With just over a month to go before this key event in the summer off-road calendar, preparations have entered their final phase.

The unveiling of the Silk Way Rally route is one of the most eagerly awaited prestart events. It is already a tradition to make every new edition different from the previous ones, so the route is always of great interest to the participants.

Once again, the SWR 2021 is integrated into the most important championships of the discipline, namely the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies for cars and the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship for bikes and quads.

It is from Omsk, Russia, a city situated at the confluence of two rivers, the Irtysh and the Om, that the Silk Way rally 2021 Start Ceremony will take place on July 1st, 2021.

At the end of the 10 days of this incomparable adventure through spectacular landscapes; forests, steppes, deserts, sandy tracks and wadi crossings, the caravan will reach UlaanBaatar, the capital of the country of the blue sky.

The finish and the podium ceremony of this 11th Edition will take place on July 11 in the Mongolian capital, on their National Day that marks the beginning of the famous Nadaam festivities.

The route of this Silk Way Rally 2021, which promises to be particularly demanding, will cover some 5,500 kilometres, including more than 3,500 kilometres of selective section. And while the first stages in Russia will serve essentially as a warm-up, with a total of 329 timed kilometres, the arrival on Mongolian soil will signal the start of hostilities with stages featuring between 340 and 540 kilometres of daily selective sections.

Another novelty of this new route is a radical shortening of liaisons (untimed sections). In 2021, the aggregate length of liaisons will make up only 37% of the total race distance which represents a record figure in the history of the transcontinental Silk Way Rally.

The rally schedule still includes the most demanding stage of the race – the marathon. On this stage participants will have to repair their cars and bikes on their own, with it being strictly forbidden for any other team members to approach the vehicles. The day of the marathon stage will be a kind of a day-off for the tech support teams – they will be based at another bivouac and stay off the race on that day.

During this presentation in Moscow, a detailed itinerary of the 11th Edition of the 2021 International Silk Way Rally was presented where the Rally Organization Team, supported by representatives of the Rally partners and the Russian, Mongolian and Chinese motorsport federations, addressed their greetings to the local and international media and the numerous spectators who followed the event.

In addition to the route, with the support of Gazprom – the General Partner of the Silk Way Rally, the event organizers will offer new conditions to competitors driving cars using natural fuels: natural gas (methane), propane or hydrogen for the first time.
For the rally competitors, Gazprom Neft will provide high-tech fuel and engine oils, as well as a mobile laboratory service, recommendations from experts and company specialists.
Vladimir Chagin, Project Manager: “In 2019 we accepted the offer of our Mongolian colleagues regarding the organization of the International Silk Way Rally in the territory of the Mongolia. The motorsport community’s reaction to the Mongolian stages of the route has been more than positive, it’s been a delight. That’s why we had absolutely no doubt to include the stages crossing the Land of Blue Sky once again in the 2021 SWR Program.

This year Russia and Mongolia are celebrating the 100th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. We are perfectly sure that the Rally participants will love the new itinerary, fascinating both due to the beautiful landscapes of the special stage areas and to the complexity of the distance to overcome.

I would like to express my thanks to all those who help us with the preparation and organization of the Silk Way Rally – all our Russian, European, Mongolian and Chinese friends! Together we will achieve the greatest success!”

Luc Alphand, Sports Director: “Today we are glad to present the official route of the Eleventh Edition of the 2021 International Silk Way Rally. Very soon, on July 1st, the Rally teams will start off from Omsk to plunge into their exciting ten day adventure along the 5,5 thousand km distance running across the territory of Russia and Mongolia.

Ulaanbaatar will welcome them at a Finish Ceremony on July 11. When preparing the route this year we have learned and taken into account all the lessons of the previous years, which helped us make it more interesting, complicated, diversified from the point of view of road surfaces and climatic zones, spectacular from the point of view of surrounding landscapes and, which is equally important for our racers, we have managed to shorten liaisons significantly.

I have absolutely no doubt that the 2021 Silk Way Rally route will produce the most delightful impressions on the participants”.

Oleg Matytsin, Minister of Sport of the Russian Federation:

“On behalf of the Russian Ministry of Sports and on my own behalf I would like to welcome the participants of the presentation of the route of the eleventh edition Silk Way Rally.

The race’s motto is “There are many roads in this world, but only one is yours”. I am sure that the rally organizers have prepared a unique and exciting route through the territories of Russia and Mongolia.

Every year the competition is gaining more and more popularity among motorsport fans. The routes are becoming more interesting, the entry list is extending. The Silk Way Rally has gone beyond the framework of a sporting occasion and became a significant social event that emphasizes the friendship of our countries. The Project is of great importance for the development of political, economic and cultural relations.

I am sure that the new edition of the Silk Way Rally will be successfully held at a high organizational level, and its competitors will amaze us with their high sportsmanship!

I wish you all a positive mood, health, good luck and new bright victories!
“

The post Silk Way Rally 2021: route from Russia to Mongolia announced first appeared on InsideRacing.com.

Seaidan and co-driver Alexey Kuzmich posted a time of 6min 22sec for the sandy test in their Mini John Cooper Works Rally and duly edged into a lead of 26 seconds over Miroslav Zapletal at the wheel of his self-built Ford F-150.

Pre-Baja favourite Yazeed Al-Rajhi finished third overall in his Toyota Hilux and T4 category leader Saleh Al-Saif and Khalid Al-Feraihi rounded off the top five. Dutchman Erik van Loon completed the stage in sixth place in the second of the Belgian-built Toyotas.

Saudi Arabia’s Dania Akeel finished her first competitive stage with French co-driver Laurent Lichtleuchter in a time of 10min 03sec and held 11th overall. 

Eleven FIA machines, 26 cars entered in the National Rally, one truck, 21 motorcycles and 10 quads were eventually permitted to take the start line of the third round of the 2021 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas and round one of the Saudi Desert Rally Championship being hosted by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation.

Former Hail International Rally winner Saleh Al-Abdelali was not able to start in his Hummer after it fell foul of pre-event scrutineering checks. Event Stewards deemed that certain fuel connections contravened FIA technical regulations and a start was refused on safety grounds. He duly entered the National Rally along with Saudi rival Ibrahim Ben Salman.

Al-Mashna Al-Shammeri topped the unofficial times in the National Rally before any time penalties were imposed, the Nissan Patrol driver completing the special in front of Al-Abdelali. Motab Saudi Al-Shammeri was third.

Saudi rider Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera guided his KTM EXC 450 to the fastest time in the motorcycle category, the Saudi finishing the stage half a minute ahead of Qutaibeh Al-Sharif’s more powerful KTM. Pre-event two-wheel favourite Mishaal Al-Ghuneim dropped three minutes to the stage winner and faces a fight back through the field on Friday.

Haitham Al-Tuwayjiri pipped Abdulmajeed Al-Khulaifi to the stage win in the quad category. Yamahas dominated proceedings with Al-Tuwayjiri snatching a seven-second lead. Ahmad Al-Harbi came home in third place.

Modon, the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones, is also providing logistical support. 

Competitors will tackle the first of two desert selections through the sandy deserts of the Eastern Province on Friday morning. The leading FIA cars will take the start of the 217.50km stage from 10.10hrs. There will be three passage controls on the timed section, positioned at the 30.73km, 138.50km and 172.56km points. 

