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  • Al-Rajhi edges ahead of Morales after prologue stage of Rally Qassim Toyota 2023


Al-Rajhi edges ahead of Morales after prologue stage of Rally Qassim Toyota 2023

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Partnered by Timo Gottschalk and driving a Toyota Hilux prepared by Overdrive Racing, Al-Rajhi began the defense of his Saudi Toyota Championship title with victory on the prologue stage in a time of 1 min 53 sec. (Supplied)
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Recently crowned FIM Bajas World Cup champion Mohammed Al-Balooshi snatched the advantage in the motorcycle category on his KTM. (Supplied)
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Updated 23 November 2023
Arab News
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Al-Rajhi edges ahead of Morales after prologue stage of Rally Qassim Toyota 2023

  • Mohammed Al-Balooshi and Haitham Al-Tuwaijri fastest in bike and quad classes
Updated 23 November 2023
Arab News

BURAYDAH, Saudi Arabia: Yazeed Al-Rajhi, Mohammed Al-Balooshi and Haitham Al-Tuwaijri claimed early bragging rights with the fastest times in the car, motorcycle and quad categories on the opening 3.51 km Prologue stage of Rally Qassim Toyota 2023 on Thursday afternoon.

Thirty-one cars, one truck, 12 motorcycles and six quads had earlier been flagged away from the ceremonial start at the Al-Qassim National Park-Osseilan in Buraydah by SAMF President Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal and Prince Dr. Faisal bin Misha’al bin Saud bin Abdulaziz, governor of Al-Qassim province.

The third round of the Saudi Toyota Championship is organized by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation in conjunction with the Ministry of Sport, and in alliance with Abdul Latif Jameel Motors Toyota as the official partner and strategic sponsor Saudi Investment Bank.

Partnered by Timo Gottschalk and driving a Toyota Hilux prepared by Overdrive Racing, Al-Rajhi began the defense of his Saudi Toyota Championship title with victory on the prologue stage in a time of 1 min 53 sec. That put the Riyadh driver seven seconds ahead of Toyota Gazoo Racing’s new official driver Lucas Moraes and the Argentine’s Spanish co-driver Armand Monleon and Yazeed Racing’s Saleh Alabdulali and his co-driver Mohammed Al-Naim in a third Toyota.

Moraes said: “This is the last rally for me before Dakar. I’m looking forward to it. Full attack from the start.”

Dark Horse Team Can-Am Maverick X3 driver Saleh Al-Saif was the quickest of the T3 entrants in the class for lightweight prototype machines and held fourth overall. He beat Yasir Seaidan by one second, while 11th-placed Ahmed Al-Shegawi was quickest of the five runners in the T4 category in his Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR.

Ibrahim Al-Muhanna teamed up with Faisal Al-Suwayh and Raed Abu Theeb to tackle the event in the only T5 Mercedes truck.

Recently crowned FIM Bajas World Cup champion Mohammed Al-Balooshi snatched the advantage in the motorcycle category on his KTM. The Emirati clocked a time of 2 min 18 sec to beat Anas Al-Rahyani by two seconds. Qatar-based Martin Chalmers finished third.

FIA Bajas World Cup regular Haitham Al-Tuwaijri rode his customary Yamaha strongly to beat Qatar-based Emiel Stuckens by 15 seconds in the quad category.

Friday’s action is centered around the Ash Shimasiyah desert stage of 186 km with the first motorcycle on track at 9:05 a.m. and the first car following at 10:35 a.m.

 

Rally Qassim Toyota 2023 — Prologue result (unofficial @ 17.55hrs):

Cars

1. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (SAU)/Timo Gottschalk (DEU) Toyota Hilux (T1P) 1 min 53 sec

