JEDDAH RALLY TOYOTA 2024
Saudi Toyota Rally Championship, round 4 – December 19th-21st, 2024
For immediate release
Monday, December 16th, 2024
STRONG JEDDAH RALLY TOYOTA FIELD TO DECIDE OUTCOME OF 2024 SAUDI TOYOTA CHAMPIONSHIP
JEDDAH (SAUDI ARABIA): Thirty-eight cars, 16 motorcycles and six quads have entered Jeddah Rally Toyota, this weekend’s final round of the 2024 Saudi Toyota Rally Championship.
Yazeed Al-Rajhi leads the overall championship and the Ultimate P (T1+) category and the Riyadh driver again teams up with German co-driver Timo Gottschalk to top the 38-strong car field in his Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux.
He faces two rivals in the Ultimate P section, nine in both the Ultimate and Challenger classes, seven in SSV, nine in the Stock category for series-production cross-country machines and one Hino 600 in the Truck section.
Al-Rajhi’s Toyota team-mate Dania Akeel and Czech veteran Miroslav Zapletal (Ford F-150) will be challenging for overall honours and success in Ultimate P, while Abdulaziz Al-Yaeesh and Faris Al-Moshna head the Saudi-dominated Ultimate class.
Fierce competition is expected in the Challenger category with Shegawi Racing’s Hamad Al-Harbi (Can-Am) heading an all-star line-up that includes Saleh Al-Saif (OT3), Maha Al-Hamali (Can-Am), Annett Quandt and Maria Gameiro (Yamahas), Hamza Bakhashab (Can-Am), FIA champion Yasir Seaidan (Taurus T3 Max), Waleed Al-Dhakeel (MC5) and Rui Carneiro (Can-Am)
Moaz Hariri leads an all-Saudi Can-Am line-up in the SSV section. Competition comes from Abdullah Al-Shegawi, Orjwan Ammar, Abdullah Al-Haydan, Ibrahim Al-Muhanna, Mona Kurdi and a returning Ahmed Al-Sabban, who first started competing in the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) way back in 1993.
Jafar Al-Qahtani, Sufian Al-Omar and Majed Al-Thunayyan, the recently-crowned Stock section winner in the FIA Middle East Baja Cup, head the section for series-production cross-country machines in their Nissan Patrols.
Japan’s Teruhito Sugawara teams up with Hirokazu Somemiya and Yuji Mochizuki to crew the solitary Hino 600 in the T5 Truck section.
Emirati Mohammed Al-Balooshi is the new three-time winner of the FIM Bajas World Cup and he heads an impressive motorcycle entry with riders from seven nations. Rivals for the KTM 450 Rally man include the front-running Saudi trio of Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera, Ahmed Al-Jaber and Mishal Al-Ghuneim.
Rafic Eid represents Lebanon, Hanno Geyser flies the flag for South Africa and Abdulraham Al-Sheeb and the Doha-based Australian Martin Chalmers will run with Qatari licences. Sarah Khuraibet has made a return to the sport in recent weeks and the Kuwaiti female rider is entered on a Husqvarna FE450.
Alex McInnes finished on the podium at the Qatar International Baja last month and the UAE-based rider will compete alongside Emiratis Mohammed Meerza and Abdullah Lanjawi and Bahrain’s Salman Humood.
Hani Al-Noumesi was crowned as the quad champion in this year’s FIM Bajas World Cup and faces a fierce challenge from fellow Yamaha rivals Haitham Al-Tuwaijri, Abdulaziz Al-Shayban and Abdulaziz Al-Atawi for Saudi Toyota Championship honours. There are also quad entries for Abdulrahman Alabdullatif (CF Moto) and Osama Al-Sehaibani (Suzuki).
Jeddah Rally Toyota 2024 is being organised by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF) in conjunction with the Ministry of Sport, with official partner Jameel Motorsport and strategic partner Saudi Investment Bank. It is running under the supervision of SAMF President H.R.H. Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal.
The Jeddah Corniche Circuit (JCC) will host administration checks and the pre-event press conference on Wednesday (December 18th).
Ends
SPORTITY APP – Code JEDDAH24AUTO and JEDDAH24MOTO
For further information: Saudi Toyota Championship (saudi-championship.com)