HAIL — Samai Talab Al-Shammeri and navigator Abdullah Mutar Al-Shammeri guided their Nissan Patrol to an unofficial 4min 44sec lead after the first of three desert selective sections at the Hail Nissan International Cross-Country Rally Tuesday.
The local driver clocked an unofficial time of 2hrs 20min 06sec and that was sufficient to beat overnight T1 leader Essa Al-Dossari in his ED Racing Nissan Navara.
The pair were part of a field that was completely dominated by Nissan drivers. Nine of the top 10 positions were held by the Japanese manufacturer. Ahmed Abdulah Al-Shuhail held third and Meshal Abdulaziz Al-Saeedi and Khalid Abdullah Al-Shammeri rounded off the top five. Al-Saeedi also headed the T2 runners.
ATVs had been inside the top 10 and held the overall advantage after the super special stage, but the desert terrain was not ideally suited to these lightweight, lower powered vehicles and Talal Al-Thukair led the way in 10th overall with his Can-Am.
Muneef Al-Salmani held 11th position and fifth in T2 in his Nissan Patrol — the Hero of All-Terrains. He is running the ex-Emil Khneisser car that is supported by Nissan Saudi Arabia.
Saleh Abdullah Al-Abdulaali was not able to start the stage in his ex-Al-Rajhi Hummer, while a spectacular crash hospitalized the Toyota Land Cruiser crew of Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri and Muath Ababtain. They had been third overall at the start of the day, but were not seriously injured.
Technical issues also plagued the current FIA World Cup T2 champion Yasir Saeidan, Rida Lafi Al-Shammeri and Rajeh Farhan Al-Shammeri.
The Hail Nissan International Cross-Country Rally is being staged under the patronage of Prince Saud Bin Abdul Mohsen Bin Abdul Aziz, Governor of Hail, President of the Supreme Commission for Hail Development and the Head of the Supreme Commission of the Hail Rally.
Officials at the Saudi Arabian Motor Federation (SAMF) have laid on a daunting selective section of 351.01km for Wednesday. This starts out of Radifah, 59.93km from Ha’il, at 08.40hrs and finishes in Umm Al-Qulban. — SG
