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Hail Rally 2020 gets underway in opener of Baja events

Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah, who starts on Thursday as one of the favorites, in action in Spain last October. (Supplied)
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Updated 10 December 2020
Arab News
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Hail Rally 2020 gets underway in opener of Baja events

  • The three-day event will mark the fourth round of the 2020 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas
Updated 10 December 2020
Arab News

HAIL: The first of two back-to-back Baja events running under the Hail Rally Toyota 2020 banner gets underway at Al-Maghwat, on the outskirts of Hail city, on Thursday evening. 

The three-day event will mark the fourth round of the 2020 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas and finishes on Saturday afternoon.

The Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation has confirmed that, subject to technical checks and last-minute changes, 54 FIA cars, 27 motorcycles, 25 quads and one truck will take part in the main event, with 35 additional vehicles competing in a National Rally.
Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah won the Hail International Rally in 2009 with a BMW X3CC and in 2011 with a Volkswagen Race Touareg. He starts as one of the pre-event favorites to achieve success, in addition to using the two events as a shakedown test for January’s Saudi Dakar Rally.

The three-time Dakar winner said: “It is good to be able to use the Bajas for a test, but it will not be easy. Most of the drivers will use the same car for Dakar but, at the same time, the teams will be asking the drivers not to push to save the cars from damage. It’s nice to be here in Hail for two Bajas. After the races, I will do two more days of testing here and then two days of driver teaching. Then, the whole team will be in Jeddah for Dec. 25, and we will spend New Year’s there before Dakar.”

While Al-Attiyah’s Toyota teammate Bernhard Ten Brinke concentrates on his quest for the FIA Bajas drivers’ title, Jakub Przygonski drives a third of six official Toyota entries and will be hoping to claim the win.

Przygonski said: “I am really happy to come back to the desert. The last time was back in March. Timo (Gottschalk) and I will be able to test the new car and a lot of things. We will try to be as fast as possible. It has been a hard year, but I was able to win the Polish Cross-Country Championship and be the vice-champion in rallycross. It means I did quite a lot during this hard year.”

Triple Dakar champion Carlos Sainz and record-breaking 13-time event winner Stephane Peterhansel will debut their latest specification Mini John Cooper Works Buggies at the two Bajas in Hail, before using the new STC-backed cars at the Dakar in January.

X-raid team engineers in Germany have managed to make substantial improvements to the Buggy, including weight reduction and revisions to suspension geometry and setup. The cars have been tested recently in the UAE, and shakedowns will continue at the Bajas in Hail.

The Russian duo of Baja title contender Vladimir Vasilyev and Viktor Khoroshavtsev will use four-wheel-drive derivatives of the MINI John Cooper Works Rally, while Denis Krotov drives a Mini All4 Racing — the model that recently celebrated its 10th anniversary and was the first of the Mini cross-country machines to be devised by X-raid back in December 2010.

 X-raid also announced on Wednesday that it will field two Yamaha YXR 1000R prototypes in the T4 category at the second of the Bajas in Hail. 

Sweden’s Mattias Ekstrom will tackle the event with fellow Swede Emil Bergkvist in the first car, while San Marino-based Camelia Liparoti will team up with Annett Fischer in the second car.

Ekstrom has enjoyed success in circuit racing, rallying and rallycross and will go to compete at the Dakar Rally for the first time.

One of the teams hoping to challenge Mini and Toyota over the course of the two Bajas will be the Serradori Racing Team, which is running three South African Century Racing-built CR6 Buggies entered for the French duo of Mathieu Serradori and Alexandre Leroy and Saudi driver Yasir Seaidan.

 The powerful Chevrolet 7.0-liter V8-powered two-wheel-drive Buggy was a revelation at the last Dakar. 

Serradori managed to claim a stage win on his way to eighth overall and victory in the T1.3 class for two-wheel-drive petrol vehicles. He tackled the Dakar on a motorcycle on three occasions before switching to four-wheel competition to achieve other notable results, including victory at the 2018 Africa Eco Race, third in the Silk Way Rally and numerous category successes.

Seaidan pushed fellow Saudi driver Yazeed Al-Rajhi hard for the inaugural Saudi Toyota Desert Championship title in 2019 and has joined the SRT lineup after tackling numerous events with the X-raid team.

Baja Hail 1 will run over two selective sections, starting with the 251.81-kilometer Radifah section on Friday. The first FIA entrant will begin the stage close to the historic hub of Jubbah, 90 kilometers from Hail, at 8:58 a.m. The town lies on the old caravan road between Najd and the eastern Mediterranean.

The Baja route winds its way through the Al-Nafud desert to the northwest of Hail city and finishes close to Highway 65, the Kingdom’s main link road between Riyadh and the Jordanian border to the north. 

There will be a passage control after 165.77 kilometers.
 
The second section of 275.29 kilometers starts close to Jubbah at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning and heads further west of Hail before looping through the desert to finish close to the village of Q’na.

 Rally officials have arranged two passage controls after 147.29 kilometers and 261.46 kilometers.
 
