It was spectacular first day of action for the Jordan Baja which has got underway from the Red Sea resort of Aqaba.
Yazeed Al Rajhi (cars) and Mohammed Al-Balooshi (bikes) take overnight leads into Saturday with a world-class field returning to the breathtaking terrain of Wadi Rum on Saturday.
Yazeed Al Rajhi (cars) and Mohammed Al-Balooshi (bikes) take overnight leads into Saturday with a world-class field returning to the breathtaking terrain of Wadi Rum on Saturday.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Yazeed Al-Rajji has grabbed the overnight lead at the 6th Jordan Baha, following a masterclass
00:08in driving through the spectacular terrain of Wadi Rab.
00:14The formidable Saudi Arabian driver with German co-driver Timo Gottschalk at his side, dominated
00:21the first day to open up a 6 minute, 16 second advantage after 294 kilometres of tough driving
00:30in the southern Jordanian desert.
00:33The big lead puts him on track to win the second round of the FIA World Baha Cup, but
00:39it very nearly didn't happen after the pair forgot a helmet before this morning's start.
00:46Today is not an easy day for us, it's a very difficult day, the first time in my life
00:53me and Timo forget the helmet in the surface, but sure we are happy, Pak Khashab and his
00:59co-driver, he helped us, and thank you for him, and his co-driver, he helped us give us
01:04a helmet before the start of 5 minutes, and we keep going in the stage and everything
01:10going well with us, and sometimes you need, when you think every problem is finished, you
01:16find something is not in your book.
01:19Poland's Martin Kaczmarski starts Saturday in second, while Argentina's Juan Cruz Jacopini,
01:26also in a Toyota, is just behind in third.
01:29I'm really happy because for me it's not easy to come back after a few years, this is my
01:34third race, third rally, and the stage looked really tricky in the beginning, really stony,
01:41and sometimes we hit a lot of big stones, but the second part was really fast, and I really
01:47loved it, and the car is perfect, and to be honest Jordan for me is awesome, and the landscape
01:52is real awesome.
01:53Meanwhile, in the FIM Baja World Cup for Bikes, MXRide Dubai's Mohamed Albalouchi is on target
02:01for his fifth Jordan Baja crown, and takes a 2 minute, 25 second lead into Saturday.
02:07I got to open, I won the stage I believe, and tomorrow is the last day, it's important
02:16to put all our focus for tomorrow, and bring the bike home, and trophy back home as well,
02:23and I'm fully motivated for tomorrow.
02:26The formidable Emirati will be followed on Saturday by Lebanese teammate Rafik Ayd, the
02:32German KTM rider Philip Hollermann at distance third.
02:36Amazing, it was such a great day, the weather is perfect, the landscape is beautiful, we
02:41had a fantastic stage today, so it was great, feeling good.
02:45And you finished well?
02:46Yeah, I think, well it was okay, could have speed up a little bit more, but I focused much
02:52more on the navigation, not to get lost, because it was a bit tricky at times, but yeah, I'm
02:57happy with the timing, so.
02:58Tomorrow, what's the plan?
03:00Full gas.
03:03But before today's dramatic action, the event got underway on the sparkling banks of the
03:10Red Sea, with a prologue stage held on the outskirts of Aqaba on Thursday.
03:16This gave competitors the chance to put their cars and bikes to the test, on a specially made
03:215km course, close to the city's south beach.
03:26That was followed by a glorious ceremonial start at the Arab Revolt Plaza in the heart
03:32of the city, which saw fans and media join the competitors and officials for a wonderful
03:38celebration of motorsport.
03:41The leading drivers and riders from the prologue were then able to choose their starting positions
03:46for the following day, a spectacle that has become a popular part of the pre-event build-up.
03:53And then it was on to today's thrilling action, which put the world's best to the test in
03:58one of the most breathtaking sporting venues to be found anywhere on the globe.
04:04More Wadi Rum thrills and spills await tomorrow, but for now it is Al Rashi and Al Balushi who
04:11have sailed into comfortable overnight Leeds.
04:15All right.
04:16Over Hiis, you are welcome.
04:17Bye.
04:18Happy Hirtan.
04:19leyed.
04:20입니다.
04:21Y assessed the slave vitor 2018, gustat, or pente surpris sit offing a notch as
04:23keyhole in
04:40ish.