Sharqiyah International Baja – FIA (Qualifying Stage result):

1. Yasir Seaidan (SAU)/Alexey Kuzmich (RAF) Mini John Cooper World Rally                           6min 22sec

2. Miroslav Zapletal (CZE)/Marek Sykora (SVK) Ford F-150 Evo                                                6min 48sec

3. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (SAU)/Michael Orr (GBR) Toyota Hilux Overdrive                                     6min 53sec

4. Saleh Al-Saif (SAU)/Oriol Vidal (ESP) Can-Am Maverick (T4)                                        7min 12sec

5. Khalid Al-Feraihi (SAU)/Omar Al-Lahim (SAU) Nissan Pick-Up                                     7min 25sec

6. Erik van Loon (NLD)/Sébastien Delaunay (FRA) Toyota Hilux Overdrive                               7min 26sec

7. Meshari Al-Thefiri (KWT)/Nasser Al-Kuwari (QAT) Can-Am Maverick (T4)                  8min 00sec

8. Thomas Bell (ARE)/Armand Monleón (ESP) Can-Am Maverick (T4)                                         8min 59sec

9. Saeed Al-Mouri (SAU)/Sergio Lafuente (URU) Can-Am Maverick (T4)                         9min 12sec

10. Claude Fournier (FRA)/Szymon Gospodarczyk (POL) Can-Am Maverick (T4)                        9min 15sec

11. Dania Akeel (SAU)/Laurent Lichtleuchter (FRA) Can-Am Maverick (T3)                        10min 03sec

Sharqiyah International Baja Toyota – National Rally (Qualifying Stage result):

1. Al-Mashna Al-Shammeri (SAU)/Khalid Al-Shammeri (SAU) Nissan Patrol                        6min 21sec

2. Saleh Al-Abdulali (SAU)/Mohammed Al-Neim (SAU) Hummer H3                                           7min 10sec

3. Motab Saud Al-Shammeri (SAU)/Yazeed Al-Tamimi (SAU) Nissan Patrol)                      8min 09sec

4. Rada Al-Shammeri (SAU)/Salamah Al-Shammeri (SAU) Nissan Patrol                     8min 23sec

5. Majed Al-Shammeri (SAU)/Abdulaziz Al-Rimali (SAU) Nissan Patrol                                        8min 30sec

6. Abdullah Al-Haydan (SAU)/Fawaz Al-Masoud (SAU) Nissan Patrol                                        8min 36sec

7. Awyed Al-Shammeri (SAU)/Motlaq Al-Shammeri (SAU) Toyota                                    8min 40sec, etc

Sharqiyah International Baja – Bikes (Qualifying Stage time):

1. Abdulhalem Al-Mogeera (SAU) KTM EXC 450                              9min 02sec

2. Qutaibeh Al-Sharif (SAU) KTM EXC 500                                                                   9min 32sec

3. Anass Al-Reheyani (SAU) KTM EXC 450                                                                           9min 51sec

4. Othman Al-Ghfeli (SAU) Honda CRF 450                                                                      9min 52sec

5. Mohammed Manzouri (AUS) KTM EXC 500                                                                           9min 55sec

6. Ibrahim Al-Jaralla (SAU) Yamaha WR 450F                                                                 10min 26sec

7. Mohammed Al-Kaabi (QAT) KTM EXC 450                                                                   10min 41sec, etc

Sharqiyah International Baja – Quads (Qualifying Stage time):

1. Haitham Al-Tuwayjiri (SAU) Yamaha YZ 450R                                                                   8min 49sec

2. Abdulmajeed Al-Khulaifi (SAU) Yamaha Raptor 700 R                                                       8min 56sec

3. Ahmed Al-Harbi (SAU) Yamaha Raptor 700 R                                                                       9min 08sec

4. Riyadh Al-Shammeri (SAU)                Yamaha Raptor 700 R                                                          9min 32sec

5. Sultan Al-Masoud (SAU) Yamaha Raptor 700 R                                                                       10min 11sec, etc

The post Yasir Seaidan snatches early lead at Sharqiyah International Baja first appeared on InsideRacing.com.

The third round of the 2021 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas is being hosted by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation and has attracted an 17-car FIA entry and competitors from 13 nations, in addition to 44 4×4 vehicles, one truck, 25 motorcycles and 10 quads taking part in a National Rally,.

Yazeed Al-Rajhi starts as the favourite to win the event for the second time in his Toyota Hilux and begins the defence of his Saudi Desert Rally Championship title. The Riyadh driver will also be hoping to pull clear of the absent Vladimir Vasilyev at this early season point in the race for the FIA World Cup’s Baja Drivers’ Championship.

“I am excited to take on this challenge again,” said Al-Rajhi, speaking from rally headquarters at Modon Lake Park in Dammam Industrial City. “We won in Dubai and are looking forward to our second home. In fact, we had a fierce competition in 2019 with Carlos Sainz and that’s what we will miss this year. But I am sure we will repeat it again in the future.

“We won the Sharqiyah Rally and the championship title in 2019, when it was held as the final round of the first edition of the Saudi Desert Rally Championship. It was an interesting competition and I will definitely defend my title for the local championship along with the international challenge for the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas.”

Standing in Al-Rajhi’s way at the top of the entry list will be his Toyota team-mate Erik van Loon, from Holland, local rival Yasir Seaidan at the wheel of a German-built Mini John Cooper Works Rally and the experienced Czech competitor Miroslav Zapletal in his Ford F-150 Evo.

Meanwhile, young Dania Akeel becomes the first Saudi female ever to drive in a FIA-sanctioned rally. She teams up with French co-driver Laurent Lichtleuchter in a SHERO Rally Team by Duust-run Can-Am Maverick X3 entered in the FIA T3 category.

“I am extremely excited to race in the upcoming Sharqiyah Baja,” said Akeel. “It is both a privilege and an honour to have the chance to do this in my home country. I am thankful to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of His Royal Highness King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, for facilitating these opportunities and offering the chance for me to grow and develop.

“This will be my first participation in a cross-country event. I would like to use my first experience to improve and sharpen my driving skills on the adventurous terrain of the Eastern Province. I have the support of my co-driver Laurent Lichtleuchter, who will contribute his talent and expertise in navigating. I pray for us to be successful in achieving a positive result. My goal is to complete the rally within a timeframe that indicates a promising future for my participation in upcoming cross-country events, both at home and abroad.”

The Sharqiyah International Baja Toyota is running under the supervision of H.R.H. Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal, SAMF President and Chairman of the Organising Committee, and has attracted support from partner Abdul Latif Jameel Toyota and diamond sponsors MBC Group and Al-Arabiya outdoor advertising. Toyota is the official car for the event.

Modon, the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones, is also providing logistical support. 

Thursday afternoon’s qualifying stage will determine the starting order for the first of the selective sections through the deserts of the Eastern Province on Friday morning.

Sharqiyah International Baja Toyota – leading starters:

200. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (SAU)/Michael Orr (GBR)                               Toyota Hilux Overdrive

201. Yasir Seaidan (SAU)/Alexey Kuzmich (RAF)                      Mini John Cooper World Rally

202. Erik van Loon (NLD)/Sébastien Delaunay (FRA)                    Toyota Hilux Overdrive

203. Miroslav Zapletal (CZE)/Marek Sykora (SVK)                         Ford F-150 Evo

204. Saleh Al-Abdulali (SAU)/Mohammed Al-Neim (SAU)                Hummer H3

205. Essa Al-Dossary (SAU)/Stéphane Duplé (FRA)                           Nissan Navara

206. Khalid Al-Feraihi (SAU)/Omar Al-Lahim (SAU)                          Nissan Pick-Up

207. Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri (SAU)/Khaled Al-Marshoud (SAU) Toyota Land Cruiser

208. Ibrahim Ben Salman (SAU)/Nasser Al-Khamis (SAU)                Nissan Patrol (T2)

209. Yousef Al-Suwaidi (SAU)/Abdullah Al-Suqairi (SAU)                Nissan Patrol (T2)

210. Dania Akeel (SAU)/Laurent Lichtleuchter (FRA)                       Can-Am Maverick (T3)

400. Claude Fournier (FRA)/Szymon Gospodarczyk (POL)      Can-Am Maverick (T4)

401. Meshari Al-Thefiri (KWT)/Nasser Al-Kuwari (QAT)                Can-Am Maverick (T4)

402. Ahmed Al-Shegawi (SAU)/Waleed Al-Shegawi (SAU)                Can-Am Maverick (T4)

403. Saleh Al-Saif (SAU)/Oriol Vidal (ESP)                                       Can-Am Maverick (T4)

404. Thomas Bell (ARE)/Armand Monleón (ESP)                      Can-Am Maverick (T4)

405. Saeed Al-Mouri (SAU)/Sergio Lafuente (URU)                     Can-Am Maverick (T4)

The post Sharqiyah International Baja oyota gets underway with Thursday’s qualifying stage first appeared on InsideRacing.com.

