Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk use the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally to gain a cushion Late starters favored: gap in the overall standings grows to 5:41 minutes Long, demanding stage towards the capital: Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk do pioneering work in the final stage...
The discovery of slowness: Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk with a strategic start at the “Dakar”
Further contributions
Jackpot at the Grande Casino – Al-Rajhi and Gottschalk within shouting distance of the “Dakar” lead
Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk finish seventh on the day to reduce the gap to the leaders to 21 seconds Incorrect directions in the road book mislead all participants - sector time canceled Navigationally and technically tricky stage around Dawadimi through...
Back in action – good start to the second “Dakar” week for Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk
Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk reduce the gap in the overall standings to 7:16 minutes with fifth place on the day Ideal prerequisites for the journey towards the Empty Quarter: good starting position for stage seven Route from Ha'il to Dawadimi with two...
Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk go into the second “Dakar” week in second place overall
Clever management after the previous day's stage win: Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk fifth on the last stage before the rest day Second position in the overall standings secured: Saudi Arabian-Brandenburg duo cushions the disadvantage of the route opening Stage...
Yazeed and the speed: Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk new “Dakar” runners-up with stage win
Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk take advantage of the late start and reduce the gap at the Dakar Rally to around seven minutes Stage from Al-Henakiyah to al-'Ula forms the first part of a so-called marathon stage Be careful, but at speed: stony ground requires...
Shorter, but crisp: Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk remain in the leading group at the Dakar Rally
Fifth day of the rally, third stage: Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk lose time in the Dakar Rally due to tricky navigation and stony surfaces Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk remain within striking distance of the overall leaders in fourth place, gap widens to 11:45 minutes...
Two in a hurry – Queen’s stage of the “Dakar” clearly goes to Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk
Stage victory on Epiphany: Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk win 48-hour stage of the Dakar Rally Saudi Arabian-Brandenburg duo take second place in the overall standings Extreme driving and navigational challenges on 967-kilometer special stage Bisha, Saudi Arabia...
Spiritual “Dakar” lead for Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk after part one of the 48-hour stage
Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk deliver a strong performance from 19th on the queen stage of the first "Dakar" week Saudi-Arabian-Brandenburg duo complete the first 618 of 967 test kilometers on two-part endurance test Second part of the 48-hour stage follows Monday on Epiphany...
First day, but a used one – Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk lose time before extreme stage at the “Dakar”
413-kilometer loop around Bisha with challenges for drivers and co-drivers is the true prelude to the 2025 Dakar Rally Pace stage before the big hammer: Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk skillfully dose the "Dakar" urge, but also lose time with numerous technical...
Dakar Rally (20+25)² – Prologue of the mathematicians, Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk in 18th position
Solid start to the Dakar Rally: Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk finished the first showdown of the desert classic in 18th position.
- Looking at the starting position: Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk finish 41st with a deliberately cautious and calculated drive.
- Real start to the Dakar Rally on Saturday – with the first tricky and rocky stage from Al-‘Ula to Al Henakiyah
- Prologue: 27 kilometers against the clock, northwest of Al-‘Ula – on sand, through gorges and between rocks
Al-‘Ula, Saudi Arabia (January 5, 2024) – Stop once, take a deep breath – all with sights set to a good starting position: Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk deliberately slowed down on the Dakar Rally prologue. Although the time of the prologue does not count towards the overall standings, the result was still important. The top ten duos were allowed to choose their starting position for the first stage. The aim was not to finish in the top ten in order to have a good starting position for the first stage. A lot of stones are expected – especially on the final kilometers. The more competitors who have passed these passages before, the clearer the line. The Saudi-Arabian-Brandenburg duo finished 41st in the prologue classification with their tactics.
The prologue led northwest of Al’Ula between rocks and through a number of canyons – here the co-drivers were particularly in demand, as navigation errors were inevitable.
QUOTES
“We have created a good starting position for tomorrow, that was the goal. But there could have been a few less teams waiting to overtake. But it was difficult to estimate how much we had to slow down to avoid finishing in the top ten. Nevertheless, the grid position could help us enormously tomorrow.”
YAZEED AL-RAJHI
“We deliberately slowed down today and even stopped once. We certainly didn’t want to finish in the top ten, but perhaps we overdid it a bit – it was also difficult to estimate in advance. The time doesn’t count towards the overall standings and now we have a few teams ahead of us. That can be good, because the first stage has a long stretch of rocky passages at the end.”
TIMO GOTTSCHALK
AND THEN THERE WAS …
… a large portion of “multi-culturalism”. The Overdrive Racing team, which fields the Toyota Hilux DKR for Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk, has 107 team members – from 21 different nations.