Prince Khalid Leads Overall as Al-Ghamdi Wins Oman Rally

MUSCAT, 30 April 2004 — Upon losing the 10 points of Bahrain International Rally last month when he was forced to retire with technical failure during the early stages of the first day of the rally, Majid Al-Ghamdi, Toyota Cup champion for two successive seasons, woke up in Oman International Rally last week with careful calculations and know-how in mind, which rewarded him victory. The Oman Rally was part of the Middle East Rally Championship.

The enthusiastic rally flair which characterized Al-Ghamdi’s outstanding performance in Oman rally seemed relatively shared by all members of Toyota Team Saudi Arabia, which was sponsored by Abdul Latif Jameel and supported by Power Horse and Denso.

Several times while driving during the stages of the two-day event, Al-Ghamdi exchanged lead positions with Abdullah Al-Dosari, and it was obvious that each of them was trying to gain on the other and each pushing hard to ascertain victory.

Al-Dosari was compelled to retire during the eighth stage of the second day for mechanical breakdown. But that didn’t seem much relief for Al-Ghamdi, as Sultan Hamdi was voraciously thirsty and keenly eager to win his first champion. Al-Ghamdi, therefore, kept on pushing, even with time-consuming technical failure that forced Sultan Hamdi to change strategy to finish the race with as many points as possible.

Very brilliant and apt, Prince Khalid’s strategy worked very well in Oman rally as it did in Bahrain round. He added 6 more points to make a total of 14, the highest attained points he needed to fairly qualify and lead Toyota Cup overall results. “I thank God for my results. I am satisfied with my performance so far, and I know it is still early in the season to decide the final winner overall. The difference in points between the teammates is not that wide, and the coming rounds will witness fiercer fights from all of us,” said Prince Khalid triumphantly.

Al-Ghamdi and Al-Dosari each ranked second to Prince Khalid, with each collecting 10 points, whereas Sultan Hamdi ranked third with 8 points. “To finish first you must first make a plan with careful calculations. It was a fantastic and enthusiastic struggle. I was under intense pressure for several hard times, seeing Al-Dosari fighting fiercely and pushing hard to gain on. Thanks God, I won,” said Al-Ghamdi victoriously.

Results:

Prince Khalid/ Hani Al-Tirazi, first, 14 points; Majid Al-Ghamdi/ Amr Al-Rufa’I and Abdullah Al-Dosari/ Ali Al-Sai’ari, second,10 points, Sultan Hamdi/ Muhnad Khashugji, third, 8 points.