Hail Rally Toyota 2020 takes place under the supervision of the Hail Regional Development Authority in cooperation with the General Authority for Tourism and National Heritage and the General Authority for Sport.

Topics: Hail Rally Hail Bajas

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Davis Thompson makes late birdie to break out of a logjam and lead John Deere

Updated 12 sec ago
AP
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Davis Thompson makes late birdie to break out of a logjam and lead John Deere

  • He will try to become the first player to win back-to-back at the John Deere Classic since Steve Stricker won three in a row from 2009 through 2011
  • Of the top 14 players, only Lipsky, Koivun and Kevin Roy have yet to win on the PGA Tour
Updated 12 sec ago
AP

SILVIS, Illinois:Davis Thompson made a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole Saturday to break out of a logjam that at one point featured 10 players tied for the lead, giving him a 4-under 67 on a much tougher golf course and a one-shot lead in the John Deere Classic.

Thompson was among five players tied for the lead when he stood over his final putt, after Brian Campbell had just holed a 30-foot birdie putt.

His final birdie put him at 15-under 198, one shot ahead of Campbell, Max Homa, Emiliano Grillo and David Lipsky, each of whom had a 68.

About the only player not in the mix was 36-hole leader Doug Ghim, who played his last 10 holes with two bogeys and no birdies and shot 74, pushing him outside the top 20.

Thompson had a birdie-birdie finish, though he missed an 8-foot eagle attempt on the par-5 17th hole. He will try to become the first player to win back-to-back at the John Deere Classic since Steve Stricker won three in a row from 2009 through 2011.

Also at stake for Thompson is a chance to get into the British Open, as a victory would move him to the top of the alternate list determined by the next world ranking.

But the final 18 holes feels a lot longer off considering how many players are very much in the mix going into Sunday.

“Nice to have some momentum going into tomorrow,” Thompson said.

Camilo Villegas (69) and Austin Eckroat (67) were among four players three shots behind. Matt Kuchar (67) and Auburn junior Jackson Koivun were in the group four back. Thirteen players were within four shots of the lead.

Of the top 14 players, only Lipsky, Koivun and Kevin Roy have yet to win on the PGA Tour. Homa is the most proven of the lot, though he has been trying to pull himself out of a deep slump that has left him on the outside of just trying to make the PGA Tour playoffs this year.

Homa was steady again, even after one of his rare misses. He was some 40 yards left of the green at the par-5 10th, even going across the road, but managed to escape with par and then took advantage of the scoring holes on the back nine for his 68.

Homa last won on the PGA Tour in January 2023 at Torrey Pines. He has been under scrutiny this year for his poor form — more than a year since his last top 10 — while changing coaches, equipment and twice changing caddies.

“Golf has just been very boring for me this year. I haven’t had a whole lot of stress, and you want to be stressed out. So I look forward to the butterflies in the morning; I look forward to the first tee shot,” Homa said. “It’s just nice to get to feel that again. It’s been a while.”

This was not the same TPC Deere Run that yielded low scores over the opening two rounds. The starting times were moved up to avoid afternoon thunderstorms, and hot weather and wind combined to make the greens firmer and fasters. Plus, several of the pins were tucked along the edges, punishing misses on the wrong side.

No one shot lower than 66 in the third round. There were 28 scores of 65 or better over the opening two rounds.

“Certainly makes for a fun Sunday when a bunch of guys have a chance,” Kuchar said.

One of them is Koivun, still four shots back but with a chance to make it two years in a row with an amateur winning on the PGA Tour. Nick Dunlap won The American Express last year in January and left Alabama to turn pro, having $20 million signature events to play.

Koivun already is assured a PGA Tour card through the PGA Tour University accelerated program, but is deferring that to return to Auburn.

“It’s obviously very inspiring to see what he did about a year ago now,” Koivun said. “Obviously, to be one of the few (amateurs) to win a professional event would be great. At the end of the day I just got to go give it my best shot and be happy with the result.”

Topics: golf

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Messi returns to MLS with spectacular double in Inter victory

Updated 59 min 31 sec ago
AFP
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Messi returns to MLS with spectacular double in Inter victory

  • Messi made sure there was no lingering let-down for Javier Mascherano’s side, who are aiming to improve on their curent sixth place in the Eastern Conference with 32 points from 17 matches
  • Miami now face a hectic MLS stretch, with five more matches before the end of the month
Updated 59 min 31 sec ago
AFP

MONTREAL: Lionel Messi scored two brilliant goals to lift Inter Miami to a 4-1 victory over Montreal in Miami’s return to Major League Soccer action on Saturday in the wake of their elimination from the Club World Cup.

Miami were playing their first MLS game in more than a month. They had advanced past the first phase of the Club World Cup but fell 4-0 to Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 last week.

Messi made sure there was no lingering let-down for Javier Mascherano’s side, who are aiming to improve on their curent sixth place in the Eastern Conference with 32 points from 17 matches.

“It is a great night, we took the three points that were very necessary to start thinking about the MLS again,” Mascherano said. “It is never easy to reintegrate into the competition after the Club World Cup, and the players have done it perfectly.”

Messi was a key figure throughout, although it was his miscue that led to the first goal for Montreal.

