Kilometer 13 on the final day brings the end: Technical problem costs valuable points and the lead in the FIA Cross Country Rally World Championship (W2RC) Almost "zero" instead of fourth place in the unloved Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge Looking ahead: three more World...
The discovery of slowness: Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk with a strategic start at the “Dakar”
Further contributions
Into the top ten – Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk with a solid performance during the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge
Eighth place with the prospect of a top five finish: Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk cleverly manage the unpopular Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge ahead of the final two stages Focus on points instead of risk: "Dakar" winner with solid pace Lots of dunes with a tricky...
Surfin’ UAE – Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk start the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge as world championship leaders
With a "Dakar" recipe for the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge: calculated risk at the second round of the FIA World Cross-Country Rally Championship (W2RC) "Dakar" winners Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk meet concentrated W2RC competition Terrain with the known and the unknown: dunes,...
Thumbs up, again: “Dakar” winners Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk start the FIA Baja World Cup with victory
Local hero Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk win the opening round of the FIA Marathon Baja World Cup in commanding style Just two weeks after winning the Dakar Rally, the Saudi Arabian-Brandenburg duo are taking the momentum with them to the Saudi Baja Ha'il...
Stop the press! Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk win the 2025 Dakar Rally
After 4,906 test kilometers and 14 days: Home victory for Yazeed Al-Rajhi in Saudi Arabia Timo Gottschalk celebrates second "Dakar" triumph after 2011 Toughest "Dakar" ever pushes drivers, co-drivers and equipment to their limits Shubaytah, Saudi Arabia (January 17,...
Down to the wire – Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk go into the final day of the “Dakar” as leaders
The final sprint decides: Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk take a lead of 6:11 minutes into the final 61 kilometers of the Dakar Rally Dune duel: Stages in the Empty Quarter make for a worthy finale in the Lategan/Cummings versus Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk fight 276...
Full throttle in the Empty Quarter: duel for the “Dakar” victory goes down to the wire
Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk lose their narrow "Dakar" lead on the first stage in the Rub al-Chali Before the decisive final two stages: Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk 2:27 minutes behind Henk Lategan/Brett Cummings Good starting position for both duos on the long desert...
“Dakar”, fast forward – Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk take overall lead
From +5:41 to -7:09 minutes: Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk take the lead in the Dakar Rally Third place on the day: courage and willpower are rewarded on the challenging stage to Haradh Particularly fast special stage over 357 kilometers with an extra challenge...
Stable in the pursuit: Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk consolidate “Dakar” rank two
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...
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...
- 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.