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...
Washing machine with spin cycle: Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk win Italian Baja
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...
- FIA World Cup Baja around the white goods town of Pordenone with lots of water, dust and speed
- Short and sweet: 404.13 kilometers against the clock, spread over three special stages and a prologue – sprinting skills required
- Speed duel at eye level between Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Nasser Al-Attiyah with identical material – tricky navigation challenges co-drivers
Pordenone (July 9, 2023) – Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk have won the Italian Baja 2023 in a duel with five-time “Dakar” winner Nasser Al-Attiyah and his co-driver Matthieu Baumel. The Saudi-Arabian-Brandenburg duo – fortunately easy to clean and wash – experienced a marathon rally-style express wash around Pordenone, the largest industrial center for the production of household appliances and white goods in southern Europe. With around 400 test kilometers over two days, sprinter qualities and uncompromising attacks without tactical calculation were required in the northeast of Italy. An exercise that Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk mastered brilliantly, especially on Sunday.
After two thirds of the stage distance, Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk were in the lead. They tackled the final 130 kilometers on Sunday with a lead of just 22.3 seconds. As on the previous day, the route led along the Tagliamento river. The challenges remained the same: water crossings, jumps, dust and rocky shore terrain awaited the participants. Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk extended their lead to just under nine and a half minutes on the final leg. They kept the pressure on the competition permanently high without making any mistakes of their own.
The navigation turned out to be tricky. The co-drivers could only rely on the now unfamiliar paper road book and an even more unfamiliar GPS system. A large number of instructions had to be mastered.
QUOTES
“We’re taking the big trophy with us this time. We really gave our all throughout the Baja and spared neither ourselves nor the material. That paid off. We are delighted with this victory in a duel at eye level!”
YAZEED AL-RAJHI
“A really thrilling battle between Nasser Al-Attiyah and Matthieu Baumel and us. The two drivers had each won here three times before – so it was all about who would triumph for the fourth time. It was a tough, exciting race – even with difficult navigation. To come away as the winner in the end is a great thing.”
TIMO GOTTSCHALK