2. Lucas Moraes (ARG)/Armand Monleon (ESP) Toyota Hilux (T1P) 2 min 00 sec

3. Saleh Al-Alabdulali (SAU)/Mohammed Al-Naim (SAU) Toyota Hilux 2 min 00 sec

4. Saleh Al-Saif (SAU)/Egor Okhotnikov (FIA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3) 2 min 13 sec

5. Yasir Seaidan (SAU)/Michael Metge (FRA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3) 2 min 14 sec

6. Rashid Al-Ketbi (ARE)/Ali Mirza (ARE) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3) 2 min 17 sec

7. Dania Akeel (SAU)/Stéphane Duplé (FRA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3) 2 min 20 sec

8. Al-Mashna Al-Ramali (SAU)/Mazen Al-Shammeri (SAU) Nissan 2 min 20 sec

9. Sufian Al-Omer (SAU)/Waleed Al-Shegawi (SAU) Nissan (T2) 2 min 22 sec

10. Metab Saud Al-Qnon (SAU)/Murdhi Al-Shammeri (SAU) Nissan 2 min 22 sec

11. Abdullah Al-Shegawi (SAU)/Faisal Ftyh (SAU) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo (T4) 2 min 24 sec

12. Khalid Al-Feraihi (SAU)/Sébastien Delaunay (FRA) Nissan 2 min 25 sec

13. Faris Al-Moshna (SAU)/Khalid Al-Bakr (SAU) Nissan 2 min 26 sec

14. Ahmed Al-Shammeri (SAU)/Hani Al-Shammeri (SAU) Nissan 2 min 26 sec

15. Hamad Al-Harbi (SAU)/Aleksandr Alekseev (FIA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3) 2 min 26 sec

16. Abdullah Al-Haydan (SAU)/Bader Al-Ajmi (KWT) Nissan 2 min 30 sec

17. Abdullah Al-Sanad (SAU)/Abdullatif Al-Sanad (SAU) Nissan (T2) 2 min 30 sec

18. Abdulaziz Al-Yaeesh (SAU)/Omar Al-Lahim (SAU) Nissan 2min 32 sec

T1 unless stated

Bikes

1. Mohammed Al-Balooshi (ARE) KTM 450 2 min 18 sec

2. Anass Al-Rahyani (SAU) KTM 2 min 20 sec

3. Martin Chalmers (QAT) Beta 430RR 2 min 21 sec

4. Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera (SAU) KTM 2 min 26 sec

5. Marwan Al-Rahmani (ARE) KTM 2 min 26 sec

6. Bader Al-Hamdan (SAU) Yamaha WR450 F 2 min 27 sec

7. Ehab Al-Hakeem (SAU) Yamaha WR450 F 2 min 27 sec

8. Hamdan Al-Ali (ARE) Husqvarna 2 min 32 sec

9. Ibrahim Bugla (ARE) Husqvarna 2 min 36 sec

10. Bader Al-Bader (SAU) KTM 2 min 37 sec

11. Philip Horlemann (ARE) Husqvarna 2 min 46 sec

12. Gerard Lubbinge (QAT) KTM 2 min 53 sec

Quads

1. Haitham Al-Tuwaijri (SAU) Yamaha 2 min 25 sec

2. Emiel Stuckens (QAT) Yamaha 2 min 40 sec

3. Hani Al-Noumesi (SAU) Yamaha 2 min 45 sec

4. Abdulaziz Al-Atawi (SAU) Yamaha 2 min 45 sec

5. Abdulrahman Alabdullatif (SAU) Yamaha TRXX 700 3 min 36 sec

6. Maya Tamime (TUN) Honda 5 min 41 sec

Topics: Rally Qassim Toyota 2023 Yazeed Al-Rajhi

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Lategan leads the Dakar, champion Al-Rajhi withdraws

Updated 08 January 2026
Reuters
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Lategan leads the Dakar, champion Al-Rajhi withdraws

  • Lategan, last year’s overall runner-up, took his fifth career stage win and led Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah by three minutes and 55 seconds
Updated 08 January 2026
Reuters

ALULA, Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia’s Dakar Rally champion Yazeed Al-Rajhi declared an end to his title defense and withdrew on Wednesday as South African Henk Lategan dominated the fourth stage for Toyota and took over at the top.

Al-Rajhi had been struggling from the start in his customer entry Toyota Hilux, and was already 19th when he withdrew with technical issues 234km into the 452km part of a two-day marathon stage around AlUla.

“Sadly, our Dakar 2026 journey ends here,” he posted on Facebook. “We’ll come back stronger next year.”

The Saudi explained later that he had lost half an hour with two punctures and, with nearly half the stage remaining until the bivouac and having to go slow with no further ‌spare available, ‌had called it a day.

It ended a difficult ‌year for the Saudi ‌since he won last year, with Al-Rajhi crashing in Jordan last April and breaking two vertebrae. He returned to competition only in September.

Lategan, last year’s overall runner-up, took his fifth career stage win and led Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah by three minutes and 55 seconds.

“Yesterday, we had a total of nine punctures. It’s unbelievable. I think that’s a record in three days. I was lost,” the factory Toyota driver said, his happiness tempered by missing his son’s sixth birthday.

“I didn’t know what to do on the rocks, ‌whether to slow down or not, attack or ‍not. Today I decided to forget ‍all that and just go for it. It’s a lottery anyway.”

Al-Attiyah, a five-times ‍Dakar winner now with the Dacia Sandriders team, was second in the stage — more than seven minutes behind Lategan — to move up from 10th overnight.

“We did a good job, we’re here, and I think we didn’t lose too much time. It might even be good for our start position tomorrow,” he said.

“We didn’t need to push any harder; we’re still some way back. The car is in good condition and we’re happy.”

Ford’s Mattias Ekstrom was in third place overall with teammate and four-time Dakar winner Carlos Sainz fourth and nearly 16 minutes off the lead.

Ford’s overnight leader Mitch Guthrie of the US dropped to 13th.

In the motorcycle category, Spaniard Tosha Schareina took the lead for Honda from Australia’s defending champion Daniel Sanders, who dropped to third on his KTM. American Ricky Brabec was second.

Schareina and Brabec finished the stage in a Honda one-two-three with American Skyler Howes third and Sanders fifth.

“I made some silly mistakes in the navigation. After the refuel, I tried to push and make up time,” said Sanders.

“I felt ‌better in the last half. The bike’s okay. There was a lot of rocks. I tried to protect my tires. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

Topics: 2026 Dakar Rally Dakar Rally Henk Lategan

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