HAIL, 11 February 2007 — Ali Matar Al-Ketbi and Ali Mirza Shahin of the United Arab Emirates were the unofficial leaders of the Hail Saudi Baja after setting the fastest time in yesterday’s punishing 261.35km selective section to the north of Hail.
The UAE’s Abdullah Al-Herais and Ali Hassan Obaid completed the section in second place at the wheel of a Nissan Patrol, while Rajeh Al-Shammeri and Mubarak Al-Shammeri of Saudi Arabia led numerous members of the Al-Shammeri family coming third in a Toyota Land Cruiser.
Yesterday’s competitive action formed a 261.35km loop in the Nufud desert to the north of Jubbah and Hail, and offered a wide variety of sandy tracks and dramatic undulating terrain. 29 of the 30 teams resumed in the morning. Saudi driver Mohana Al-Saadi was refused a start by event officials on an eligibility and safety issue. The UAE’s Ahmed ibn Soughat was the first driver into the special, but it was clearly not an advantage to lead the way and Salman Al-Shammeri was comfortably the fastest through the opening Bir Al-Radefah passage control at the 50.82km point in a Toyota.
Abdullah Al-Rmal, also of Saudi Arabia, suffered terminal clutch problems in his Nissan Patrol. Ahmad Al-Sheqawi lost over an hour in the sand in his Mitsubishi and the hotly tipped UAE driver Raed Baker endured clutch maladies and his challenge for victory in a Range Rover ended on the end of a towrope.
“There was a lot of soft sand at the stage start and we were running15th on the road for some reason,” groaned Baker.
By the second passage control Sami Talab Al-Shammeri’s Toyota had edged into the lead, followed closely by Prince Khaled ibn Sultan’s class-leading T2 Mitsubishi Pajero and Abdullah Al-Herais in a Nissan Patrol. Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah Al-Marri suffered time penalties and eventually succumbed to serious navigational problems after his Omani co-driver struggled with the GPS system.
At Taas Zbeden (PC3 at 104.96km), Mufadi Al-Shammeri edged into the overall lead in his Toyota, the Saudi driver running two minutes ahead of Al-Herais, with Prince Khaled and ibn Soughat in close contention. Al-Ketbi of UAE was fifth in a Nissan Patrol.
Salman Al-Shammeri resumed his role at the front of the field by the mandatory 30-minute refueling stop at 154.50km, with Bin Soughat, Al-Ketbi and Prince Khaled hot on his heels. As the route headed in a south-easterly direction toward Al-Ghadah, Prince Khaled held the unofficial lead from Al-Ketbi, but the UAE driver eventually set the fastest time of the day, finishing the grueling section in 4h 52m 10s.
Prince Khaled found himself planted in soft sand with a broken clutch a mere 100 meters from the stage finish. “It is so frustrating to have driven so well and be this close to the end before we got stuck,” said the prince, who had suffered fuel problems earlier on.
Crucial sponsorship for Saudi Arabia’s premier Baja comes from a myriad of sponsors, including Toyota, the Ahli Commercial Bank, Saudi Airways, Bison energy drink, Almarai, the Saudi Basic Industries Company (SABIC), Eqtesadiah newspaper, Al-Jawal, Al-Rasheed Engineering, MBC, Sabic, Saudi Aramco, NCB, Safra Power, Yamama Cement and Saudi Oger.
Today marks the third and final leg of the 2007 Hail Saudi Baja and teams will tackle a 198.60km selective section to the north and west of Hail. The section begins at 09.50hrs and features four passage controls and a refueling point at Mohafar.
