JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA – Saudi trio Yazeed Al-Rajhi, Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera and Haitham Al-Tuwaijri set the fastest car, motorcycle and quad times on the opening three-kilometre Prologue of Jeddah Rally Toyota 2023 on Thursday afternoon.
Twenty-six cars, six motorcycles, five quads and three trucks were flagged away at King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) for the final round of the 2023 Saudi Toyota Rally Championship by SAMF President HRH Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal, in the presence of KAEC Chief Executive Cyril Piaia.
Cars
Championship leader Al-Rajhi, again with Timo Gottschalk in a newly liveried Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux, set 1min 46sec to lead by six seconds overnight. Lionel and Lucie Baud, pre-Dakar testing in the second Overdrive Toyota, were second fastest.
Third-placed Saleh Al-Saif, chasing the T3 title, edged three seconds ahead of closest rival Dania Akeel, with Argentina’s Nicolás Cavigliasso and Hamad Al-Harbi third and fourth in class. Al-Mashna Al-Ramali was the top local T1 driver in seventh, and Sufian Al-Omar led T2 by 10 seconds from series leader Khaled Al-Hamzani.
Race World’s Yasir Seaidan, switching to T4 in a Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR, was fifth overall and led the class, with Dubai-based French driver Mathilda Lauwens second on her Saudi debut ahead of Maha Al-Hameli. Japan’s Teruhito Sugawara, Hirokazu Someiya and Yuji Mochizuki topped the T5 trucks in their Hino 600 on a pre-Dakar test, ahead of Ibrahim Al-Muhanna’s Mercedes, while Tariq Al-Rammah’s Volvo stopped on the stage.
Bikes and quads
With Mohammed and Sultan Al-Balooshi and Kuwait’s Abdullah Al-Shatti absent, six riders started. Mishal Al-Ghuneim, who missed Rally Qassim because of a kite-surfing challenge at the Saudi Games, joined series leader Ehab Al-Hakeem, Al-Mogheera, Bader Al-Hamdan, Luca Passone and UAE-based Philip Horlemann. Al-Mogheera was two seconds fastest, with Al-Ghuneim third.
Title rivals Al-Tuwaijri and Hani Al-Noumesi headed five Yamaha quad riders, with Al-Tuwaijri 15 seconds faster than Al-Noumesi and Abdulaziz Al-Atawi third.
Organised by the SAMF with the Ministry of Sport, official partner Abdul Latif Jameel Motors and strategic partner Saudi Investment Bank, the rally continues on Friday with a 246km desert stage from Rabigh, with the first bike at 08:00 and first car at 09:30.