Thursday… the start of the first edition of the Tabuk-Neum Rally

The first edition of the Tabuk-Neom Rally will take place in the city of Tabuk, northwest of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on Thursday afternoon, as the second round of the Saudi Toyota Desert Rally Championship forms the 2023 season.

35 cars, 20 motorcycles and three quads will participate in this round, knowing that the final number of participants will be officially determined after the completion of the technical and administrative examination procedures. The championship is organized by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation, headed by His Royal Highness Prince Khaled bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal.

The rally activities begin with a launch party that will be held in King Khalid Sports City at 1:30 pm, followed by a 3.52-kilometer exhibition stage at 4:00 pm to determine the order of the starters in the first special stage. The rally includes two special stages subject to timing, the length of the first day’s stage (Friday) 205 kilometers and the second day (Saturday) approximately 136 kilometers.

The Tabuk-NEOM Rally is held in cooperation with the Ministry of Sports, and in partnership with the official sponsor, Abdul Latif Jameel Motors, and the strategic sponsor, the Saudi Investment Bank.

Saudi driver Yazid Al-Rajhi missed the first round of this season, the Hail Rally, due to an injury he sustained while skiing in southern France, so last season’s champion must make good use of the opportunity at the start of his campaign to defend the title, knowing that he is the favorite to win the rally title In a Toyota Hilux Overdrive. He will be assisted by German navigator Timo Gottschalk, who flew to the Kingdom after participating with veteran German driver Armin Kremer in the Masters Cup category in the World Rally Championship “WRC” in the Rally of Portugal, which ended last Sunday.

Saudi driver Abdulaziz Al-Yaish won the Hail Rally title, and Abdulaziz, who is participating in the Nissan T1, will start the rally ten points ahead of his compatriot Al-Mishna Al-Rimali, his closest pursuer. Saudi driver Saleh Al-Saif, the star of the light desert cars category, ranked third and first in the typical light desert cars category, six points ahead of his compatriot Yasser bin Saedan. They both share Can-M cars.

Saudi driver Dania Aqeel ranks third in the “T3” category, while her compatriot Maha Al-Hamli leads the “T4” category for light desert cars of commercial production. Both of them seek to score as many points as possible in this round. Dania cooperates with German navigator Taye Berry, while expert Ukrainian navigator Dmytro Tsero will sit next to Maha.

There is a large participation in the “T2” category dedicated to commercial production cars, the first of which is Khaled Al-Hamzani, the leader of the general standings of this category, with an eight-point difference from Hailan Al-Subaie, the driver of the Saudi Border Guard team, and Jaafar Al-Qahtani, a colleague of Hailan, will also attend. 12 cars will participate in this category.

The leader of the motorcycle category will not be absent from the Tabuk-Neum Rally. The Saudi rider, Mishaal Al-Ghunaim, will attend on a Beta 430 RR bike. The experienced rider is five points ahead of his closest pursuer, his compatriot Ihab Al-Hakim.

This category is expected to witness intense competition with the presence of 20 riders from Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Gulf, most of whom have legitimate chances of winning the motorcycle category title in the first edition of the Teboum-Neum Rally. Among the most prominent of these competitors in this category are the Emirati brothers Mohammed and Sultan Al Balushi, both of whom participate on the “KTM” bike, and they are among the bright names in motorcycles at the level of the Arabian Gulf. The rally will also be attended by Bahraini riders Salman Farhan, Qataris Mohammed Al Kaabi and Abdul Rahman Al Shaib, and Kuwaiti Sarah Al Khurabit.

The competition is limited to the “Quads” category, between three Saudi riders, led by Haitham Al-Tuwaijri, who leads the general standings of the category by five points from the second-place finisher Abdulaziz Al-Atwi, and in the third place Hani Al-Nomsi, all of whom ride Yamaha “Raptor” bikes, and aspire to To win the title in this category despite the difficult terrain in the northern desert.