The four-round Saudi Toyota Rally Championship ends next weekend (December 15th-17th) with the three-day Rally Jeddah, which returns for the first time since 2016.
Rally Jeddah is organised by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF) with the Ministry of Sport and in partnership with Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ) Motors.
The provisional entry features 29 cars, 10 motorcycles and three quads. Yazeed Al-Rajhi starts as clear favourite to win the car category and clinch the Drivers’ title, holding a 32-point advantage over Czech rival Miroslav Zapletal, the same driver he edged for the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas Drivers’ title in Dubai at the start of this month.
Saudi Border Guard team driver Khalid Al-Feraihi and Can-Am Maverick drivers Hamed Al-Harbi and Dania Akeel will fight for third in the championship. Al-Feraihi arrives in the Red Sea city seven points ahead of Al-Harbi and 18 clear of Akeel, who contests her final event of the season after finishing second in the FIA World Cup T3 Championship.
Ahmed Al-Shegawi leads Mutair Al-Shammeri by one point in the well-supported T2 Championship, which local drivers have dominated over the previous three rounds in Aseer, Qassim and Hail.
Motorcycles and quads also contest the finale. The favourites on two wheels include local trio Mishael Al-Ghuneim, Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera and Othman Al-Ghfeli, while experienced Yamaha riders Abdulmajeed Al-Khulaifi, Haitham Al-Tuwaijri and Hani Al-Noumesi go head-to-head in the quads. Al-Khulaifi clinched the FIM Bajas World Cup Quad Championship at the recent Dubai International Baja.
History
Rally Jeddah was first held in 2014 and won by Al-Rajhi and French co-driver Alex Winocq in a Hummer Dbug. The Saudi repeated the feat the following year with German navigator Timo Gottschalk, before Qatar’s Adel Hussein Abdullah and Frenchman Sébastien Delaunay won in a T2 car in 2016.
Al-Khulaifi is a two-time quad winner, in 2014 and 2015. Motorcycles and quads did not compete in 2016.
The route
After the ceremonial start at Jeddah Stadium from 13.30hrs on Thursday (December 15th), competitors tackle a 10km special stage (SS1A) from 14.35hrs.
The first of two longer desert selective sections runs 197km from Khulais to Asfan on Friday (December 16th), split into sections of 109km (SS1B) and 88km (SS1C) by a neutralisation zone and refuelling point for motorcycles, quads and T3 and T4 cars.
The rally ends on Saturday (December 17th) with a second 131km selective section, made up of SS2A (109km) and SS2B (22km), starting and finishing in the historic agricultural governorate of Khulais in the Mecca Province.