Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk make the most of a muddy and tricky Rally Portugal in sixth place Points maximization beats attack mode: controlled risk for a catch-up start to the season Second round of the FIA World Cross Country Rally Championship (W2RC) season...
100% dunes, 100% Yazeed and Timo: Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk go into the tougher marathon stage as “Dakar” leaders
Further contributions
Scout score: 1, day rank: 16 – Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk with another top performance at the “Dakar”
There are Wolves, Rangers and Rovers, and there are … Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk. The 2025 Dakar Rally winners showed all their skills on the third stage around al-‘Ula as they defended their title.
Back on track: Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk impress on stage two of the Dakar Rally
Back on the road to success: “Dakar” title defenders Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk have made their first mark in the Dakar Rally with third place on the day.
First things come differently … – Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk with frustrating “Dakar” stage at the beginning
Now it’s time to go: Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk have started the 2026 Dakar Rally with a lot of lost time.
On the pace at the start – Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk with a solid prologue at the Dakar Rally
Sixth position on short 22-kilometer prologue - Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk in tightly bunched leading group Brevity with spice: Tricky opening stage in terms of driving and navigation sets the "Dakar" tone early on The real kick-off follows on Sunday with the first stage...
In demand, hunted – Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk take on the “Dakar” title defense mission
Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk start the 2026 Dakar Rally from January 3 to 17 in Saudi Arabia as defending champions in a tricky mission.
New car, new victory, new title
Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk end the 2025 cross-country rally season with a victory and the title of Saudi Arabian champions New car for the Dakar Rally: tested, tried, run in Jeddah Rally offers compact preparation for the January highlight: the "Dakar" title...
Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk win Baja Qassim
First success on the "Road to the 'Dakar'" - Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk win round of the Saudi Arabian Rally Championship Terrain in the province of Qassim good preparation for the Dakar Rally in January Al-Rajhi and Gottschalk gain rally and self-confidence after around 400...
“Road to the ‘Dakar'” through Morocco particularly rocky
Not yet back to 100 percent – that’s the realization for Yazeed Al-Rajhi/Timo Gottschalk after the Morocco Rally.
Important kilometers on the “Road to Dakar” – Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk competitive in Portugal
Lisbon, Portugal (September 28, 2025) – Carefully feeling their way back to the top of the world: Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk showed good form at the Rally Portugal. The Dakar winners proved their competitiveness on many stages of the fourth round of the FIA...
- Start of the trilogy in the dunes: section from Hofuf to Shubaytah gives a foretaste of the “Empty Quarter”
- Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk secure fourth place on the day and the lead, nine minutes ahead of their closest rivals
- Queen’s stage in two acts: “48-hour test” in the Empty Quarter on Thursday and Friday
Shubaytah, Saudi Arabia (January 10, 2024) – Part one of the dune triad: Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk consolidated their lead in the overall standings of the Dakar Rally with fourth place on day five. The “Empty Quarter” already sent its regards on this short special stage: for the first time, the race against the clock was exclusively on dunes – with constant ups and downs, not always easy to drive. A harbinger for the next two days. The Saudi-Arabian-Brandenburg duo will start the queens stage with a lead of nine minutes and three seconds, which is split into a tough marathon stage on Thursday and Friday – including a night away from information and without service by the mechanics. To avoid having to open the route on the following days, some participants decided to slow down or take time penalties. Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk were giving 100 percent instead.
Sand. Dunes. In all colors, shapes and flavors, the grainy surface formed the character of a section that is only 118 kilometers “short” on paper. Soft dunes with chots made up the core of the special stage. Towards the end, the sand became firmer and therefore easier to ride on – but broken dunes were one of the challenges instead.
QUOTES
“A very nice dune stage to drive. And a great foretaste of the next two days in the ‘Empty Quarter’. We can be pleased – we have a good starting position for the marathon stage and are leading the Dakar Rally.”
YAZEED AL-RAJHI
“A great foretaste of the marathon stage with the 48-hour stage on Thursday and Friday. The dunes weren’t always easy to drive, Yazeed did a great job. We don’t have to open the stage tomorrow, which is good. The next two days will be tough, we are ready.”
TIMO GOTTSCHALK
AND THEN THERE WAS …
… transmission break. This is because on Thursday and Friday, for the first time, a tougher version of a marathon stage will be held, where the participants will be spread over several bivouacs overnight – shielded from the outside world. For this reason, the next news will be issued on Friday – with all the usual information about the two-day special stage.