JEDDAH, 18 May — The prospects look bright for young Saudis aspiring to become rally drivers and take part in international competitions, with the launch of a campaign for scouting future rally drivers here on Tuesday.
The program aims at attracting young talents, train them initially on the basic tenets of safe driving and then subject them to a rigorous course in rally driving. This follows a contract signed between Saudi rally champion Abdullah Bakhashab and Abdul Latif Jameel Group (ALJ)-Toyota Team Saudi Arabia at a ceremony held at the Lexus Center. Signing on behalf of ALJ Group was its Executive Vice President Dr. Saad Attiah Al Ghamdi.
“The contract marks a milestone in our joint effort to generate interest among young aspirants and promote rally driving,” Bakhashab told a press conference, which was jointly addressed by Dr. Al Ghamdi. The contract envisages, among other things, that Bakhashab will conduct and guide the program.
According to Bakhashab, the project is divided into two parts. The first part is a campaign for future rally drivers which will be carried out in three stages. In the first stage a contest will be organized through advertising arranged by ALJ Group throughout its network of showrooms all over the Kingdom in a bid to attract young aspirants.
The second stage involves selecting the participants in accordance with their correct answers for enrollment in a special school that is under construction where the trainees will learn the basics of excellent driving under the supervision of special trainers. Some of those found successful at the school will next go through a basic training course for driving rally cars. The driving skills of the participants will be developed and sharpened so that they get the necessary knowledge and experience to be able to compete in rallies. Finally, three drivers will be chosen to join the Saudi-Toyota Rally Team.
The third stage comprises a program for the Toyota Cup championship to be launched next year, as well as for the Middle East Rally Championship for the coming season. About the second part of the project, Bakhashab clarified that a special championship would be established with the approval of the FIA under the name Toyota Cup. This championship will be of five rounds, within the rounds of the forthcoming Middle East Rally season and assigned for the newly selected drivers. Countries organizing this championship will be specified later.
The ALJ-Toyota Team Saudi Arabia will use Toyota RAV 4 cars in the forthcoming rally season. Three cars will take part in the 2002 Middle East Championship. This will be followed by more cars that Toyota will make available for the next year. By the end of 2004, ten cars are expected to be distributed by Toyota for rally drivers.
Replying to a question on the progress of the proposed school for motor sport, Bakhashab said the construction was going on at a location on the Jeddah-Makkah Road. “Jeddah is chosen as the location for the first school because it is close to the ALJ headquarters,” Al Ghamdi said, adding that such schools will later come up in Riyadh and Dammam as well. “The project’s budget is big,” he said replying to another question. “However, we hope to get other sponsors to make the project viable and a big success,” he added.
Insisting that the aspiring rally drivers should be in the 18-25 age group, Bakhashab said: “I had the disadvantage of starting late in life. I was 24 when I initiated myself into this field and only five years ago I started taking part in rally championships. Younger the age better it is for a rally driver to mature for rally championships.”
Al Ghamdi said ALJ was delighted to launch the program for future rally drivers after a two year in-depth study in coordination with the Japanese Toyota Motor Company (TMC). “The Japanese giant has contributed effectively in supporting the project in the Kingdom due to the strategic importance it attaches to its marketing plans. The project is the culmination of successful cooperation between the marketing team of ALJ Group and TMC on the one hand and the international rally driver Abdullah Bakhashab on the other. We’ve had endless discussions on evolving a formula that will enable young talents to join a rally team that matches the standard of Toyota Team, especially at a time when the interest in motor sport has significantly increased lately and many young people entertain the ambition of becoming rally drivers.”
Al Ghamdi added: “This is just the start, and we hope to reach successes in the future as the project forms part of the plan of ALJ and TMC in cooperation with Bakhashab. The availability of the Saudi champion to run the project will surely guarantee its success.
