BURAYDAH, SAUDI ARABIA – Yazeed Al-Rajhi and German navigator Timo Gottschalk cruised to an emphatic win at Qassim Rally Toyota 2024, extending the Saudi’s lead in the Saudi Toyota Championship while testing new Toyota Hilux set-ups for the Dakar Rally.
Strong winds and heavy rain dampened Saturday, but Al-Rajhi was fastest on the 120km second stage near Buraydah and won by 6min 03sec from Overdrive Racing team-mates Dania Akeel and Stéphane Duplé. Czechs Miroslav Zapletal and Marek Sykora were third in their Offroad Sport Ford F-150.
Al-Balooshi holds on
Emirati Mohammed Al-Balooshi kept his day-one advantage to win the motorcycle class by just 59 seconds, finishing fifth on the final stage. Kuwait’s Abdullah Al-Shatti, penalised four minutes overnight for speeding, rode with Al-Balooshi and Saudi Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera to the finish, and Al-Balooshi held off the impressive Al-Mogheera. Al-Shatti was fifth behind South Africa’s Hanno Geyser and final-stage winner Mishal Al-Ghuneim (Husqvarna), after Hamdan Al-Ali stopped on the final morning.
Quad leader Haitham Al-Tuwaijri lost a lot of time on the final stage, allowing Abdulaziz Al-Shayban to win on his Yamaha Raptor. Al-Tuwaijri held second and Hani Al-Noumesi was third; CF Moto rider Abdulrahman Alabdullatif didn’t complete Saturday’s route and was penalised.
Class winners
Hamad Al-Harbi and Aleksei Kuzmich won Challenger in their Can-Am Maverick X3 by 7min 29sec from Waleed Al-Dhakeel, with Hamza Bakhashab, Maha Al-Hameli and Annett Quandt completing the finishers. Abdullah Al-Haydan overcame a one-minute speeding penalty to win SSV with Bader Al-Ajmi and finish fourth overall; Abdullah Al-Shegawi was second, Moaaz Hariri rolled but finished third, and Orjwan Ammar and Mona Kurdi completed the SSV finishers. Faris Al-Moshna won Ultimate in his Nissan and Sufian Al-Omar took Stock.
The round was organised by the Ministry of Sport with official partner Jameel Motorsports and strategic partner Saudi Investment Bank. The championship concludes with Jeddah Rally Toyota on December 19–21.
Results – Ultimate T1+ and bikes
- Yazeed Al-Rajhi / Timo Gottschalk (Toyota Hilux Overdrive) – 3hr 21min 09sec
- Dania Akeel / Stéphane Duplé (Toyota Hilux Overdrive) – 3hr 27min 12sec
- Miroslav Zapletal / Marek Sykora (Ford F-150) – 3hr 34min 25sec
- Mohammed Al-Balooshi (KTM) – 4hr 51min 54sec
- Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera (KTM) – 4hr 52min 53sec
- Hanno Geyser (KTM Rally Replica) – 4hr 58min 31sec
- Mishal Al-Ghuneim (Husqvarna 450 Rally Replica) – 4hr 58min 51sec
- Abdullah Al-Shatti (Kawasaki KX450) – 5hr 05min 58sec