Yazeed Al-Rajhi and German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz cruised through Friday’s final 123km stage south-west of Buraydah to win Rally Qassim.
On the eve of his wedding, the Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux driver won by 19min 02sec to strengthen his lead in the Saudi Toyota Desert Championship, and gave his co-driver an extra birthday present.
A lot of good things are happening at the same time. Happy birthday to Dirk. This race was really difficult for me. I didn’t need any surprises with my wedding tomorrow. I needed to be more cautious. Everything went well and we won the race and lead the championship. The team did a great job. I finished my last day being single with a win and hope to take the win in Andalucia next week when I am married!
Yazeed Al-Rajhi
Saudi Border Guard team driver Khalid Al-Feraihi and French co-driver Sébastien Delaunay secured second overall with the fourth fastest time.
I was surprised. It was difficult in scorching hot weather. Anyway, we managed to reach the finish line and maintain second place and we earned precious points for the championship. My co-driver did a great job. Experienced co-drivers are valuable assets in desert rallies. It is becoming more difficult with hidden waypoints. An expert navigator is essential.
Khalid Al-Feraihi
We are very happy. We made two days without mistake and, in the end, it paid off. It was two different days. Yesterday was great for navigators, where a few mistakes and you can lose six minutes. Today, navigation was more easy but we had a lot of dunes and it was a driver’s day. If you get stuck on the dune, you can also lose 10 minutes. Both of us make no mistake for two days, so it was a good result at the end.
Sébastien Delaunay
Czech driver Miroslav Zapletal and Slovak navigator Marek Sykora completed the podium in their Ford F-150 Evo.
Today was a nice but tricky day with a lot of sand. It was a good track and a good race. No issues for us today and everything worked very well.
Miroslav Zapletal
T3 drama
The results changed significantly overnight when extra waypoint penalties were applied. The top two were unaffected, but Zapletal moved up to third and Saleh Al-Saif and Dania Akeel rose to fourth and fifth, with Abdullah Al-Sanad still leading T2 in sixth.
The T3 battle was turned upside down on the final stage when Akeel rolled her South Racing Can-Am and Al-Saif stopped for more than an hour with technical problems. That allowed Shegawi Racing’s Hamad Al-Harbi and Qatar-based Spanish co-driver Marc Serra to take the class win and seventh overall in their Can-Am.
Majed Al-Shammeri and Abdulaziz Al-Yaeesh completed the top five, sixth-placed Abdullah Al-Sanad won T2 for series-production cross-country vehicles, and Saeed Al-Mouri and Jordanian co-driver Ata Al-Hmoud were 15th and won T4 in a Can-Am.
Bikes and quads
KTM rider Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera set the unofficial fastest time on the last stage, well clear of Anass Al-Reheyani and Qatar-based Australian Martin Chalmers. Overnight leader Mishal Al-Ghuneim was fourth on the day but had done enough to win the motorcycle category by 21 minutes on his KTM.
Behind Chalmers, super special winner Yasser Al-Khareef was third, with Al-Reheyani and Ahmed Al-Jaber completing the top five. The UAE’s Hamdan Al-Ali won the larger-engine class and finished 10th, while Qatar’s Mohammed Al-Kaabi missed a waypoint and dropped out of contention with a one-hour penalty.
Abdulmajeed Al-Khulaifi again topped the quads on his Yamaha to beat Haitham Al-Tuwaijri, who missed two waypoints on the final stage and received heavy penalties.
Rally Qassim was organised by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF) with the Ministry of Sport and in partnership with Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ) Motors Toyota, under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Dr. Faisal bin Mishaal bin Saud bin Abdulaziz, Prince of the Al-Qassim region.