SAUDI ARABIAN HA’IL BAJA (Ha’il Rally 2010…The Great Nafud Challenge), February 16th-18th, 2010
2010 FIA International Cup for Cross-Country Bajas, round 1
For immediate release
Thursday, February 18th, 2010
AL-RAJHI CLAIMS SECOND SUCCESSIVE
SAUDI ARABIAN HA’IL BAJA VICTORY
· Second place for Abdullah Bakhashab on rallying return
· Frenchman Matthieu Baumel confirms Ha’il Baja hat-trick
· Third for UAE’s Baker; Saudi’s Mtair Al-Shammeri in fourth
· Sami Al-Shammeri clinches victory in T2 showroom category
HA’IL (Saudi Arabia): Saudi Arabian driver Yazeed Al-Rajhi and French navigator Matthieu Baumel claimed a superb second successive victory in the Saudi Arabian Ha’il Baja, after comfortably setting the fastest time on the 187.7km third selective section through the An-Nafud desert in the north-central region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Thursday.
The Mitsubishi Lancer crew began the day with a 6m 34s advantage over Abdullah Bakhashab and Joseph Matar and managed to stay ahead of the Toyota FJ Cruiser Proto crew over the third day’s challenging desert route to the south and west of Ha’il to record a winning margin of 32m 54.3s when Bakhashab suffered clutch problems near the end.
The victory gave Al-Rajhi an unofficial four-point lead after round one of the 2010 FIA Cup for Cross-Country Bajas, which resumes with the Northern Forest Rally, near Saint Petersburg in Russia, in less than two weeks’ time. Baumel also confirmed his hat-trick of Saudi Ha’il Baja successes, after guiding Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah to victory in 2008 with the BMW X-raid team and Al-Rajhi with an Overdrive Nissan Pick-Up last year.
“The car was fantastic, Matthieu did a great job on the route and I am so happy to have made a winning start to my programme in the Baja Cup,” said Al-Rajhi. “Winning at home in Saudi Arabia makes it extra special for me.”
The UAE’s Raed Baker and Nabil Ahmadi set the second fastest time of the day and managed to fend off a strong Saudi challenge over the closing kilometres to confirm the final podium place in their Mitsubishi L200. Mtair and Motaib Al-Shammeri finished fourth overall in their Toyota Land Cruiser and Farhan Al-Galeb and Tariq Ramah rounded off the top five in a Nissan, but Al-Galeb was eventually given a two-hour penalty for missing a way-point and slipped to 13th overall.
Sami and Abdullah Al-Shammeri claimed victory in the T2 showroom category with their Bakhashab Isuzu Team D-Max, the Saudi duo benefiting from delays for UAE’s Yayha Al-Helai and the fact that Abdullah Al-Herais failed to restart on Thursday morning.
Twenty-five of the original 27 cars entered in the international event were permitted to restart stage three on Thursday morning, with Majed Al-Ghamdi succumbing to engine problems and Safah Al-Saeedi also falling by the wayside. Emirati Abdullah Al-Herais did not take the restart. Cars that did not complete the full second stage were given a notional time penalty of 10h 15m.
It was business as usual at the head of the field through the opening kilometres over a compacted surface out of Qana, with Al-Rajhi heading Bakhashab. Mtair Al-Shammery began an early charge and managed to pass Baker and Qatar’s Sheikh Hamed Bin Eid Al-Thani to take a virtual third position on the 187.7km stage, where sand became more prevalent on fast, winding tracks to the second safety point.
Al-Rajhi was the first to reach the Tawiya checkpoint and was followed by Bakhashab and Al-Shammeri, but Al-Thani was forced to stop around five kilometres after the start with mechanical problems, as Al-Shammeri inherited fourth overall and Al-Herais moved up to fifth. Saudi’s Abdullah Al-Dossary and Saleh Al-Saleh were also delayed and managed to continue.
Al-Rajhi maintained his advantage over Bakhashab to the Baaja checkpoint and Sami Al-Shammeri became embroiled in a close tussle with Al-Herais for the advantage in the T2 category. Thereafter, crews had to pass tricky rocky sections and several rough wadis to arrive at a giant dune with a steep uphill climb.
The outright leader continued to pull away from a clutch-troubled Bakhashab as the route turned south towards Mohaffar, while Baker managed to get passed the Al-Shammeri duo to regain third on the stage. The closing kilometres began on fast, graded tracks and gave way to sandier surfaces and several undulating passages through a series of sand dunes before a downhill section brought teams to the finish.
