Saudi Arabia’s first official racing event of international standard is being held as part of the ongoing annual Jeddah festival. The “Toyota Race of Champions” will feature 25 champions and drivers from the Middle East-Gulf region, including three leading Saudi drivers.
This was announced by Dr. Majed Al-Qasabi, secretary-general of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Saudi rally champion Abdullah Bakhashab at a joint press conference here yesterday. The two-day race from July 26 will be the most important of the festival’s sports events and a fitting finale to the festival itself, Al-Qasabi said.
“In fact, the race will mark a turning point in the standard of the Kingdom’s sports activities and will surely contribute to promoting motor racing among the young,” he said.
This is the first time that a substantial number of Gulf rally drivers are gathering for an event similar to the international one that is held annually in the Canary Islands and attracts world class competitors, Al-Qasabi added.
“It will be held on a closed 1.2 km track being specially developed in north Jeddah, around the Dallah Club ground. The track, featuring a jump, a bridge and a tunnel, is being laid by an international team in association with Saudi champions,” said Bakhashab, the 1995 Middle East champion and Toyota driver under whose supervision the entire rally will take place.
A specialized international team has been recruited to organize this event. Some famous Saudi rally names like
1992 Middle East Champion Mamdouh Khayyat and MBC-Bison Team motorist Ahmad Al-Sabban, aside from Bakhashab himself will participate in the event together with well known Qatari driver Saeed Alhajiri who will race after a long absence. There will also be rally drivers from Lebanon, Bahrain, Jordan, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Promising Omani rally driver Hamad Alwehaibi is expected to head the participants from Oman.
“We have waited too long for a racing event here,” Bakhashab said, adding that the participants will use only two models of Toyota cars — Rav4 and Corolla WRC. The Rav4 will be used on the first day for qualifying purposes and the Corolla WRC, the rally car, will be used on the second day.
The rally will be flagged off after a formal introduction of the participants and a tour of the circuit. The first day will be for preliminary qualification. On the second day, after the final stages, the results will be declared and prizes distributed to winners.
The campaign for the event will be accompanied by a mobile exhibition in some of the commercial centers, Bakhashab said, adding that the rally would also go a long way in promoting motor sport and tourism.
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