Arab News | Al-Rajhi beats Al-Attiyah to claim fifth consecutive Jeddah Baja title

JEDDAH: Saudi rally champion Yazeed Al-Rajhi claimed his fifth consecutive Jeddah Toyota Baja title, beating Qatari rival Nasser Al-Attiyah at the second round of the Saudi Toyota Baja Championship.

The victory was Al-Rajhi’s seventh at the Jeddah event and extended his winning streak to five editions.

Speaking at the post-rally press conference, Al-Rajhi praised the competition between himself and six-time Dakar Rally champion Al-Attiyah.

“Honestly, it was a fantastic race, with an exciting battle between us and the Qatari international driver Nasser Al-Attiyah. We really enjoyed the competition and the course of the rally,” he said.

“As I predicted before the race, we would be the champions of this edition. We managed to control the rally today, and the result was our victory.”

Al-Rajhi also challenged Al-Attiyah ahead of the upcoming Qassim Rally.

“From this platform, I raise the challenge once again to champion Nasser Al-Attiyah and tell him that we will win the upcoming Qassim Rally,” he said.

Al-Attiyah, who finished second with co-driver Max Delfino, congratulated his rival but said he expected to challenge again in future competitions.

“Honestly, we are proud of the level of competition today. Yazeed Al-Rajhi beat us in the end, but the best is yet to come,” he said.

He also pointed to their respective Dakar Rally records.

“I would like to remind Yazeed that I have won the Dakar Rally six times, while he has won it once. In any case, we are proud to have become rivals across all championships, and that is a great thing,” he added.

Al-Rajhi and co-driver Dennis Zenz took first place, with Al-Attiyah and Delfino finishing 1 minute and 5.8 seconds behind. Saudi driver Saleh Al-Saif and co-driver Albert Viliamovitch came third.

Jeddah Gov. Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Jalawi presented the trophies at the closing ceremony, which was attended by Prince Khalid bin Sultan bin Abdullah Al-Faisal, chairman of the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation and Saudi Motorsport Company.

The governor also presented awards to winners in the other rally categories and recognized government entities, sponsors and partners involved in organizing the event.

The three-day Jeddah Toyota Baja was the second round of the Saudi Toyota Baja Championship, bringing together leading rally drivers for competition across desert terrain.