In a season decimated by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, and with numerous events cancelled or rescheduled, Saudi Arabia will now be hosting Hail Baja in a new format and with an itinerary that features back-to-back Baja events.

They wiill be based in the north-central city of Hail and are scheduled as the fifth and sixth rounds of the 2020 series on December 10-12 and December 14-`16.

The close proximity of both events to January’s second running of Dakar Saudi Arabia will not only enable teams to round off a shortened season of Baja-type events, but also provide perfect opportunities to carry out pre-Dakar shakedown testing and development in a racing environment ahead of Dakar 2021.

SAMF President H.R.H. Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal has also confirmed that the Kingdom will host the Sharqia Baja – a new event that slots into the international FIA Baja calendar on March 4-6, 2021.

The inaugural Sharqia Baja ran as the fifth round of the Saudi Desert Rally Championship last autumn and will be fine-tuned and modified to the exacting standards of the FIA.

“Saudi Arabia will host the Dakar Rally for the second time at the start of 2021, but we are delighted to be able to announce that we will host three forthcoming events that will form crucial rounds of the FIA Baja Championship,” said H.R.H. Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal:

“We are blessed with amazing terrain for cross-country rallying in the Kingdom and it is a privilege for Saudi Arabia to be now included in the official FIA calendars. This is a major step forward for Saudi motorsport and runs hand-in-hand with the great vision and foresight of our wise leadership and the Ministry of Sport, to develop sporting events and tourism across the realm.”

December’s back-to-back Hail events will round off a modified 2020 Baja series that started in Russia back in February and then continued to Poland in September and will conclude in Portugal and Dubai in November and Saudi Arabia in December.

Hail Bajas will run under the supervision of the Hail Regional Development Authority in co-operation with the General Authority for Tourism and National Heritage and the General Authority for Sport.

The post Saudi Arabia’s Hail to host final two rounds of FIA Baja series in December first appeared on InsideRacing.com.

Second (at 7’42) was Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy Yamaha Rally), a remarkable comeback for the Frenchman after his big Dakar crash. Just seconds behind him in third (at 7’54) was an impressive Spaniard Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco TVS Rally Factory), achieving his first major rally podium.

In the cars, the favorite going into this rally didn’t disappoint, with Nasser Al Attiyah (Toyota Gazoo Racing) taking a hard earned victory. Much to his surprise, Carlos Sainz (X-Raid Mini JCW) managed to get his 2-wheel drive buggy into second place 3’14 behind the winner, with Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive) third at 10’31.

Holding the overall lead since the start of this Andalucía Rally 2020, Kevin Benavides was the man on form here in Spain, aboard his Monster Energy Honda, and delighted to take this victory in the run up to the Dakar. Commented the Argentinian: “Obviously we haven’t been doing a lot of racing since the Dakar but I have been training hard and working with a sports psychologist to maximize my performance.”

“I live near Salta and the tracks there aren’t dissimilar to what we discovered here in Andalusia so that helps. I didn’t really have a strategy I just took each day at a time. The bike went really well and the team did a great job.”

If Kevin Benavides started this morning with a relatively comfortable margin, the same couldn’t be said for second placed man overall Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy Yamaha Rally). Indeed, at km 152 his challenger for the second step on the podium Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco TVS Rally) was 3 seconds in the virtual lead.”

Said Adrien at the finish line: “After my crash on the Dakar, for the first time in my career, I wondered if I really wanted to continue racing. I thought about it a lot and in the end I decided to continue for myself, for my personal satisfaction.”

“That’s not to say I’m not grateful to my team and my sponsors, but it was an important shift in mentality for me. So, to come back here and prove to myself that I am capable of running at the top of the pack is a grand satisfaction. Many thanks to David Castera and his team for making this race possible.”

In third place, taking his first podium racing against the cream of rally-raid riders, was the Spaniard Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco TVS Factory): “Yes super happy to finish third here. Maybe the fact that I am Spanish and we were racing on Spanish soil was good for me but it is nevertheless important for my confidence going into the Dakar. The team has been working hard to develop the bike and it went really well here, so many thanks to them.”

Away from the podium there were noteworthy performances from the rookie Australian Daniel Sanders (Red Bull KTM Factory) who showed right from the start that he had the speed, by finishing ex aequo with teammate Toby Price on the Super Special, and that he’d made spectacular progress with the navigation by winning today’s last stage, just 7 seconds ahead of his countryman Toby Price.

Special mention also to Monster Energy Yamaha Rally’s new recruit Ross Branch who won a special and was in the hunt overall until he ran into problems on yesterday’s stage. Clearly, he has the right pace and the right attitude to achieve great things.

In Rally 2 victory went to multi world enduro champion David Knight (HT Rally) ahead of Czech freestyler Libor Podmol with Camille Chapeliere (KTM Baines Motos) third. Commented the big bloke from the Isle of Man: “The main thing here for me was to finish the race to validate my 2021 Dakar entry, so that’s mission accomplished. To win the Rally 2 class is obviously a big bonus.”

“Having done this rally I’m actually looking forward to the Dakar more than before I started it. It’s a really interesting sport and you learn something every day. Today for example, over the second part, I calmed down a little and really concentrated on the navigation to avoid any penalties and I actually rode much better. But for sure when I get to Dakar it will be an even bigger learning curve.”

Finally, in the Road to Dakar challenge victory goes to the Spaniard Tosha Schareina (450 HVA) with David Knight’s world enduro championship victories making him ineligible for the category. Tosha also wins the Enduro Cup category ahead of the Frenchman Matthieu Doveze (KTM) and another Spaniard Ruben Saldaña Goñi, also riding a 450 HVA.

In the quads victory goes to Jerôme Connart ahead of fellow Frenchman Alexandre Giroud with the Pole Kamil Wisniewski third.

In the cars, Nasser Al Attiyah (Toyota Gazoo Racing) might have come here to prepare for the next Dakar, but consummate competitor that he is, he also came to win. Job done for the popular driver who adds this first Andalucía Rally 2020 to his already very impressive tally.

Al Attiyah: “I’m so happy to win here. Thank you to Toyota Gazoo Racing, thank you to Overdrive, really this was an amazing race for us. Not easy because everybody coming here to win and show that they are ready for the next Dakar. Thanks to the organization, ODC Events for putting on this rally and also to the region, Andalusia. The landscape is so beautiful.”

If Nasser Al Attiyah came here with high hopes, his rival Carlos Sainz (Mini X-Raid JCW), by his own admission, really wasn’t expecting to achieve much in his ‘unsuitably’ big 2 wheel drive buggy, that he opted to race so as to continue to develop it for the next Dakar. Sainz: “It was a good decision to come here, even with the 2 wheel drive, to get kilometres in the car. I’m happy with the result.”

“If, before the rally, you asked me if I could take second overall with this car I would reply to you that it would be difficult. Given the time the organisers had to put this race together it was successful and I congratulate everybody involved.”

Despite the disappointment of going out of contention for victory after yesterday’s 10 minute time penalty, Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive) was happy with his pace on the rally and even happier to be once again reunited with his co-driver Dirk Von Zitzewitz.

Al Rajhi: “For sure I’m very happy. We enjoyed it and Dirk did a great job. It is very tricky driving here but we reached our target of having a good rhythm and good speed. Now we have training to get ready for January.”

In the T2 class for series 4×4 Akira Miura (Land Cruiser Toyota AutoBody) wins in front of his teammate Ronald Basso with Cristina Giampaoli (4WD Jaton Racing).

