JEDDAH, 3 January 2008 — Turki Al-Sudairy will be the only rally driver from Saudi Arabia in the car division of the Dakar Rally when competitors line up for the start in Lisbon, Portugal on Saturday.
For the third year in a row, Al-Sudairy will drive his Mitsubishi l200 Evo along with his Algerian co-driver Sameer Bin Bekhti.
Getting ready for the race, Al-Sudairy said “Every one of these racers, along with spouses, friends and crew, has spent an entire year preparing for the Dakar. Sure, it is expensive, but it is also very complicated logistically. And, they’ve all had to learn a completely new type of racing. Every one of these guys is a hero just for getting to the start. Each of them is going to have to dig deep and find a way to the finish.”
He noted that he and his co-driver have been all set and well prepared after taking many practice rounds in the Moroccan desert which has a very similar condition as the Dakar venue.
The 28-year-old Saudi driver wishes to see a bigger participation from Saudi Arabia in future. He said “Dakar Rally is considered as one of biggest events in the world and many rally drivers insist to participate just to raise the flag of their countries in this historical event. Therefore, I wish many Saudi drivers could make it to get Saudi Arabia on the spot.”
He added “As the only Saudi driver in the race, I really look forward to do a positive result despite the difficulty we always face during the Dakar Rally. Most of the participating racers enter fully equipped and prepared with the support of their sponsors unlike me who has no sponsor and paying for my own expenses.”
Concerned for his social responsibility in his country, Al-Sudairy said he had decided to display a slogan on his car that says “Help Autistic Children” to dramatize his support for and highlight sufferings of children with autism.
The Dakar Rally is a unique 15-stage on-road and off-road endurance event made up of cars, trucks, motorbikes and quads racing through four countries with the sometimes brutal, but often spectacular Northern African landscape as its backdrop.
Both amateur and professional drivers will test their limits as they navigate across almost 6,000 kilometers of unforgiving terrain that commences in Lisbon and travels through Morocco, Mauritania and finishes in Dakar, Senegal.