But there were no late dramas for Al-Rajhi, who managed to confirm his second successive victory in his home Baja event in convincing style. Bakhashab limped to the finish with ongoing clutch problems to claim second position, but there was late misery for Sami Al-Shammeri, who lost a top five overall position with late mechanical issues but had the consolation of victory in T2.
The UAE’s Yayha Al-Helai also ground to a halt in his Nissan Patrol after the Mohaffar checkpoint. He lost considerable time and slipped to sixth overall and second in T2. Britain’s David Mabbs recovered from radiator woes on Wednesday to record the third fastest time on the final stage, but time penalties dropped him out of the top 10 in the overall classification.
This year’s Saudi Arabian Ha’il Baja ran under the patronage of HRH Prince Saud Bin Abdul Mohsen Bin Abdul Aziz, Governor of Ha’il, President of the Supreme Commission for Ha’il Development and the Head of the Supreme Commission of the Ha’il Rally.
Positions on SS3 (187.7km):
1. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (KSA)/Matthieu Baumel (F) Mitsubishi Lancer 2h 14m 49s
2. Raed Baker (UAE)/Nabil Almadi (UAE) Mitsubishi L200 2h 40m 11s
3. David Mabbs (GB)/Xavier Caminada (F) Toyota FJ Cruiser 2h 40m 32s
4. Abdullah Bakhashab (KSA)/Joseph Matar (RL) Toyota FJ Cruiser Proto 2h 41m 09s
5. Ali Obaid Hasan (UAE)/Ali Dadi (UAE) Nissan Patrol 2h 41m 58s
6. Ahmed Al-Shammeri (KSA)/Faris Khalaf (KSA) Nissan Patrol 2h 42m 15s
7. Mtair Al-Shammeri (KSA)/Moteb Al-Shammeri (KSA) Toyota Land Cruiser 2h 44m 28s, etc
(T1 unless stated)
Final positions after SS3:
1. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (KSA)/Matthieu Baumel (F) Mitsubishi Lancer 6h 55m 55.3s
2. Abdullah Bakhashab (KSA)/Joseph Matar (RL) Toyota FJ Cruiser Proto 7h 28m 49.6s
3. Raed Baker (UAE)/Nabil Almadi (UAE) Mitsubishi L200 7h 48m 51.0s
4. Mtair Al-Shammeri (KSA)/Moteb Al-Shammeri (KSA) Toyota Land Cruiser 8h 11m 47.9s
5. Sami Al-Shammeri (KSA)/Abdullah Al-Shammeri (KSA) Isuzu D-Max (T2) 8h 43m 01.3s
6. Yayha Al-Helai (UAE)/Khalid Al-Kendi (UAE) Nissan Patrol (T2) 8h 47m 10.7s
7. Mfadi Al-Shammery (KSA)/Mohammed Al-Shammeri (KSA Toyota Land Cruiser 8h 55m 03.0s
8. Ali Obaid Hasan (UAE)/Ali Dadi (UAE) Nissan Patrol 9h 01m 44.3s
9. Ibrahim Al-Muhana (KSA)/Osama Al-Sanad (KSA) Nissan Patrol 9h 20m 40.4s
10. Saleh Al-Shudukhi (KSA)/Rasheed Al-Toyawi (KSA) Nissan Patrol 9h 39m 51.1s
(T1 unless stated)
2010 FIA International Cup for Cross-Country Bajas – positions after round 1 (unofficial):
1. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (KSA) 15 pts
2. Abdullah Bakhashab (KSA) 11 pts
3. Sami Al-Shammeri (KSA) 8 pts
4. Raed Baker (UAE) 7 pts
5. Yayha Al-Helai (UAE) 6 pts
6. Mtair Al-Shammeri (KSA) 5 pts
Ends
For further media information:
Neil Perkins, 2010 Saudi Arabia Ha’il Baja International Press Officer, NDP Publicity Services, Maghwat Conference Centre, Ha’il, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mobiles: + 966 548 602152 or + 44 7831 123153, E-mail: ndppublicity@googlemail.com. www.ndp-publicity.com.
Arabic: Firas Nimri, National Press Officer, Mobile: + 9662 777 282000, E-mail: firas@nimri.com
http://timing.sporttraxx.com/races/hail-baja-2010/