JEDDAH: Twenty-five cars competed in the 1st round of the Toyota Saudi Star Autocross Championship 2008 over the hot and blazing weekend at Durat Al-Arus. The weather did not only overheat the drivers but some cars as well. They competed in six categories — AS, BS, CS, ES, FS, and SS — raced against time in their quest for ultimate glory in this timed event held on a tarmac circuit.
In a night of fast and furious racing, Faisal Al-Sharief, the 2nd of the 1st day, Fahd Al-Harazi, the third of the 1st day, and Mohammad Al-Ahmadi sped-off with the top honors overall in the 1st round of the championship, organized by motorsport developer Abdullah Bakhashab.
The winner of the race Faisal Al-Sharief, competing in his Subaru Impreza and then on Toyota Camry car, the race official car, topped the overall podium with a best time of 00. 44.425. Fahd Al-Harazi, the 3rd of the 1st day, competing in Toyota Yaris car, finished second overall with a best time of 00:44.904.
Mohammad Al-Ahmadi driving his Subaru managed to be third on the podium clocking 00:45.899.
“We are very proud of our colleague and wish him best of luck in the championship. Sports events and competitions are important elements in the Kingdom’s culture, therefore we are always ready to extend our support to all our athletic associates,”said Bakhashab. Sponsored by Toyota as the main sponsor along with partners, Mobil 1 oil and Okaz newspapers as a media sponsor, the competing mood did not provide any chance for the drivers to cool down.
Clerk of the Course, Amer Al-Nahdi, made the layout highly technical this time around for the Toyota Autocross drivers, and they had to rely on their memory for the track layout.
Following were the Class winners Class AS, Bandar Galeb clocking (00: 39.064); Class BS, Faisal Al-Sharief clocking (00: 40.895); Class CS, Fahd Al-Harazi clocking (00:42.546); Class ES, Mohammad Al-Ahmadi clocking (00: 42.706) Class FS, Raian Al-Huseini clocking (00:47.400) and Class SS Eyad Al-Najar clocking (00:42.746) topped the podium in their respective categories.
Points scored during the 3-round championship will accumulated in order to determine class winners and the overall champion.
More than 50 percent of the entries in this round were totally new to the sport of auto crossing.
Toyota Saudi Star Autocross will continue to grow and together with other motorsports, we can see that there are more active partners now, which will help this sport and community grow,” said Mohammad Ba Hassan, Toyota PR and events manager.
