JEDDAH, 20 April 2004 — Toyota Rally Team Saudi Arabia are “fully prepared” for the three-day Oman International Rally, the third round of the Middle East Rally Championship, which starts from tomorrow. Of its 750 km rally track, 261 km will cover 14 special stages.
Toyota Rally Team, sponsored by Abdul Latif Jameel Company and supported by Power Horse and Denso, will have the same members who participated in the recent Bahrain rally. They include Majid Al-Ghamdi who won Toyota Cup title twice in a row with his co-driver Amr Al-Rufai, Sultan Hamdi with his co-driver Muhanad Khashugji and new team additions - Prince Khaled ibn Abdullah Al-Faisal with his co-driver Hani Al-Tirazi and Bahrain Rally winner Abdullah Al-Dosari with his co-driver Ali Al-Saiari.
New team members now lead the season. Al-Dosari with 10 points stands just two points ahead of Prince Khaled.
The Oman round is expected to witness a fierce competition between the two new teammates and will be more challenging as Al-Ghamdi and Sultan Hamdi have indicated that they will try hard to be in the lead.
“I’ll push hard to win and lessen the gap,” said Al-Ghamdi. “I’ll keep collecting points to secure my leading position throughout the rally. Even though my experience is limited compared to others, we all have an equal chance to win because it’s the first time for all of us to be in Oman Rally,” said Al-Dosari, who seems less willing to put his first lead at stake.
All participants in Toyota Cup Challenge use Toyota RAV4 vehicle as approved at the start of the challenge, as the car has “proved to be reliable, durable with efficient performance on asphalt-paved roads as well as on the harsh terrains of the rallies.”
Oman rally is coming back to the Middle East Rally championship after a four-year absence. Organizers desire strongly to make it a success and thus realize their dream of including it in the world rally championship.
Following are Toyota Cup results after Bahrain Rally: Abdullah Al-Dosari with co-driver Ali Al-Saiari 1st (10 points), Prince Khaled with Hani Al-Tirazi 2nd (8 points), followed by Majid Al-Ghamdi with Amr Al-Rufai and Sultan Hamdi with Muhanad Khashugji.