In T3 it is Mitch Guthrie (Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team) ahead of his teammate Kevin Hansen with Jean Luc Pisson third (Zephyr PH Sport).

In the SSV T4 class it is Aron Domzala (Monster Energy Can Am) ahead of his teammate Gerard Farrés with the Portuguese driver Rui Carneiro (MMP Can Am T4) third and winner of the Road to Dakar challenge. Aron Domzala: “We were really nervous on the last part. “

“We had a good lead and I think we have a win. In two and a half years in the car with Maciej we did a lot of strong results but this is our first win together, so a special race for us. First time with the Monster Energy Can Am, a great car and a great team – a great combination.”

The post Andalucia Rally: Al Attiyah and Benavides victorious first appeared on InsideRacing.com.

With neither Benavides nor Van Beveren finishing outside the top 4 since the start of the rally their consistently has clearly paid off in the overall rankings. Going into tomorrow’s last stage Benavides now leads Van Beveren by 6’38, with Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco TVS Rally) reasonably comfortable in third at 7’25.

The big loser on the day was the rider who had been so impressive up until now, Ross Branch (Monster Energy Yamaha Rally). Opening this morning, navigation and technical issues saw him finish down in 25th place and out of contention overall.

In the cars, the day’s results and very possibly tomorrow’s final classification were turned on their head this evening when Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive) received a 10 minute speeding penalty. Initially credited with the win, 46 seconds ahead of Nasser Al Attiyah to lead the Toyota Gazoo Racing driver by 23 seconds overall, Yazeed had everything to play for.

Now he is down in 5th place, 9’14 behind the new stage winner. Stephane Peterhansel (X-Raid Mini JCW) profits from the situation to finish 2nd on the day at 1’07. Struggling all week with his unsuitably wide 2-wheel drive buggy, that he is busy setting up for the Dakar, Carlos Sainz (X-Raid Mini JCW) finds himself unexpectedly 3rd today at 1’36, with Isidre Esteve (Repsol Rally) putting in a fine performance in his new car to finish 4th at 8’27.

Overall Nasser looks suddenly much more comfortable. He’s in the lead, 6’48 ahead of Sainz, with Al Rajhi now third at 9’37. The only consolation for Yazeed is that his third place going into the final stage looks reasonably assured, with Peterhansel still a long way off at 20’14.

Commented today’s Bike winner, the always rapid Spaniard Joan Barreda (Monster Energy Honda): “At the beginning it wasn’t easy because I had to pass many riders with a lot of dust. But after that I was able to ride at a good pace. We are using something like an enduro tyre but today with all the rocks it is destroyed. All in all, happy with my day.”

Even happier was his Honda Monster Energy teammate Kevin Benavides who, despite starting up at the front and with an injured arm, managed to increase his overall lead going into the last day: “I feel so good on the bike. Yesterday I had a crash but I’m OK. Today I think I did a good job, I made 2 or 3 mistakes with the navigation, but still finishing third and leading overall. Tomorrow is the last day, so I will try and do my best to take victory.”

Almost as consistent as the Argentinian on this Andalusίa Rally 2020 has been the Frenchman Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy Yamaha Rally), who has been rewarded for his efforts with promotion to second place overall in the rankings: “I knew that I had to put in another solid day and attack hard if I wanted to get the bike on the podium tomorrow.”

“I rode hard at the start of the special and I could see that the riders in front of me had got lost. I lost a little time as well looking for the track and then opened the piste which cost me a few more seconds. After my crash on the Dakar I’m happy to be back and on form on the bike.”

One of those who got lost, along with Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco TVS Rally) was the man who started two places in front of Van Beveren, first man on the track, the ever-cheerful Ross Branch (Monster Energy Yamaha Rally): “Opening the road was amazing. The first 100 km went well. We had a small technical problem after that which we had to fix and I got a bit lost, but that’s rally, these things happen. But I had fun. It was a really cool route today, very fast and a good test for the Dakar.”

In Rally 2 today’s special was won by Tosha Schareina (Husqvarna), with David Knight (Husqvarna) second at 02’03 and Libor Podmol (Husqvarna) third at 02’28. All of which allows David Knight to maintain his overall lead 04’09 ahead of Schareina with Podmol third at 12’14. A classification that corresponds to that of the Road to Dakar challenge, with the winner taking home a free entry to next year’s event.

In the quads victory on the stage went to Jerome Connart (Yamaha Raptor) ahead of Alexandre Giroud (Yamaha Raptor) with yet another Raptor, that of the Czech rider Tomas Kubiena, third. Overall Kamil Wisniewski maintains his lead just over 1 minute ahead of Connart with Romain Dutu (Yamaha Raptor) close behind in third.

In the cars it was looking like it was going to be an excellent day for Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive) who was originally credited with the stage win ahead of Nasser Al Attiyah (Toyota Gazoo Racing). For sure it was going to be difficult for him to open the road tomorrow and hold onto his slim lead but he and his co-driver Dirk Von Zitzewitz were in perfect harmony and clearly up for the challenge. But then at 18h15 this evening the car officials announced a 10 minute speeding penalty and the day’s results and with its Yazeed’s ambitions were suddnely looking very different.

Talking before he found out about Al Rajhi’s penalty Nasser Al Attiyah (Toyota Gazoo Racing) commented: “We pushed very hard today but OK we knew it wouldn’t be easy being the first car on the road. We only made one mistake. The digital road book is fantastic and Mathieu is happy because it is not moving around. I think it is a good step.”

Delighted to be reunited with his navigator Dirk, on arriving at the bivouac Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive) seemed to be really enjoying his race and looking forward to what the Dakar future might bring. Yazeed Al Rajhi: “We drove well. Dirk, my navigator, did a great job and we enjoyed it together, that’s most important and we are ready for Dakar. No punctures since the beginning of the rally – only on the super special and that was cancelled. We’re really staying focused.”

Quite how he feels now, a few hours later, is difficult to know but like any top racer you can be sure he’ll be giving it everything he’s got all the way to tomorrow’s final finish line.

Even after Yazeed’s misfortune, still probably out of contention for a final podium, but always positive, Stephane Peterhansel (X-Raid Mini JCW) was relieved to at last have a trouble-free run and get some uninterrupted racing kilometers in with his new co-driver: “We had a better day today. The car was better set up. We have raised it up and now we are almost as high as when we race in the desert, which makes it easy to drive and give us more grip. We made a little navigation error with the modifications, but even without that we couldn’t have matched Yazeed’s speed, more like the pace of Nasser.

In the SSV it was once again Aron Domzala (Monster Energy Can Am) who took the honors finishing an impressive 8th all categories combined. However, there were some new faces behind him today with Philippe Pinchedez (Bombardier Maverick Pinch Racing X3) finishing 2nd in the class and José Hinojo (Can Am Maverick X3) third. Overall Domzala is well in the lead ahead of his teammate Gerard Farres with Rui Carneiro (MMP Can Am T4) now third. Commented Aron Domzala: “Went really good again today. This was a tricky stage where you had to choose the right line, but I like those conditions. The navigation was difficult but we got it right and again no punctures. Overall now we are pretty comfortable going into the last stage and we’re really looking forward to it.”

In the T3 class class victory on the day went to Kevin Hansen (Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team) ahead of teammates Mitch Guthrie and Jean-Luc Pisson (Zephyr PH Sport). Overall Guthrie leads Hansen with Jean-Luc Pisson (Zephyr PH Sport) third. Commented Kevin Hansen: “It was a very good day. Good feeling in the car. The first part of the stage we had a bit of a problem with the dust. Then the rest was very nice and we had a good rhythm and I think in the end the time was quite OK.”

In the T2 class for series based 4x4s Roland Basso (Land Cruiser Toyota Autobody) took the day’s win ahead of teammate Akira Miura with Cristina Giampaoli (4WD Jaton Racing) third. Overall Basso leads Miura with Joao Ferreira (Nissan Pathfinder) third.

