Al-Rajhi and Gottschalk grab big lead on first day of Tabuk-NEOM rally

Al-Rajhi and Gottschalk grab big lead on first day of Tabuk-NEOM rally

TABUK: Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Al-Rajhi and German co-driver Timo Gottschalk stormed into a comfortable 19 min 28 sec lead after the opening 205 km stage of the Tabuk-Neom Rally on Friday.

The Toyota Hilux crew carded a time of 1 hr 58 min and 57 sec for the scenic passage through desert terrain without hitting any problems during the course of the morning.

Al-Rajhi said: “It was a good day and everything is going well. Timo did a great job, like always. We opened the stage and enjoyed it. We pushed because we want to win every stage after I missed the event in Hail when I was injured. It was fast and slippery in places.”

Emirati rider Mohammed Al-Balooshi got the better of his brother Sultan to win the motorcycle stage by 3 min 4 sec and open up a lead of 1 min 52 sec. Mishal Al-Ghuneim opened the road and came home in third place on his Beta. The trio were the class of the field and finished well clear of fourth-placed Badr Al-Hamdan.

Al-Balooshi said: “It was an awesome day. The weather was much cooler than yesterday but it took me 30 km to 40 km to get into the