RIYADH: Fahd Al-Sadoon dominated the first day in the final round of the Toyota Saudi Start Autocross Challenge on Wednesday in the capital’s Arreem Circuit.
Al-Sadoon, driving his Mini BMW class (FS), took the first position by clocking 00:56.647.
“I had a good start and I’m really happy with the results. The race may have looked easy but for a driver’s position, it’s really hard to stay first,” Al-Sadoon said in a post-race interview.
Former champion and another dashing driver Zaki Al-Moori claimed second position clocking 00:57.394. Driving Mitsubishi Lancer Class (SS), Zaki had lost control of his car but managed to regain it quickly. “I didn’t have a good start. I lost my control after that I just pushed and managed to regain my position. I really wanted to do better but, it was difficult to overtake,” said an ecstatic Zaki.
Abdullah Al-Hindas, driving Toyota Yaris car class (DS), managed to take third position by clocking 01:00.977.
The drivers were divided into seven groups and members of each group competed among themselves. The drivers, with their cars, were categorized into 7 classes depending on the capacity and the power of engine, car size and year of manufacture i.e. 1. Super Stock (SS) for ultra-high performance sport cars, 2. A Stock (AS) for high-performance sport cars 3.PA — sport cars and GT’s, 4. C Stock (CS) for small-size compact cars, 5. D Stock (DS) for intermediate size sedans 6. F Stock (FS) for Sedans and coupes, 7. (BS) for medium size coupes. Each driver was allowed to drive 2 trials. The best time (the lowest time inclusive pylon penalties, if any) particular run were taken for ranking with each classes.
A judge and 12 marshals were around the track to control the situation. If anybody hits the barrier, the marshals flag him and the driver will lose one point.
Abdullah Bakhashab, promoting motorsport in the Kingdom, said: “Autocross has come in for a lot of criticism in Saudi Arabia — and rightly so. Exciting as it may be, this is not the kind of driving we encourage on public roads, hence our involvement in transforming it into an organized motor sport discipline. Saudi drivers who are undoubtedly skilled in autocross technique can now find an outlet for their talents on the racetrack, and not the highway.”
“Our role is to ensure that safety reigns supreme, and under the auspices of Toyota Motorsport, we are confident that the Toyota Saudi Star Autocross Championship will be every bit as exciting as driving skills has always been, but with the added advantage of being as safe as it can possibly be,” he added.
In the 2nd day’s edition, the top winners will qualify after competing driving Toyota Camry, the race official car.
