HAIL — The 3rd edition of the Saudi Dakar Rally 2022 was officially opened Saturday, in the presence of Prince Abdulaziz Bin Saad, governor of Hail Region, and Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Bin Muqrin, deputy governor of Hail Region, at Al Maghwah Amusement Park here.

The official race, which will last for 14 days, begins Sunday during which the contestants will cross 12 different stages, across the Kingdom’s governorates, cities, and regions.

The ceremony was also attended by Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation, the Saudi Motorsport Company, Deputy Minister of Sports Badr Al-Qadi, Assistant Minister of Sports Abdulelah Al-Dallak, and President of the International Automobile Federation Mohammed Bin Sulayem.

The day saw the official registration of the vehicles participating in the six categories of the race (cars, motorcycles, quad bikes, trucks, and light desert vehicles, and the "Dakar Classic" category). The 44th edition of the Saudi Dakar Rally 2022 has attracted more than 650 participants representing 70 nationalities from around the world, making it the largest edition in terms of participation in the rally’s history.

The 44th Dakar Rally has started for competitors as they attack 8,375 kms over the next two weeks in Saudi Arabia for one of the biggest prizes in motorsport, with the three Bahrain Raid Xtreme team cars all finishing the opening day in the top ten.

The first leg took place Saturday not far from Jeddah with just 19 kms completed; a short test but a very important one as it was the first ever stage of the new five-round FIA World Rally-Raid Championship being launched in 2022.

Qatar’s Nasser Al Attiyah set the fastest time on the stage in his Toyota by 12 seconds from the Audi of Carlos Sainz as this huge sporting and engineering challenge got under way,

The BRX team is spearheaded by the three cars and six crew made up of Nani Roma/Alex Haro, Sebastien Loeb/Fabian Lurquin and Orly Terranova/Dani Oliveras in the Prodrive Hunters.

With such a short stage as the opener, all three Bahrain Raid Xtreme drivers set their own pace over a surprisingly varied selection of terrain, but come the flying finish in the desert sands Sebastien Loeb was 5th, Nani Roma was 7th and Orly Terranova was 10th.

The drivers are now overnighting 810 kms from the start in Jeddah after a long road section before a 333 km stage Sunday looping around Hail in the mountainous landscapes of northern Saudi Arabia. It will be a stage riddled with fiendish navigation puzzles typical of the area and the spirit of the Dakar with big rocks in the early stages and some big sweeping sand to finish off.

Loeb said: “In the car and driving against the clock is where we all want to be, so it is a great feeling after the preparation we’ve all put in with BRX.”

Roma, the 2014 Dakar winner, said: “It’s really good to get started and get going on this Dakar. It was fast in the beginning and there were many broken dunes, so with the sun in your eyes it was difficult to see.”

Terranova said: “Our target was to be in the top 10 on this first stage and we did it to have a great start. We’re happy with the stage but we had a fright as there was an unseen rock after a crest and we thought we’d done some damage at one point.”

The UAE’s Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi and new German co-driver Dirk Von Zitzewitz had a difficult first day in their Abu Dhabi Racing Peugeot 3008 DKR, but the Emirati was relaxed after finishing the stage in 32nd place.

“We knew that it would not be easy with two wheel drive and a lot of sand on the stage,” said Al Qassimi. “We cannot have the right traction. But we’re getting more familiar with each other as driver and co-driver, and I’m getting to know the car again after not driving it for almost a year.”

Meanwhile, The South Racing Can-Am Team will be aiming to continue the success it achieved in 2021. The team has a 100% finishing record on the world’s toughest off-road rally that is being held in Saudi Arabia for a third year.

The team is challenging for honors in both the FIA T3 and T4 categories, having finished first last time out in the Side-by-Side and Lightweight category and having won the Side-by-Side category in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

The team has built 21 vehicles for this year’s Dakar that runs through the length and breadth of Saudi Arabia and finishes in Jeddah on Jan. 14.

Chilean driver Francesco Lopez started strongly in the FIA T3 section in his EKS-South Racing Can-Am and was third fastest through the opening Qualifying Stage, held over dirt and sandy tracks and small dunes.

Swedish teammate Sebastian Eriksson carded the fifth quickest time and local driver Saleh Al-Saif was eighth in a South Racing-built machine.

Spain’s Fernando Alvarez came home in 11th and the South Racing Middle East trio of Dania Akeel, Thomas Bell and Mashael Al-Obaidan reached the finish in 22nd, 23rd and 25th.

Both Akeel and Al-Obaidan are Saudi Arabian female drivers taking part in the Dakar after a successful campaign in Baja events in 2021. Akeel was duly crowned as the FIA T3 World Champion after her results in the 2021 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas.

The Polish brothers, Marek and Michal Goczal, laid down the gauntlet in the FIA T4 section in their Cobant-Energylandia Rally Team Can-Ams. They held first and second in the category after the Qualifying stage with Rodrigo Luppi de Oliveira rounding out the top three.

The team has strength in depth across the T4 category this year and American racer Austin Jones – the T4 winner of the 2021 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies – holds fourth place from Aron Domzala of Poland.

South Racing Can-Am Team’s Scott Abraham said: “This has been a great start to the Dakar Rally. Obviously it’s very busy this year with 160 team members at the event with us from six continents and 28 countries.

“Today’s qualifying stage showed that it is definitely going to be a dogfight in both the T3 and T4 categories. Chaleco (Lopez) had a really strong stage, as did Sebastian, and they are well positioned for the first of the longer stages on Sunday in the Hail region.

“In the T4 category, the competition is fast and furious and continues to be the same as previous years. There are a lot of top flight contenders and it was a great first stage for Marek and his brother Michal. Rodrigo showed that he is definitely one to watch and the four Can-Am factory cars are in great positions. Molly is also in the fight. There are interesting times ahead.” — SG/SPA