Jeddah [Saudi Arabia], November 12: Motorsport resumes in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia this weekend with the Jeddah Baja Toyota Rally, round two of the increasingly-popular Saudi Toyota Rally Championship.
The three-day second round of Saudi Arabia's premier all-terrain series is based at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit (JCC) and has attracted a field of 22 cars, nine motorcycles and five quads. Action gets underway with a Prologue of 10km from 13.25hrs on Thursday afternoon.
Competitors will then tackle two selective sections of 74.50km and 85.53km on Friday (November 13th) and an 82.57km stage to bring the action to a close on Saturday (November 14th).
The Baja is running under the supervision of SAMF Chairman H.R.H. Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al Abdullah Al Faisal. It is being organised by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF) in conjunction with the Ministry of Sport and official partner Jameel Motorsport.
Six-time event winner Yazeed Al-Rajhi (2014-15 and 2022-25) is attempting to retain his Saudi Toyota Rally Championship title in an Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux GR. But the Riyadh-based driver faces a fierce challenge on this occasion from Qatar's six-time Dakar Rally winner Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah.
The Qatari narrowly got the better of Al-Rajhi at the opening Saudi Baja round in late January and holds a slender lead in the Drivers' Championship to take to the final two rounds in Jeddah and Al Qassim next month. Al Attiyah has entered the event with French navigator Max Delfino in a bid to wrest the title from Al Rajhi's clutches for the first time. He drives a two-wheel drive Optimus MD with which he won the recent FIA Middle East Baja Cup.
The remainder of the Ultimate field is dominated by Nissans in the hands of Saudi drivers, including Fahad Al Marmass, Faris Khalaf Al Moshna, Mohammed Al Tuwaijri and Khalaf Joan Al Shammeri.
Saleh Al Saif has won the Challenger title on three of the four occasions it has been a part of the Jeddah event and he returns to defend his title in a G Rally Team OT3. Dania Akeel and Sebastien Delaunay finished third overall at the opening round in a Toyota Hilux GR and are also looking to finish on the top step of the podium. They will compete in the Challenger category with a Taurus T3 Max.
Maha Al Hamali won the SSV category in 2022 and she lines up in a Can-Am against Meshaal Al Howaish, Hamad Al Harbi and Abdullah Al Zahrani.
Six drivers will battle it out for Stock class honours and a new name will grace the list of winners of the prestigious category in Jeddah. Newly-crowned FIA World Baja Cup champion Majed Al Thunayyan heads the field in a Nissan Patrol. He faces competition from the Nissans of Mohammed Al Asiri, Salem Al Quraini and Motab Al Shammeri, Abdullah Al Shegawi in a Toyota Prado and Abdulaziz Al Yaeesh (Isuzu).
Emirati Mohammed Al Balooshi has never won the Jeddah round of the Saudi Toyota Rally Championship but he starts as the top motorcycle seed on a Husqvarna after finishing third at the Saudi Baja in January. His brother Sultan has also made the journey from the UAE, where the MX Ride Dubai duo will battle it out with seven Saudi riders for two-wheel supremacy.
Abdulhalim Al Mogheera spearheads the local challenge on a KTM. He won the Jeddah event in 2024 and is chasing points in the local championship. Rivals include Ahmed Olfat, Abdullah Al Jahdali and Ibrahim Al Jaralla.
Hani Al Noumesi triumphed at the opening round in Ha'il in the quad category and leads the series on his Yamaha with two rounds to go. The Saudi also won the event in Jeddah last year but is not taking part this weekend. He is competing for honours in Portugal on the final round of the FIM Bajas World Cup.
This has opened the door for three-time former winner Haitham Al Tuwaijri (2022-24) to battle it out with fellow Yamaha rider Abdulaziz Al Atawi and the CF Moto C Force 1000 trio of Yassin Mahmoud Al Hamad, Abdulrahman Alabdullatif and Badr Al Hamdan for quad honours.
On Thursday, competitors tackle a Prologue from 13.25hrs (first motorcycle) before the ceremonial start takes centre stage from 20.00hrs. The Prologue will determine the starting order for the following day's opening desert stage.
Source: Qatar Tribune
