Prince Sultan Bin Bandar Al-Faisal (C), head of the Saudi Arabian Motorsports Federation, Abdullah Bakhashab (L), organizer of the rally, and Amr Badghaish, marketing director for Jaguar and Land Rover, at a press conference in Jeddah. Neil Perkins
JEDDAH — Rally officials have announced an impressive provisional entry list of 39 cars and six motorcycles for this weekend's FIA-sanctioned Rally Jeddah, which is being supported by Mohamed Yousef Naghy Motors (MYN Motors) – Land Rover. Officials have now transferred to rally headquarters at the Al-Nakheel Beach Resort and are finalizing last minute preparations before the ceremonial start and three-kilometer prologue stage in Obhur Thursday evening. Inaugural event winner Yazeed Al-Rajhi tops the list of car entrants with French navigator Alex Winocq in a powerful Hummer Dbug. The Riyadh driver is due some better fortune after losing second overall at last week's Sealine Cross-Country Rally in Qatar with a last stage drive shaft failure. The majority of the entrants are from within the Kingdom, although there are also two participants from France, drivers and co-drivers from the UAE and entrants from Lebanon, Russia, Poland, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar. All six motorcycle and quad riders are local entrants. “We are delighted to see so many regular faces and new names on our entry list and we welcome everyone to the second Rally Jeddah,” said chief organizer Abdullah Bakhashab. “A lot of hard work has gone into devising a challenging route and we are having to keep an eye on this all the time, because strong winds have changed the face of the desert in places and we need to make sure that our road books are accurate and up-to-date.” Main competition for Al-Rajhi is likely to come from the experienced Emirati Yayha Al-Helai and his co-driver Khalid Al-Kendi in a Nissan Patrol. The pair led the recent Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge after one stage and missed the Sealine event in Qatar to prepare for Rally Jeddah. Other leading Saudi entrants include last year's Ha'il winner Ibrahim Al-Muhanna (Nissan), former MERC regular Ahmed Al-Sabban (Ford) and the experienced Saudis, Ahmed Al-Shegawi (Nissan), Rajeh Al-Shammeri (Nissan) and Saeed Al-Mouri (Isuzu). Lebanese driver Emil Kneisser and his Russian navigator Aleksei Kuzmich have travelled straight from the Sealine event in Qatar to compete in Jeddah and join the likes of Ahmed Al-Malki, Moteb Saud Al-Shammeri and Sami Al-Shammeri on the impressive entry list. Atif Al-Zarouni makes the switch from the motorcycle and quad class to use a British-built Rage Buggy for the first time in Saudi Arabia. The Emirati and his fellow UAE co-driver Suhail Al-Ali are seeded 18th with their new car. The event is being organized with the support of the higher committee of Rally Jeddah, which incorporates the General Presidency of Youth Welfare, Jeddah Municipality, the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiques in the Makkah region and a branch of the Saudi Red Crescent in Makkah. Support has also been received from Jeddah police and traffic departments and civil defense administration. The meat of the desert action takes place Friday and Saturday and begins with a 123km selective section planned between Obhur and Bahra from 14.35hrs Friday afternoon.
