JEDDAH, 29 March — After his recent return to the Middle East Rally Championship, renowned Saudi rally driver Abdullah Bakhashab now has a website on the Internet. “The website — www.abdullahbakhashab.com — is aimed at drawing myself close to my fans and motor sport lovers,” he said at the launch of his website at Hyatt Regency Hotel on Monday night.
“It affirms the importance of intercommunication with all international events relating to motor sport in particular, giving my fans an opportunity to enter the world of excitement and speed, and keeping them online of my international and regional participations,” the Marlboro Team Saudi Arabia driver said.
“We’ve noticed that young people are attracted to the Internet and motor sport. We, therefore, decided to build such a highly informative site in a bid to transfer the Arabian motor sport to the electronic era,” said Bakhashab, who is looking forward to win the remaining part of the 2002 Middle East Championship rally program.
He has already taken part in the opening round in Qatar (Feb. 13-15), followed by one in Bahrain (March 6-8) and is preparing for the next round in Jordan (May 16-18). The championship program also includes Marlboro Rally of Lebanon (July 4-7), Syrian Rally (Aug. 28-30), Troodos Rally (Oct. 18-20) and Dubai Rally (Dec. 11-30).
Bakhashab gave a demonstration of the site, which contains the data and pictures of his first participation in the world of rallies, and his international and regional achievements in motor sport, as also his future projects and plans.
The site has been designed in an innovative and extraordinary style with many images of Bakhashab’s participation in championships. The interface is of the motor sport industry such as rally vehicle engines, speed meters, RPMs (revolutions per minute), etc., in order to reflect the individuality of this site. “The site will be of particular importance to the media as it will have updated news and photographs for them to download,” he said.
One can choose the language, whether Arabic or English, upon site entrance. A short animation movie welcomes visitors playing fast techno music to finally get them to the main page that guides to available sections and links. The site is designed to contain full information about Bakhashab’s navigator Bobby Willis as well.
Asked to explain why he had to withdraw midway in the opening Qatar rally, Bakhashab told Arab News: “In Qatar we were leading the rally before we retired. It was a very good start. Unfortunately, I encountered a clutch problem early on, in the second stage. The Bahrain rally that followed was actually my real challenge. I continued with the same Toyota Corolla WRC car co-driven by Irishman Bobby Willis that I used in Qatar. I got the clutch fully repaired before using the car in the Bahrain rally in which I emerged second.”
Explaining further, Bakhashab said: “The suspension of the car was not high enough to negotiate some difficult stretches of the track and that’s how I had to settle for the second place. The functioning of rally cars is quite complicated. It was a small sensor that did not release the pressure from the clutch plate and the clutch got overheated. Actually, it was not the clutch that developed a fault.”
Asked how his three new drivers of the Saudi Toyota Team for Rallies faired in their maiden rally appearance in the Bahrain event, Bakhashab said: “They were in Qatar but only to observe, learn and get a feel of an international rally. In the Bahrain rally the performance of three drivers, who were selected from the Rally School, was satisfactory in their group, considering their first appearance in an international rally. Majid Alghamdi came first with 10 points, Sultan Hamdi came second with six points and Umr Shas retired. Alghamdi actually beat his teacher who taught him in the Rally School.
The three drivers were with their respective co-drivers — Ali Alsaiari, Umr Alrifai, Hani Altarazi. Shas has come to the field of rally from the world of football.
Bakhashab’s program last year included the 25th Marlboro Rally of Lebanon, one of the Middle East Rally Championshp’s most prestigious rounds.
For the last four years, Bakhashab dedicated himself to completing in the World Rally Championship rounds within the FIA Teams Cup category.
Bakhashab announced his return to the Middle East Rally championship before Saudi and other international media representatives in Beirut last month. The announcement came after being absent from the championship program since 1997 when he finished second in the overall standings behind UAE’s Mohammed Bin Sulayem.
“I’m going to work hard to win the championship,” declared 33-year-old Bakhashab who is also taking part in the World Rally Championship’s Round 1 —Acropolis Rally (June 14-16) and Round 2 — Sanremo Rally (Sept. 20-22).
