Muscat: After a day of excitement and fierce competition among the drivers, Salem Al Touqi and his navigator Issa Al-Wardi won the Rally Oman Baja sprint title after finishing first in the rally, which took place on the tracks and roads of the Wilayat of Nakhal through the Nakhal and Alsareer stages.
Al Touqi surpassed the other driver, Ghaith Al Qasmi, along with his navigator Ahmed Salem, who finished second.
Meanwhile, Mazin Al Shibani, with his Co- driver Warith Al Kharousi, managed to secure the third position, and Musab Soomar, with his navigator Sultan Al Batashi, came fourth before Abbas Al Lawati finished in fifth place.
The closing ceremony of the rally was under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Said bin Mohammad Al Rashidi, the Wali of Nakhal, who crowned the winners and distributed prizes to the top finishers in the rally.
This rally was organised by Oman Automobile Association, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Youth, and supported by Toyota.
The rally featured various categories including regular rally cars, as well as off-road four wheel vehicles and motorcycles such as Cam-Ams and Polaris.
The young driver Salem Al Touqi managed to finish the rally with a time of 45 minutes and 3 seconds, while his colleague Ghaith Al Qasmi recorded a time of 49 minutes and 20 seconds.
As for the third-place winner, Mazin Al Shibani, he finished in at 52 minutes and 7 seconds.
Musab Soomar finished fourth with a time of 54 minutes and 10 seconds, and driver Abbas Al Lawati finished fifth with a time of 54 minutes and 51 seconds.
After the leader Haitham Soomar exited the rally due to a car engine malfunction, the rally driver Salem Al Toqi, with his navigator Issa Al Wardi, took the lead in the second stage in Al Sareer and tied with racer Mazin Al Shibani in the third stage with equal timing.
He regained the lead in the fourth stage but dropped to third place in the fifth stage behind Mazin Al Shibani and Ghaith Al Qasmi, ultimately finishing in first place with the total times.
Both Haithm Soomar and Bashar Al Qasmi were unable to finish the race due to technical issues with their cars.
Racers Shahab Al Rahbi, Moataz Al Kindi, Walid Al Hashmi, and Sina Hasari also exited the race.
The Oman Automobile Association shows great interest in rallying sports and continuously seeks to create excitement and challenges among the racers by organizing races in various regions to allow motorsport enthusiasts to closely follow these races in their areas and promote the sport of car racing in different governorates and regions of the Sultanate.
