JEDDAH: Professional and amateur racers and racing enthusiasts were present in large numbers at the Abdul Latif Jameel Company’s large Toyota stand at the Saudi International Motor Show, which ended here on Wednesday. A big space was given to Toyota’s rally cars, with international rally driver Abdullah Bakhashab, organizer of Toyota’s Rally program, explaining the 2009 rally schedule and explaining the features of the rally cars.
Bakhashab said he would continue to organize Toyota Rally events with the support of ALJ, the exclusive Toyota agent kingdomwide.
Aside from the space provided for the Toyota racing program, the stand also showcased Yaris Club, which displayed Yaris cars and conducted a Yaris PlayStation competition, alongside various other models of 2009 Toyota sports utility 4x4 and other vehicles.
“We introduced latest cars that meet the requirements of the Saudi society, as Toyota continues to maintain its strong presence in the Saudi and other markets,” Mohammad Ba Hassan, ALJ public relations and events manager, told reporters at the Toyota stand. “Our display of Rally, SUVs and other cars has raised the bar of such shows,” he added. “We particularly aimed at attracting youth to our stands who are greatly interested in Rally, sports, 4x4 and other vehicles,” he added.
ALJ-Toyota, which celebrated its 10 years of support for the Kingdom’s motorsport program last year, calls the Toyota Racing Program Saudi Arabia, one of its ambitious projects. The program includes three championships — Toyota Karting Championship, Toyota Autocross Championship and Toyota Baja Rally Championship — in addition to Toyota School for Karting and Rally Driving.
Since the launch of this comprehensive program, a karting school was established and 15 qualified drivers participated in the 1st and 2nd rounds of Toyota karting championship last year. Toyota also launched the 1st and the 2nd rounds of Toyota Autocross Championship, leaving the last and decisive round in the tournament that was held in November.
Preparations are under way to welcome youth who want to participate in the rally school and the participation of skillful school drivers in the 3rd of four rounds of Toyota rally championship to be held within the Hail Rally 2009 on Jan. 26-27 and the final round in Riyadh on Feb. 18-19. The 1st round was held in Jeddah and the 2nd round in Alkhobar. Bakhashab, the Saudi rally champion who first put the Kingdom on the world map of motorsport, said his dream of organizing the motorsport faced lots of hurdles for want of sponsors. “Soon Abdul Latif Jameel Group Ltd.-Toyota helped my dream come true,” he said.
In 1997 Toyota sponsored Bakhashab in the Middle East Rally Championship. In 1998 this partnership shot to fame by jumping to the World Rally Championship from the Mideast championship and renamed the team as Toyota Team Saudi Arabia (TTSA). In 1999, Toyota entered into collaboration with Bakhashab to launch the safety and safe driving campaign in several Saudi cities.
In 2000 this program was developed and many keen participants were granted permission to accompany Bakhashab as co-drivers. In the meantime, the Toyota Rally Team Saudi Arabia got the approval of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) to adopt the Toyota Cup Championship within the Middle East. The year 2001 saw the founding of Toyota School for safe driving and organizing of the first official Race of Champions through Toyota sponsorship.
The year 2002 was the last year of Bakhashab with Toyota as a rally driver. He then launched the new Toyota Rally Team Saudi Arabia (TRTSA) with 3 Saudi drivers. By 2003-04, the team achieved impressive results. The year 2005 witnessed a qualitative leap for ALJ-Toyota after it decided to move its investment and bring out distinct people through the championships organized by Abdullah Bakhashab which included Saudi Star Autocross race, the Desert Race Challenge and the annual IN 10 SO school Olympics at the IN 10 SO Center at Serafi Mega Mall.
In 2006 and 2007, ALJ-Toyota also moved forward with the emergence of the International Hail Rally to sponsor this major event. Toyota Land Cruiser was the official car of the International Hail Rally. This support included the sponsorship of Hail drivers whereas Toyota champions managed to be on the podium driving the Toyota Land Cruiser, which moved in 2008 from national level to the international level. The past decade is marked by success stories for Bakhashab as much as for ALJ-Toyota in motorsport.