Tomorrow: Stage 4: “Remake of Stage 1”

Stage total : 220 km / SS total : 178 km / liaison total : 42 km

David Castera : “The race will return to a part of the first special with medium speeds, at times open, at times in vegetation. The particularity of this stage will be the finish in the bivouac.”

The post Andalucia rally: Benavides and Al Attiyah looking good for tomorrow first appeared on InsideRacing.com.

Despite the pressure of finding the way, Benavides led for much of the special and very nearly achieved the rally-raid holy grail of winning from the front. In the end a crash in which he hurt his arm and a 2-minute time penalty for missing a waypoint put paid to his hopes and saw Branch take the win.

Also starting far back, Toby Price (Red Bull KTM Factory) got up to 3rd but eventually fell back to 5th at 3’05, meaning that an impressive Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco TVS Rally Factory) finally takes second at 2’16. Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy Yamaha Rally) moves up to 3rd at 2’36, with Kevin Benavides 4th at 2’42. Benavides can find consolation in the fact he maintains the overall lead 2’52 ahead of Santolino with Van Beveren third at 5’30. Ross Branch moves up to 4th at 8’45.

In the cars, starting 8th this morning, it looked like Stephane Peterhansel and his new co-driver Edouard Boulanger (X-Raid Mini JCW) were going to make amends after yesterday’s difficult stage, where they broke their wishbone.

Leading the race up until the neutralisation they slipped down to 6th at the finish, victim of a broken wheel. In the end it was Nasser Al Attiyah (Toyota Gazoo Racing) who won the special ahead of piste opener Yazeed Al Rahji (Overdrive), with Bernhard Ten Brinke (Overdrive) coming in third to complete a Toyota Hilux podium lock out.

Overall Nasser Al Attiyah leads Yazeed Al Rajhi by just 23 seconds, with Carlos Sainz (X-Raid Mini JCW) third at 5’12. Bernhard Ten Brinke is 4th at 9’40 with Mathieu Serradori (Century Buggy) 5th at 15’00 and Peterhansel 6th (at 19’07).

A clearly delighted Ross Branch is obviously ‘in love’ with his new French-based team and effortlessly making the transition from promising privateer to factory team front runner. Ross Branch : “Yeah really good day today. I tried to slow down a bit because yesterday I think I was pushing too hard. The tracks are a little bit slippery and I know the guys at the front are really quick. I just had some fun today and tried to navigate and not miss any waypoints. The Yamaha is going amazing and I’m really happy with the team and the position we’re in. Learning everyday for Dakar – that’s the main goal.”

At the beginning of the rally, 2020 Dakar winner Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda) admitted that he wasn’t really in his element over the kind of terrain to be found in Andalusia, but tipped teammate Kevin Benavides as the man to watch. He’d been training with him before the race and was impressed with his speed.

Speed that Benavides undoubtedly showed here today. Monster Energy Honda Team Manager Ruben Faria wouldn’t disagree: “We saw yesterday with Toby Price, where he lost 17 mins, that it is very difficult to open here.

We didn’t really want our riders to attack hard today so as not to open tomorrow, but Kevin is clearly in his element on these kind of tracks and rode an incredible special, despite his crash. He will be racing for sure tomorrow.”

Another rider who impressed over the 243 km special was Sherco TV Factory Rally pilot Lorenzo Santolino. Starting behind Joan Barreda (Monster Energy Honda) is never a disadvantage, but when he made a mistake Santolino took over and maintained his position for the remainder of the special.

Santolino: “I had a great day. I was behind Barreda and he made a mistake so I passed ahead of him. I rode my own race, controlled the rhythm. Then Kevin fell and I just concentrated to getting to the finish without any problems.”

Coming back from his Dakar injury, that many predicted could put an end to his career, Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Yamaha Rally Team) again showed consistency to finish well up the rankings, proving he is once more very much in contention.

Van Beveren: “Very happy with my place. I’m here to put in a solid performance with the Dakar in mind and that is already the case, as I’ve now had 2 good days where normally I take a little bit of time to get going. No crashes, no waypoints missed, I’m trying to race an intelligent rally and think I have found the right pace.”

Retirements today include Sam Sunderland (Red Bull KTM Factory) who pulled out after crashing and hurting his arm and Joaquim Rodrigues (Hero Motorsports) who was forced to pull out of the special with an electrical fault. He will restart tomorrow.

In Rally 2 the special was won by Mathieu Doveze from France ahead of the Spaniard Schareina with the Czech rider Podmol third. Overall the British multi world enduro champion David Knight maintains the lead ahead Schareina and Podmol: Commented ‘Knighter’: “I’m really enjoying my first rally. I made a bit of a schoolboy error today with the navigation and lost a load of time but strangely the road book is the part I’m enjoying the most.”

In the cars, so far the Andalusian sun hasn’t been shining on Stephane Peterhansel (Mini X-Raid JCW). Yesterday it was a broken suspension wishbone, today it was a broken wheel.

“We had a puncture in a place where we couldn’t stop because it was very narrow and in driving out of there, to clear the track, we damaged the wheel. Instead of it taking us 2 minutes to get it off it took us 8. Obviously, it doesn’t fill us with joy but better to have these problems here than on the Dakar.”

No such problems for his friend and rival Nasser Al Attiyah (Toyota Gazoo Racing), who had a relatively trouble-free run to win the stage and take the overall lead: “Yesterday we were stuck in 2 wheel drive but today we did a really good job. The last 10 km we had a flat tyre but we decided to keep going. It was very important to win and lead again the Andulucίa Rally. We will start first on the road tomorrow but that’s no problem.”

Not that it was much of a problem for his fellow Toyota pilot Yazeed Al Rahji (Overdrive) today: “Good stage today with Dirk (von Zitzewitz). He did really well. We drive all together. We opened the road which wasn’t easy. It was slippy over the first part and you needed to have a good feeling. We didn’t want to take a lot of risks and then we pushed a bit in the second part. The only problem we had was with the GPS that meant we had to be careful with the speed zones.”

Apart from coming up behind a couple of other cars, both of whom showed exemplary fair-play, Bernhard Ten Brinke (Overdrive) also had a trouble-free run : “We started in 6th position and it was a little bit difficult because we had Cristina Gutiérrez in front of us. After km 40 I past her – she was very nice and moved out to the side straight away – and after that we pushed hard to get up to P3. Then the second part was the same as yesterday. We pushed a little bit more and then we came up behind Serradori and that cost me maybe 1 minute, but when he heard the Sentinel he let us past too.

In the SSV class Austin Jones (Monster Energy Can Am) finished an incredible 9th place, all categories combined, in a production-based vehicle, ahead of teammates Aron Domzala and Gerard Farres. Austin Jones: “We had a really clean day. Yesterday we made a mistake 20 km from the end and that cost us the win. If nobody is getting out of the car, we’re having a good day.” Overall Aron Domzala (Monster Energy Can Am) leads ahead of teammates Gerard Farres and Austin Jones.

In the T3 category Mitch Guthrie (Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team) took the win ahead of teammate Kevin Hansen with Jean-Luc Pisson (Zephyr PH Sport) third. Commented Guthrie: “Stage 1 wasn’t great and we had to fix a few things and today went much better. Pretty much a perfect day – no issues.”

“The important thing for us here is to develop the car for the Dakar. For example, we could go quicker here if we lowered the car but I’ve decided not to do that because that’s not how we’ll be driving it in Saudi Arabia.” Overall Mitch Guthrie (Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team) is leading ahead of teammate Kevin Hansen with Frenchman Jean Pascal Besson (Can Am X3) third.

Tomorrow: Stage 3: “Wide open spaces”

Stage total: 378 km / SS total: 233 km / liaison total : 165 km

David Castera: “A stage that is 100% different from the others. Flatter, more open, with few trees. The rhythm is different. It is a classic rally special, quite rolling, especially at the start of the special over the first forty kilometers, where the average will be over 100kph.”

