JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA – Thirty-eight cars, 16 motorcycles and six quads have entered Jeddah Rally Toyota, this weekend’s final round of the 2024 Saudi Toyota Rally Championship.
Overall and Ultimate P (T1+) leader Yazeed Al-Rajhi again partners German co-driver Timo Gottschalk in his Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux at the head of the car field.
Car categories
Al-Rajhi faces two Ultimate P rivals, nine entries each in Ultimate and Challenger, seven in SSV, nine in Stock and a Hino 600 in the Truck class. Toyota team-mate Dania Akeel and Czech veteran Miroslav Zapletal (Ford F-150) will fight for overall and Ultimate P honours, while Abdulaziz Al-Yaeesh and Faris Al-Moshna head the Saudi-dominated Ultimate class.
Challenger promises a fierce fight, with Shegawi Racing’s Hamad Al-Harbi (Can-Am) leading a line-up including Saleh Al-Saif (OT3), Maha Al-Hamali (Can-Am), Annett Quandt and Maria Gameiro (Yamahas), Hamza Bakhashab (Can-Am), FIA champion Yasir Seaidan (Taurus T3 Max), Waleed Al-Dhakeel (MC5) and Rui Carneiro (Can-Am).
Moaz Hariri heads an all-Saudi Can-Am SSV field against Abdullah Al-Shegawi, Orjwan Ammar, Abdullah Al-Haydan, Ibrahim Al-Muhanna, Mona Kurdi and the returning Ahmed Al-Sabban, who first competed in the FIA Middle East Rally Championship back in 1993. Jafar Al-Qahtani, Sufian Al-Omar and new FIA Middle East Baja Cup Stock winner Majed Al-Thunayyan lead the Nissan Patrol-dominated Stock class, and Japan’s Teruhito Sugawara, Hirokazu Somemiya and Yuji Mochizuki crew the lone Hino 600 truck.
Bikes and quads
New three-time FIM Bajas World Cup winner Mohammed Al-Balooshi heads a motorcycle entry from seven nations. His rivals include Saudis Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera, Ahmed Al-Jaber and Mishal Al-Ghuneim, Lebanon’s Rafic Eid, South Africa’s Hanno Geyser, and Qatari-licensed Abdulrahman Al-Sheeb and Doha-based Australian Martin Chalmers. Kuwait’s Sarah Khuraibet returns on a Husqvarna FE450, and Qatar International Baja podium finisher Alex McInnes is joined by Emiratis Mohammed Meerza and Abdullah Lanjawi and Bahrain’s Salman Humood.
2024 FIM Bajas World Cup quad champion Hani Al-Noumesi faces fellow Yamaha riders Haitham Al-Tuwaijri, Abdulaziz Al-Shayban and Abdulaziz Al-Atawi, with Abdulrahman Alabdullatif (CF Moto) and Osama Al-Sehaibani (Suzuki) also entered.
The Jeddah Corniche Circuit hosts administration checks and the pre-event press conference on Wednesday, December 18.