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Thumbs up, again: “Dakar” winners Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk start the FIA Baja World Cup with victory

1. February 2025

Further contributions

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...

  • 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
  • Beautiful route, perfect road book and lots of euphoria: Saudi Baja Ha’il offers fans a show race at full rally speed

Ha’il, Saudi Arabia (February 01, 2025) – It doesn’t always have to be the “Dakar” victory – we have a smaller one. And so fitting: Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk have won the Saudi Baja Ha’il and thus the opening round of the FIA Marathon Baja World Cup. A good two weeks after the emotional and frenetically celebrated victory in Saudi Arabia at the toughest rally in the world, the Dakar Rally, the fans had the opportunity to see their “Dakar” hero up close and above all: win again. The route led over two full rally days plus prologue around Ha’il. 425.76 kilometers against the clock, 821.42 in total were on the agenda. The Saudi Baja Ha’il mainly offered the varied routes in the Nafud-Alkaber desert that are well-known around Ha’il – breathtaking landscapes and a perfectly prepared road book included. Second and third place went to Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk’s Toyota team-mates Juan Cruz Yacopini/Daniel Oliveiras (ARG/ESP) and Dania Akeel/Stéphane Duple (KSA/FRA). The next test for Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk will be the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in around three weeks’ time (February 21-27). They will start the second round of the FIA Cross-Country World Rally Championship (W2RC) as world championship leaders.

QUOTES

“I am totally happy. To win here in front of the many fans who support us so strongly – that means a lot to me. The Saudi Baja Ha’il was again well organized and led through great landscapes. All in all, it was great fun to be here!”
YAZEED AL-RAJHI

“A really nice rally, great route and a perfect road book. Organizers of big events can learn a lot from this. The competition wasn’t huge with Juan Cruz Yacopini and Dania Akeel, but it was good. We took it a little easier on the first day and attacked on the second to make sure we didn’t get caught up. That worked very well, also because we are still fully in the ‘Dakar’ rhythm.”
TIMO GOTTSCHALK

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