The post Andalucia Rally: Wins for Aranch and Al Attiyah on day 2 first appeared on InsideRacing.com.

In the bikes the dust that everybody was so worried about was finally not the most important factor, with the special proved favourable to those starting just outside the top ten. Kevin Benavides, Joan Barreda (Monster Energy Honda Team) and Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco TVS Rally Factory) finished first, second and third respectively. In the cars staying out of trouble was the key to success over an incident packed stage.

After the cancellation of the Super Special, it was the end of the stage that was cut short. Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrise SA) came out on top, ahead of Carlos Sainz (Mini JCW). Nasser Al Attiyah (Toyota Gazoo Racing), managed to minimise his mechanical problems to finish third, while rival Peterhansel (X-Raid Mini JCW) was lucky to finish at all and this evening is lying in ninth place.

Playing a low profile yesterday on the Super Special, Kevin Benavides (Monster Energy Honda) started 14th this morning to win the stage, more than 3 minutes ahead of his teammate Joan Barreda: “It was a good day. I started a little behind and I was happy with that position, even if I knew it could go either way.”

“I suffered a little in the dust but was feeling good on the bike until kilometre 170 when the road book broke, and I had to finish the stage by looking at the marks on the ground. It required a lot of concentration but in the end I won the stage, even if the last 5 kilometres weren’t easy, after seeing my brother lying on the ground. The important thing is he is OK.”

Starting respectively first, second and fourth this morning, Toby Price, Daniel Sanders and Matthias Walkner (Red Bull Factory Team) finished 17th, 19th and 12th.

A disappointing day for the Austrian team who, professional as ever, are already looking towards tomorrow, as the experienced Toby Price explained. “It is never good option to start first. But it is always good to navigate alone up front and spend time on the bike. All in all it was an OK day and we will have to wait and see what tomorrow brings.”

Only Sam Sunderland (Red Bull KTM Factory Team), who started 20th, managed to stay in touch with the front of the race, finishing in 5th position.

Next door, under the GasGas awning, Laia Sanz didn’t start this morning after yesterday’s crash in the super special. With her arm badly swollen, the Spanish rider decided to pull out just before the start. A further blow for the Austrians was the retirement of Luciano Benavides. Making his début in the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing colours, he crashed just 5 kilometres from the finish. Suffering from an impact to his thorax, initial medical examinations are reassuring.

The chances of seeing a Husqvarna up at the front of the rankings now depends on the performance of the Frenchman Xavier de Soultrait, riding for the HT Rally team, who finished the stage in 6th place.

“The dust was hanging in the trees at the start of the rally and after 50 kilometres I thought it would be risky to push harder. At the first pause I saw that I wasn’t far from Kevin (Benavides) who is quick on these types of tracks. So I decided to hang on to him. With very tricky navigation, the kind we aren’t that used to, in the end it is better not to push too hard.”

Finishing third on the day, Sherco TVS Rally Factory rider Lorenzo Santolino expressed a similar sentiment. “It was a good day and finally the dust wasn’t too bad, as Barreda, who started in front of me, set a good pace. I was never on the limit and was surprised by my final finishing position.”

Over in the Monster Energy Yamaha Rally camp, Andrew Short started third and didn’t managed to find the right rhythm. His teammate Adrien Van Beveren also admitted to struggling to find his mark but nevertheless finished a better than expected in 4th place: “In the beginning I was tense on the bike but I eventually loosened up a bit after about 50 kilometres.”

“I was split between attacking and holding back. It is a real rally, no doubt about that. I was expecting something more straightforward, but it was twisty with a lot of changes of direction.”

In the cars, due to a problem with the timing equipment, the start order for the special was finally in race number order with El Matador away first. Carlos Sainz (X-Raid Mini JCW Team – 2nd at 01’47): “The track was very narrow in places for this car and I had to take care – not easy. I didn’t have a good feeling and we will have to change quite a lot of things tomorrow to see if I can get a better feeling with the car.”

Behind him the 4-wheel drives discovered tracks more to their advantage, but still tricky, as Nasser Al Attiyah (Toyota Gazoo Racing – 3rd at 02’13), starting behind Sainz, discovered: “At the beginning everything was good, then after 45 kms we had a problem with the front left drive shaft, so we did 120 km with just rear wheel drive. It was not easy but I am quite happy to finish the stage without losing too much time.”

Stephane Peterhansel (X-Raid Mini JCW Team – 9th at 12’16), racing the 4×4 Mini also encountered mechanical problems whilst running in the top three: “We had a puncture but I didn’t see it straight away and we went off the track on the next corner and hit the wheel pretty hard. After that the car was a little strange to drive.”

“Then the wishbone, that must have had a big impact, broke completely and we did the rest of the special at 20 kph. If the special hadn’t been cut short I think we would have struggled to finish it.”

Over at Toyota Overdrive SA, Erik Van Loon (7th at 10’46) suffered from three punctures with only two spare wheels… His teammate Bernhard Ten Brinke (4th at 6’56) got off more lightly with just one puncture: “The stage was quite good. In the beginning we had a good pace.”

“Then after km 40 / 50 we came up to Van Loon and were stuck behind him until the end. I like this kind of driving but it is very important to keep on the road otherwise it is very easy to damage the car. I think the main target for the week will be to stay on the track.”

In the end it was another Overdrive SA driver, Yazeed Al Rajhi who managed to get his Toyota to the finish without problems and win the stage. “Everything ok. First we tried to find the rhythm and then we tried to push a little bit without taking too many risks.”

“We came up behind Peterhansel and he damaged his car, so we went past him. That cost us maybe 30 seconds. Tomorrow we open the road and try and do a good job. The electronic road book is working well. It is a good idea.”

Like Yazeed, Cristina Gutierrez (X-Raid Mini JCW Team) also played it safe to finish in 5th place at 06’59. “We are really happy. You had to be careful and watch out for the rocks in the track. If you hit one you risked damaging the car. We took it easy and had no problems. Tomorrow we will carry on like that.” A strategy that Serradori-Lucquin aboard their Century SRT buggy also adopted with success.

In the SSV class, the Monster Energy Can-AM pulled off the double with Aron Domzala and Gerard Farres placing their Mavericks first and second : “ Because of the cancellation of the Super Special, we had to overtake at least ten other cars and ate a lot of dust. But we had no problems, no punctures and are delighted to be leading the SSV class this evening”. The Portuguese driver Rui Carneiro complets the podium.”

Finally, in T3 the three Can-Am of the Red Bull Off Road Junior Team prepared by South Racing fill the podium with Austin Jones, Mitch Guthrie and new recruit Kevin Hansen.

Tomorrow: Stage 2: ‘The most technical stage of the rally’

Stage total: 336 km / SS total: 243 km / liaison total: 93 km

The post Andalucia Rally: Al Rajhi and Benavides come out on top on day 1 first appeared on InsideRacing.com.

Having last won the FIA World Cup title in 2017, the Qatari and his French co-driver Matthieu Baumel knew the importance of a good start to the five-round series. They secured bonus points for winning four of the event’s five selective sections to secure a winning margin of 1hr 31min 40sec, despite finishing the last stage with two flat tyres.

Al-Attiyah said: “We are quite happy to take this win. This was not an easy race with lots of navigation. Today we have three flat tyres. It was not easy for the tyres here. The last 50km, we lost the pressure in the tyres and we reached the finish line with two punctures. But I won the stage and I lead the championship, so we are happy.”

Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Michael Orr claimed one stage win and finished the last timed section of 254.58km in third place from first on the road to confirm the runner-up spot in the second of the Overdrive Toyota Hiluxes. They also suffered tyre wear on the abrasive rocky terrain and were then handed a 10-minute time penalty for leaving a destroyed wheel and tyre in the desert.

