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...
Final exit for Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk from the 2024 Dakar Rally – looking ahead
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...
- Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk have to give up their plan of damage limitation in the second “Dakar” week after dreaming of victory
- Small cause, big effect: rollover in the lead on the sixth stage of the desert classic
- Focus turns to the remaining rounds of the FIA World Rallye Raid Championship (W2RC) – Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk currently leading the way
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (January 13, 2024) – Rien ne va plus: Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk have to finish the 2024 Dakar Rally early and for good. After the Saudi Arabian-Brandenburg duo had led the world’s toughest desert rally for 1,119 kilometers, a rollover on the sixth stage at kilometer 1,808 put an end to their dream of victory. And that’s not all: because the Toyota Hilux DKR used by Team Overdrive can no longer be repaired on site, the plan of damage limitation in week two can no longer be pursued. The safety cage of the Hilux with starting number 201 ensured that Al-Rajhi and Gottschalk escaped with only minor injuries during the violent rollover, but it bent in the process. According to the rules of the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile), a restart is no longer possible after such structural damage.
Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk had set the pace of the Dakar Rally up to the decisive moment on the sixth leg, demonstrating strategic excellence and extending their lead over their closest pursuers to around 17 minutes two kilometers before the rollover. However, an inconspicuous and barely visible bump caused the duo’s Toyota Hilux DKR to be levered out at around 160 km/h, resulting in a quadruple diagonal rollover. The incident occurred on the tough marathon stage, on which Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk deliberately did not take a full risk.
The final retirement also means that plan B is no longer possible: to continue collecting extra points in the battle for the FIA World Rallyw Raid Championship (W2RC) by participating under restart rules. Points are awarded for the top five on each individual stage of each W2RC race, including the Dakar Rally. Before the start of the second “Dakar” week, Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk lead the W2RC on equal points with their long-term rivals Nasser Al-Attiyah/Matthieu Baumel (QAT/FRA, Prodrive). The aim now is to fight for the title in the remaining W2RC rounds – the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, the Ultmate Raid in Portugal, the Desafío Ruta 40 and the Morocco Rally.
QUOTES
“Unfortunately, our ‘Dakar’ is now over. The roll cage did a great job and protected us perfectly during the rollover. However, it was damaged in the process, which is why repairs are not permitted. Even though the rollover ended our dream of victory: We are proud to have led the Dakar Rally and helped set the pace. Now we have to look to the future and do everything we can to fight for the title in the W2RC. The positive takeaway from this ‘Dakar’ is that we have the speed to do so.”
TIMO GOTTSCHALK