Mohannadi, Assaf make perfect start
Mohannadi, Assaf make perfect start
November 18, 2016 | 12:08 AM
Khaled Al-Mohannadi
November 18, 2016 | 12:08 AM
Last Updated: November 18, 2016 | 12:08 AM
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Khaled Al-Mohannadi[/caption]By Neil Perkins
JEDDAH — Qatar’s Khaled Al-Mohannadi and Saudi navigator Raed Al-Assaf made the perfect start to the third Rally Jeddah by securing the fastest time of 3min 07.7sec in their Buggy through the opening super special stage at Sharm Ubhur Thursday evening.
Fellow Qatari Adel Hussein Abdullah and his French navigator Sébastien Delaunay held second place and first in T1, while Abu Dhabi-based Lebanese driver Emil Khneisser was third and first in T2 with a time of 3min 24.9sec. Saudi Arabia’s Ahmed Al-Shegawi and Ahmed Mohammed Al-Malki rounded off the top five.
Double event winner Yazeed Al-Rajhi opted to stand down at the 11th hour and give his seat to the talented Saudi rookie Saleh Al-Abdulali, who he had also supported in the recent FIA World Cup events in the T2 category in Morocco and Portugal with his respective co-drivers Michael Orr and Nasser Al-Kuwari. Mohammed Al-Naeem stepped in to partner this fellow Saudi on this occasion. Saleh was the first driver into the stage and clocked a target time of 3min 32.5sec to hold 13th place.
Ahmed Al-Sabban burst on to the rallying scene in a Ford Escort RS Cosworth entered in the Group N category of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship in 1993. The Saudi announced his retirement from the sport at the pre-event press conference that preceded the super special stage. That failed to stop the Ford Raptor driver from clocking a time of 3min 33.8sec to hold 17th overall with UAE navigator Nooh Buhumaid.
Thirty-one cars were eventually given the green light to tackle the super special stage, including Qatar’s QMMF-backed Khalid Al-Mohannadi, the UAE’s Atif Al-Zarouni and Kuwait’s Meshari Al-Thafiri running Buggies entered in the T3 class. The Qatari led after the super special stage following the shock retirement of Zarouni in the stage.
Competition was expected to be intense in the T2 category for Series Production Cross-Country Vehicles as well. Ten of the 31 starters were entered in this category, including defending champion Monif Al-Salmani, Al-Sabban and Khneisser, who won the special stage.
This year’s event is again being supported by Mohamed Yousef Naghi Motors (MYN Motors) — Land Rover — and other companies, such as the MBC Group, Al-Arabia, Al-Madina and Total Oils.
Action continues Friday with what promises to be a demanding 220km selective section through the scenic western Saudi Arabian deserts around Jeddah.
Khaled Al-Mohannadi[/caption]By Neil Perkins
JEDDAH — Qatar’s Khaled Al-Mohannadi and Saudi navigator Raed Al-Assaf made the perfect start to the third Rally Jeddah by securing the fastest time of 3min 07.7sec in their Buggy through the opening super special stage at Sharm Ubhur Thursday evening.
Fellow Qatari Adel Hussein Abdullah and his French navigator Sébastien Delaunay held second place and first in T1, while Abu Dhabi-based Lebanese driver Emil Khneisser was third and first in T2 with a time of 3min 24.9sec. Saudi Arabia’s Ahmed Al-Shegawi and Ahmed Mohammed Al-Malki rounded off the top five.
Double event winner Yazeed Al-Rajhi opted to stand down at the 11th hour and give his seat to the talented Saudi rookie Saleh Al-Abdulali, who he had also supported in the recent FIA World Cup events in the T2 category in Morocco and Portugal with his respective co-drivers Michael Orr and Nasser Al-Kuwari. Mohammed Al-Naeem stepped in to partner this fellow Saudi on this occasion. Saleh was the first driver into the stage and clocked a target time of 3min 32.5sec to hold 13th place.
Ahmed Al-Sabban burst on to the rallying scene in a Ford Escort RS Cosworth entered in the Group N category of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship in 1993. The Saudi announced his retirement from the sport at the pre-event press conference that preceded the super special stage. That failed to stop the Ford Raptor driver from clocking a time of 3min 33.8sec to hold 17th overall with UAE navigator Nooh Buhumaid.
Thirty-one cars were eventually given the green light to tackle the super special stage, including Qatar’s QMMF-backed Khalid Al-Mohannadi, the UAE’s Atif Al-Zarouni and Kuwait’s Meshari Al-Thafiri running Buggies entered in the T3 class. The Qatari led after the super special stage following the shock retirement of Zarouni in the stage.
Competition was expected to be intense in the T2 category for Series Production Cross-Country Vehicles as well. Ten of the 31 starters were entered in this category, including defending champion Monif Al-Salmani, Al-Sabban and Khneisser, who won the special stage.
This year’s event is again being supported by Mohamed Yousef Naghi Motors (MYN Motors) — Land Rover — and other companies, such as the MBC Group, Al-Arabia, Al-Madina and Total Oils.
Action continues Friday with what promises to be a demanding 220km selective section through the scenic western Saudi Arabian deserts around Jeddah. 