“We have a small tyre problem,” said Al-Rajhi, who reached Lusail with rear left panel damage as a result. “The tyre stripped out. That was all, except for one puncture. We stopped to change it. Then we took it easy, because Kuba (Przygonski) was at the front and he continued the stage with puncture and I follow him. I am happy with this position. That was our plan. Let’s see what happens in the future.”

Poland’s Jakub Przygonski and German navigator Timo Gottschalk battled back from a near two-hour time loss on day two to secure the final podium place on their first appearance together in a Toyota.

Broken steering and punctures had pushed the 2018 FIA World Cup champion down to seventh position at the start of day three, but the Pole found an impressive rhythm for the remainder of the rally and reached the end of the last stage at Ash Shafallahiyah with the second quickest time, he too crossing the finish line with two flat tyres.

“All three of us had the same problem before the finish, like 20 or 30km, when we lost the pattern (tread) of the tyre,” said Przygonski. “The tyres were gone and we finished with flat tyres and Nasser, the same. It was hard for the tyres with a lot of stones and hard ground. We are pleased with this position after the problems. In the end, it was a good race for us. We learn the car and know what to do to be faster in this car.”

Six T3 drivers were evenly matched on the stages and Khalid Al-Mohannadi and Sébastien Delaunay had shown the most consistency in their Polaris RXR 1000. But two punctures on the final stage cost the Qatari crucial minutes and he plummeted to third in the category behind Ahmed Al-Kuwari and Saleh Al-Saif, his woes exacerbated when he had to drive 50km to the stage finish on a wheel rim.

Al-Kuwari and Italian co-driver Manual Luchesse were confirmed as winners by the margin of 10min 57sec, with the OT3 by Overdrive prototypes of Kees Koolen and Fedor Vorobyev coming home in fourth and fifth, the Dutchman being rewarded with the second quickest T3 time on the day. Vorobyev, however, wrecked the OT3’s rear right suspension near the end and was forced to stop at the stage finish to make repairs with a time penalty knocking him down to 13th overall.

A delighted Al-Kuwari said: “There was one of two results today, either we win or we bring the steering wheel back! I saw that Khalid (Al-Mohannadi) had problems, because we passed him on the piste a few times. We got lost also. It was really rough and we suffered one puncture. We were driving like there was no tomorrow. It was always going to go one of two ways…”

South Racing Can-Am driver Austin Jones was the fastest of the 12 drivers taking part in the T3 category, but an unfortunate accident on day three ruined the American’s chance of securing maximum points in Qatar. Jones won stages two and four but massive time penalties after the crash put him out of contention and he dropped over 45minutes on the final stage with a broken brake disc after leading early on.

Hungarian driver Balazs Szalay guided his self-designed Opel Grandland X to the finish in eighth overall and fourth in T1 and Russian Can-Am driver Aleksey Shmotov was ninth.

There were finishes down the leader board for Qatar’s Mohammed Al-Harqan in 10th, Rashid Al-Mohannadi (11th), Mubarak Al-Hajri (13th), and Mohammed Al-Meer (brake problems – 15th), with Al-Hajri setting the fastest time on the day after problems last Sunday wrecked his chance of challenging for the outright T3 win.

Competitors taking part in the third round of the Manateq Qatar National Baja also tackled the first part of the sixth stage. The seven drivers who were eligible for both events continued to the finish of the longer stage to be classified in the FIA standings.

Victory on the day fell to Al-Hajri in his FN Speed Can-Am from Saleh Al-Saif and Ahmed Al-Kuwari. Ahmed Allouh and Peruvian navigator Héctor Garcia Chavez were the best of the non-FIA runners in sixth place.

2020 Qatar Cross-Country Rally – positions on SS6:

1 Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Matthieu Baumel (FRA) Toyota Hilux Overdrive                  2hr 12min 50sec

2. Jakub Przygonski (POL)/Timo Gottschalk (DEU) Toyota Hilux Overdrive                           2hr 13min 14sec

3. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (SAU)/Michael Orr (GBR) Toyota Hilux Overdrive                                     2hr 18min 24sec

4. Mubarak Al-Hajri (QAT)/Laurent Lichtleuchter (FRA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                2hr 42min 04sec

5. Kees Koolen (NLD)/Serge Bruynkens (BEL) OT3 by Overdrive (T3)                                  2hr 46min 08sec

6. Saleh Al-Saif (SAU)/Ali Hassan Obaid (ARE) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                           2hr 48min 50sec

2020 Qatar Cross-Country Rally – overall positions after leg 5 (unofficial @ 14.55hrs):

1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Matthieu Baumel (FRA) Toyota Hilux Overdrive                 11hr 48min 56sec

2. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (SAU)/Michael Orr (GBR) Toyota Hilux Overdrive                                     13hr 20min 36sec

3. Jakub Przygonski (POL)/Timo Gottschalk (DEU) Toyota Hilux Overdrive                            13hr 50min 19sec

4. Ahmed Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Manuel Lucchese (ITA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                        15hr 25min 09sec

5. Saleh Al-Saif (SAU)/Ali Hassan Obaid (ARE) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                              15hr 36min 06sec

6. Khalid Al-Mohannadi (QAT)/Sébastien Delaunay (FRA) Polaris RZR 1000 Turbo (T3)          15hr 39min 30sec

7. Kees Koolen (NLD)/Serge Bruynkens (BEL) OT3 by Overdrive (T3)                                       15hr 49min 02sec

8. Balazs Szalay (HUN)/Laszlo Bunnozci (HUN) Opel Grandland X                                            16hr 30min 43sec

9. Aleksey Shmotov (RUS)/Andrey Rudnitski (RUS) Can-Am Maverick (T3)                               18hr 20min 02sec

10. Mohammed Al-Harqan (QAT)/Vili Oslaj (SLO) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                             19hr 33min 01sec

11. Rashed Al-Mohannadi (QAT)/Pedro Santos (PRT) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                       19hr 45min 00sec

12. Mubarak Al-Hajri (QAT)/Laurent Lichtleuchter (FRA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                    26hr 41min 28sec

13. Fedor Vorobyev (RUS)/Kirill Shubin (RUS) OT3 by Overdrive (T3)                                         31hr 06min 14sec

14. Austin Jones (USA)/Gustavo Gugelmin (BRA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                             38hr 49min 53sec

15. Mohammed Al-Meer (QAT)/Alexey Kuzmich (RUS) Chevrolet Buggy                                    102hr 08min 17sec

2020 Qatar National Baja – round 3 result:

1. Mubarak Al-Hajri (QAT)/Laurent Lichtleuchter (FRA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                      1hr 33min 29sec

2. Saleh Al-Saif (SAU)/Ali Hassan Obaid (ARE) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                                  1hr 36min 38sec

3. Ahmed Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Manuel Lucchese (ITA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                             1hr 38min 51sec

4. Mohammed Al-Meer (QAT)/Alexey Kuzmich (RUS)                 Chevrolet Buggy                        1hr 40min 34sec

5. Khalid Al-Mohannadi (QAT)/Sébastien Delaunay (FRA) Polaris RZR 1000 Turbo (T3)              1hr 46min 34sec

6. Ahmed Allouh (QAT)/Hector Garcia Chavez (PER) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                          1hr 50min 36sec

7. Mohammed Al-Harqan (QAT)/Vili Oslaj (SLO) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                                  1hr 50min 38sec

8. Ahmed Al-Muhannadi (QAT)/Igor Okhotnikov (RUS) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                       1hr 51min 45sec

9. Rashed Al-Mohannadi (QAT)/Pedro Santos (PRT) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                          1hr 54min 49sec

10. Jarman Jaralla (QAT)/Feras Allouh (QAT) Nissan Patrol (T1)                                                   2hr 01min 06sec

11. Camelia Liparoti (ITA)/Angelo Montico (ITA) Yamaha YZX 1000 R (T4)                                   2hr 07min 26sec

12. Tameer Huazeen (JOR)/Mohammed Allouh (QAT) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                        2hr 35min 24sec

13. Jamal Fakhroo (QAT)/Saeed Shwareb (QAT) Nissan Patrol (T2)                                             3hr 13min 04sec

14. Abdulaziz Al-Basheer (KWT)/Abdulaziz Al-Mahrouz (KWT) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)          3hr 29min 08sec

15. Mohammed Amir (KWT)/Yousef Al-Refaei (KWT) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                         4hr 20min 47sec

16. Ali Saeed Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Rony Bou Abdo (LEB) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                        5hr 17min 12sec

The post Al-Attiyah wins Qatar Cross-Country rally for seventh time in nine years first appeared on InsideRacing.com.

