TABUK: Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Al-Rajhi and German co-driver Timo Gottschalk stormed into a comfortable 19 min 28 sec lead after the opening 205 km stage of the Tabuk-Neom Rally on Friday. The Toyota Hilux crew carded a time of 1 hr 58 min and 57 sec for the scenic passage through desert terrain without hitting any problems during the course of the morning. Al-Rajhi said: “It
HAIL: Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah took a 2min 50sec lead over Carlos Sainz after the opening 251.81 km Radifah selective section of Hail Baja 1, round four of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas, on Friday.
The two triple Dakar winners were the quickest through the latter sections of the stage, with the Toyota Hilux driver snatching the stage win from his Mini Buggy rival.
Sainz’s teammate and Dakar legend Stephane Peterhansel rounded off the podium places after an early puncture, the Frenchman pushing local star Yazeed Al-Rajhi down to fourth place in the second of the Toyotas.
Overnight leader Al-Attiyah said: “It was a very good day for us and we started in a good position behind Carlos. We were fighting with Carlos. The last 40 km we were together and he touched us two times we were together all the way. I am happy to win the stage.”