Following is Bakhashab’s track record:
In 1990, at the Marlboro Driving Rally School in Jeddah, Bakhashab earned his place in the exciting world of motor sport as a reward for finishing in first place.
In February 1992, his prolific partnership with Bobby Willis took its first step at the Qatar International Rally. In the same year, Bakhashab proved his great potential with the international success of his young career - winning the Group N category in that year’s Dubai International Rally.
The talented young Saudi started the 1993 season with a second place in his category at the stormy opening round of the championship in Doha, Qatar. He produced one of the finest and toughest successes of his early career when he won the Group N title in the Dubai International Rally. Subsequently, he secured the regional Cup for production cars after a long and hard-fought battle throughout 1993.
The ever-improving Bakhashab started out the 1994 season on a good note, securing first place in Group N at both the Qatar and Jordan International Rallies, and finishing second in the Marlboro Rallye du Liban. He capped off a successful 1994 season with a Group N victory at the Dubai Rally.
A year later, Bakhashab scored his first group ‘A’ win at the Jordan International Rally. The Kuwait Rally saw him locked in a heated battle with UAE driver Khalifa Al Mutawie, before his skill and determination eventually triumphed, bagging him another victory. Going on to compete in the Qatar and Dubai International Rallies, Bakhashab’s third place finishes in both events were enough to secure him the 1995 Championship title.
In 1996, the Saudi ace finished in second place in the Middle East Rally Championship behind his teammate Mohammed ibn Sulayem. In 1997, with Marlboro Toyota Team Saudi Arabia, Bakhashab ranked second overall in the Middle East Rally Championship for the second consecutive year driving a Toyota Celica GT4 within the ‘A’ Group.
At the end of 1997, the Abdul Latif Jameel Group, the Kingdom’s sole Toyota agent, seized the opportunity to back Bakhashab in his drive for supremacy on the track.
In 1998, Bakhashab went competing in the newly established FIA Teams Cup within the World Rally Championship. He secured his first win in Corsica, came second in Finland and clinched first place in Australia and Britain. He finished the season in second place overall in the FIA Teams Cup series, a superb result for a driver new to both the championship standards and the challenging courses.
In the same 1999 championship, his new Toyota Corolla WRC won him second place in the Greece and Sanremo Rallies, and third place in Spain’s Rally. Although he only came fifth in the FIA Teams Cup, he acquired a wealth of experience that would serve him well during his 2000 campaign.
Still with Marlboro Toyota Team Saudi Arabia, Bakhashab launched into the first of seven rounds of the 2000 FIA Team’s Cup with a second place at the Swedish Rally, after a steady and sensible drive in deceptive conditions. He went on with his Toyota Corolla to win the FIA Teams Cup Category in Catalunya Rally, the 5th round of the World Rally Championship.
Second in the Teams Cup at the seventh stage of the World Rally Championship in Greece, Bakhashab also secured himself a point in the overall rankings by coming sixth - making him the first Saudi driver ever to score World Championship points. He was also the first Arab driver to gain a point since the scoring system changed to award points to the top six drivers only.
Bakhashab then took first place in the FIA Teams Cup category in the Finland Rally. In his Toyota Corolla, Bakhashab concluded his season with a second place at the Sanremo Rally, securing him a place on the podium as second in the overall FIA Teams Cup series.
After some more successes in the international rally arena, Bakhashab joined the Acropolis Rally marking his 25th World Rally Championship where he secured second place in his category. Driving his Toyota Corolla WRC, he went to take part in the Marlboro Rally of Lebanon as part of his 2001 Middle East Rally Championship
And the final round of the FIA Teams Cup series. He was also forced to quit duke to a suspension and rear tire problem. This made him lose control of his Toyota Corolla WRC and his chance of clinching the FIA Teams Cup second position.
After the FIA put an end to the Teams Cup category competition, Bakhashab has joined the ongoing 2002 Middle East Rally Championship program, and Acropolis Rally as one round of the World Rally Championship calendar.