The Qatari and French co-driver Matthieu Baumel erred on the side of caution through Wednesday’s shortened selective section and Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Michael Orr took advantage to snatch the stage win in the second of three Toyota Hiluxes.

The day’s action was initially delayed by one hour on safety grounds. Strong north-westerly winds had caused dust and fine sand to drift and even the neighbouring highways had severely reduced visibility.

A second delay was confirmed before Clerk of the Course Pedro Almeida held a meeting with competitors at Lusail Sports Arena. The decision was taken to cancel the second of the day’s shorter special stages, near Sealine, and run only the first 119.39km of the opening Al-Shahaniya selective section.

This guaranteed that the competitive stage distance was long enough (75%) to be eligible for maximum FIA championship points, even if the weather disrupts Thursday’s final stage.

Conditions improved as the stage progressed, despite the fierce wind, and Al-Rajhi clocked a stage time of 1hr 03min 08sec and managed to beat Poland’s Jakub Przygonski and German navigator Timo Gottschalk by 2min 34sec in the third of the Toyotas.

“It was good, everything okay, nothing special,” said Al-Rajhi. “We held our position. That was the most important. We open the road tomorrow and take more experience.”

Leader Al-Attiyah said: “We had one flat tyre and we stopped and changed. Third on the road tomorrow so that we can manage. I think the weather will be clearer tomorrow, so they should be able to run the whole stage. Early morning, there was dust but, after 10.30, it was clearer sky with the strong wind. Sealine may have been a problem if we had gone to the other stage.”

“It was a short stage but it had to be like this,” said Przygonski. “We enjoyed it. We catch Nasser and then we get puncture and we had to stop and change the wheel. No problems though and a good rhythm. You can feel the difference upwind and downwind. Sometimes, upwind you could feel there was no power. With the side wind, you could also feel the car moving to the right and to the left.”

Despite the strong winds, the revised timetable laid on by the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) ran according to plan. Hungarian driver Balazs Szalay came home in fifth place on the day and held ninth in the general classification in his T1 Opel Grandland X.

South Racing mechanics repaired Austin Jones’s damaged Can-Am overnight and the American restarted at the rear of the field. With nothing to lose, other than a stage win, Jones attacked and was fastest through the first timing point. He went on to claim the day’s victory by 2min 01sec from Mubarak Al-Hajri.

T3 stage winner Jones said: “I am really happy with that. That is definitely what we wanted to do. Obviously we don’t have much to lose, so I was not going to lift my foot off the throttle the entire time and that’s what happens. The wind actually affects the T3 quite a bit. It shakes it around, more so on the highway on the liaisons. It is actually pretty gnarly in the stage and you can feel it shaking back and forth.”

Khalid Al-Mohannadi and Sébastien Delaunay maintained their T3 lead with the fourth quickest time in a Polaris, the Qatari finishing the special 4min 24sec behind Jones and 16 seconds adrift of third-placed Saleh Al-Saif. Al-Mohannadi will now take a T3 lead of 11min 07sec into the last day.

Stege three winner Ahmed Al-Kuwari had hoped to challenge for the T3 lead, but the Qatari suffered a time loss early in the stage and slipped further behind Al-Mohannadi, but still maintains second in T3. Al-Saif, Fedor Vorobyev and Kees Koolen complete the top five.

Al-Kuwari said: “I have no-one but myself to blame. We decided to push all out today to see if we could make up seven minutes because, with these weather conditions, you never know if you have a stage tomorrow. We pushed a bit too hard and we got a puncture. Once you are in the race, you don’t think about the weather conditions. The car veers to the left or the right a little, but the positive thing is you can follow the car in front a bit closer, because the wind blows the dust away.”

Russian driver Aleksey Shmotov rounded off the top 10 in his Can-Am and Rashid Al-Mohannadi, Mohammed Al-Harqan and Mohammed Al-Meer are still running alongside Al-Hajri and Jones at the rear of the field.

Thursday

The final selective section of 254.58km starts on the Zekret road and heads up the western shoreline before turning south at a passage control near Al-Zubara, after 150.17km. The final timed section then heads through the central deserts to finish at Ash Shafallahiyah.

The post-event press conference and podium finish will take place at Souq Waqif in downtown Doha from 19.45hrs on Thursday evening.

2020 Qatar Cross-Country Rally – positions on SS4 (SS5 cancelled):

1. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (SAU)/Michael Orr (GBR) Toyota Hilux Overdrive                                   1hr 03min 08sec

2. Jakub Przygonski (POL)/Timo Gottschalk (DEU) Toyota Hilux Overdrive                          1hr 05min 42sec

3. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Matthieu Baumel (FRA) Toyota Hilux Overdrive                 1hr 08min 20sec

4. Austin Jones (USA)/Gustavo Gugelmin (BRA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                          1hr 14min 25sec

5. Balazs Szalay (HUN)/Laszlo Bunnozci (HUN) Opel Grandland X                                       1hr 14min 46sec

6. Mubarak Al-Hajri (QAT)/Laurent Lichtleuchter (FRA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                1hr 16min 26sec

2020  Qatar Cross-Country Rally – overall positions after leg 4 (unofficial @ 14.40hrs):

1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Matthieu Baumel (FRA) Toyota Hilux Overdrive                  9hr 36min 06sec

2. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (SAU)/Michael Orr (GBR) Toyota Hilux Overdrive                                     10hr 52min 12sec

3. Jakub Przygonski (POL)/Timo Gottschalk (DEU) Toyota Hilux Overdrive                            11hr 37min 05sec

4. Khalid Al-Mohannadi (QAT)/Sébastien Delaunay (FRA) Polaris RZR 1000 Turbo (T3)       12hr 22min 50sec

5. Ahmed Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Manuel Lucchese (ITA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                       12hr 33min 57sec

6. Saleh Al-Saif (SAU)/Ali Hassan Obaid (ARE) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                             12hr 47min 16sec

7. Fedor Vorobyev (RUS)/Kirill Shubin (RUS) OT3 by Overdrive (T3)                                       12hr 59min 35sec

8. Kees Koolen (NLD)/Serge Bruynkens (BEL) OT3 by Overdrive (T3)                                     13hr 01min 54sec

9. Balazs Szalay (HUN)/Laszlo Bunnozci (HUN) Opel Grandland X                                          13hr 27min 01sec

10. Aleksey Shmotov (RUS)/Andrey Rudnitski (RUS) Can-Am Maverick (T3)                            15hr 16min 22sec

11. Rashed Al-Mohannadi (QAT)/Pedro Santos (PRT)      Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)*               16hr 24min 06sec

12. Mohammed Al-Harqan (QAT)/Vili Oslaj (SLO) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                            16hr 26min 30sec

13. Mubarak Al-Hajri (QAT)/Laurent Lichtleuchter (FRA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                   23hr 59min 24sec

14. Austin Jones (USA)/Gustavo Gugelmin (BRA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                           30hr 20min 30sec

15. Mohammed Al-Meer (QAT)/Alexey Kuzmich (RUS) Chevrolet Buggy                                   92hr 57min 39sec

The post Al-Attiyah stays in control after weather-shortened fourth leg of Qatar Cross-Country Rally first appeared on InsideRacing.com.