 30min 38.5sec
- 2. Sultan Al-Balooshi (UAE), Kove 450 – 2hr 36min 51.8sec
- 3. Dominic Wells (KSA), Yamaha WR450 F – 2hr 57min 30.0sec
- 4. Ibrahim Al-Jaralla (KSA), Kove 450 Rally EX – 3hr 10min 46.2sec
- 5. Abdullah Al-Jahdali (KSA), Yamaha WR450 F – 5hr 02min 10.7sec
Quads
- 1. Haitham Al-Tuwaijri (KSA), Yamaha Raptor 700 – 2hr 53min 18.4sec
- 2. Badr Al-Hamdan (KSA), CF Moto C Force 1000 – 3hr 07min 38.0sec
- 3. Abdulrahman Alabdullatif (KSA), CF Moto C Force 1000 – 3hr 13min 01.3sec
- 4. Yassin Mahmoud Al-Hamad (KSA), CF Moto C Force 1000 – 6hr 14min 51.1sec
Live results are on the Sportity app with the codes JEDDAH26AUTO and JEDDAH26MOTO.
