BURAYDAH, SAUDI ARABIA – Yazeed Al-Rajhi, Mohammed Al-Balooshi and Haitham Al-Tuwaijri were fastest in cars, motorcycles and quads on the 7km opening Prologue of Qassim Rally Toyota in Buraydah on Thursday afternoon.
The start ramp saw 14 Ultimate cars, five Challenger, five SSV and six Stock entries. Defending champion Al-Rajhi and German navigator Timo Gottschalk set 4min 18sec in their Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux, winning by 17 seconds.
We are also using this rally to test several new components on the Hilux in terms of the suspension that has been costly for the team this season, particularly at the Dakar and in Argentina.
Yazeed Al-Rajhi
Team-mates Dania Akeel and Stéphane Duplé were third in Ultimate T1+, behind Miroslav Zapletal and Marek Sykora in their Offroad Sport Ford F-150. Ahmed Al-Shammeri (Nissan), Hamad Al-Harbi (Can-Am), Moaaz Hariri (Can-Am) and Fahad Al-Maioweed (Nissan) topped Ultimate, Challenger, SSV and Stock. Challenger contenders Hamza Bakhashab (broken drive belt), Waleed Al-Dhakeel (broken differential) and Annett Quandt lost lots of time, with the German towed out with engine problems.
Al-Balooshi was fastest on two wheels in 4min 53sec on his KTM, 16 seconds ahead of South Africa’s Hanno Geyser, with Saudi Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera third. Quad championship leader Al-Tuwaijri beat Abdulaziz Al-Shayban and Abdulaziz Al-Atawi.
Friday’s 238km stage through the deserts around Buraydah starts at 08:00 for the first bike and 09:15 for the first car.
Prologue – top results
- Ultimate T1+: Yazeed Al-Rajhi 4min 18sec, Miroslav Zapletal 4min 35sec, Dania Akeel 4min 44sec
- Challenger: Hamad Al-Harbi 5min 01sec, Maha Al-Hameli 5min 28sec
- SSV: Moaaz Hariri 4min 58sec, Abdullah Al-Shegawi 5min 03sec
- Bikes: Mohammed Al-Balooshi 4min 53sec, Hanno Geyser 5min 09sec, Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera 5min 11sec
- Quads: Haitham Al-Tuwaijri 5min 09sec, Abdulaziz Al-Shayban 5min 15sec, Abdulaziz Al-Atawi 5min 21sec