JEDDAH: The International Hail Rally 2010 will be held from Feb. 16-19 at Nufud desert in Hail. The rally, whose new logo was unveiled at a ceremony here on Tuesday night, is being held with the support of Hail Region Gov. Prince Saud bin Abdulmohsen and organized by the High Commission for Development of Hail Region in cooperation with Saudi Arabian Motor Federation (SAMF). The Abdul Latif Jameel Co.-Toyota signed the diamond sponsorship of the rally. Participating in the signing ceremony were Prince Abdullah bin Khaled bin Abdullah Al-Saud, head of the executive committee of Hail Rally, Mishaal Al-Sudairy, president of Saudi Arabian Motor Federation, and Faisal Abdullah, vice president of Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ)-Toyota.
Reviewing the progress of the annual rally since 2006, Prince Abdullah told a press conference that the rally had gained both popularity and importance on the global rally map, which is substantiated by the presence of a large number of spectators and media representatives from different parts of the world . “The Hail Rally is being seen with great importance worldwide as it follows some of the global rallies including those in Italy and Spain,” he said and thanked ALJ-Toyota for its support through sponsorship. The prince cut a cake, which was decorated with the Hail Rally’s new logo.
Faisal Abdullah said the ALJ-Toyota has its own Toyota Rally Team Saudi Arabia. The team has developed FJ Cruiser, a new cross-country rally car, which is set to enter the Hail Rally 2010.
“The new racing car has been developed with the clear objective of winning the upcoming Hail Rally,” he said, adding that in the course of the build-up to the Hail Rally, the team has developed two versions of the Toyota FJ Cruiser - Toyota FJ Cruiser Proto and Toyota FJ Cruiser Racer. Saleh Al-Saleh will drive the FJ Cruiser Racer, the car built in Saudi Arabia, with additional driving support from Amro Al-Refai.
The Toyota FJ Cruiser Proto built in Europe truly represents the most unique Toyota racing car in the world and is specially designed for this type of racing, he said.