His backpass fell right in front of Montreal’s Prince Owusu, who fired a left-footed shot past goalkeeper Oscar Ustari to make it 1-0 after two minutes.

Messi more than atoned. In the 33rd minute, Messi found Tadeo Allende outside the area and Allende chipped a shot over Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirios.

In the 40th minute Messi conjured his trademark magic, cutting in from the right corner of the box, eluding Fernando Alvarez and curling the ball in at the far post for a goal that gave Miami a 2-1 halftime lead.

Telasco Segovia made it 3-1 in the 60th minute with a blast from outside the area that hit the crossbar and bounced into the net.

Messi bagged his second goal two minutes later, evading four defenders and finishing an outstanding solo run with a shot into the heart of the goal.

Messi now has seven goals in his last four MLS matches, bringing his total to 12 in 14 games.

“Leo is happy playing football,” Mascherano said. “Every time he is fit, he is going to play. Clearly we have an extra advantage when he plays and we want to use that advantage as much as possible.”

Miami now face a hectic MLS stretch, with five more matches before the end of the month.

Topics: Lionel Messi MLS Inter Miami

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France make Euro 2025 statement against holders England as Miedema completes century

Updated 06 July 2025
AFP
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France make Euro 2025 statement against holders England as Miedema completes century

  • Vivianne Miedema scored her 100th international goal as the Netherlands swept past Wales to take the initiative in the group
  • France face underdogs Wales next on Wednesday while England have a huge clash with the Netherlands, again at the Letzigrund Stadium
Updated 06 July 2025
AFP

ZURICH: France staked their claim to be contenders for Women’s Euro 2025 by beating holders England 2-1 on Saturday and joining the Netherlands at the top of Group D.

Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Sandy Baltimore netted within three minutes of each other toward the end of the first half as England became the first defending champions to lose their opening fixture at the Euros.

Laurent Bonadei’s team are level on three points with leaders the Dutch, who cruised past Wales 3-0 earlier on Saturday, after striking a big blow in the battle to qualify from possibly the hardest group at the tournament.

France face underdogs Wales next on Wednesday while England have a huge clash with the Netherlands, again at the Letzigrund Stadium.

“I expected a good performance because we prepared well. It’s always good to get off to a good start even if it’s only the first match,” said Delphine Cascarino.

“We were really good both going forward and in defense.”

The French were better all over the pitch, driven by the fabulous wing play of Baltimore and Cascarino, while Keira Walsh’s lovely strike with three minutes remaining made the scoreline flatter unconvincing England.

Not even Lauren James’ return to the starting XI could inspire England, the Chelsea star way below her best as the Lionesses struggled to put any pressure on France until it was too late.

“Of course I’m very disappointed,” said Sarina Wiegman, who lost her perfect Euros record as coach with Saturday’s defeat.

“We had three very good weeks and we played really well, but that’s never a guarantee that you win the game. We also know that France is a proper team too, so you have to do things really well. We just didn’t get it right.”

Alessia Russo thought she had given England the lead in the 16th minute when she prodded home on the rebound after Pauline Peyraud-Magnin kept out Lauren Hemp’s shot, only for the goal to be ruled out for a razor-thin offside in the build-up.

From there, France took the initiative, pushing England back into their own half and dominating possession, and they had a deserved lead through Katoto in the 36th minute when the Lyon forward guided home Cascarino’s low cross.

And three minutes later Baltimore made the scoreline accurately represent the balance of play with a wonderful individual goal, easily skipping around Lucy Bronze and Leah Williamson before rifling her finish into the top corner.

Walsh found the top corner with England’s first shot on target and Wiegman’s team almost snatched a point in the dying moments when Selma Bacha cleared Michelle Agyemang’s shot off the line and saved the result for France.

Vivianne Miedema scored her 100th international goal as the Netherlands swept past Wales to take the initiative in the group.

Manchester City striker Miedema opened the scoring on the stroke of halftime in Lucerne with a beautiful curling strike, completing her century of goals for her country.

Victoria Pelova and Esmee Brugts netted the other goals after the break to give Wales a rude awakening in their major tournament debut.

“They defended really well and I’m glad my goal helped to start it all up,” said Miedema.

“In the second half, you saw that we can play a bit more, and eventually we also scored two really good goals.”

Andries Jonker’s team are top on goal difference while Wales already have their work cut out to qualify.

Rhian Wilkinson’s side could easily have been behind before Miedema, who was a doubt for the tournament after suffering a hamstring injury in April, struck, as Jill Roord crashed a rocket of a shot off the post in the 35th minute.

Pelova doubled the Oranje’s lead two minutes after the break when she rifled home from Danielle van de Donk’s pass, and the Arsenal midfielder set up Brugts to make absolutely sure of the points in the 57th minute with a perfect deep cross.

Topics: Women’s Euro 2025 Euro 2025 Vivianne Miedema

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Real Madrid holds off hard-charging Borussia Dortmund to earn semifinal berth

Updated 06 July 2025
Reuters
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Real Madrid holds off hard-charging Borussia Dortmund to earn semifinal berth

  • Real Madrid will play Paris Saint-Germain in the same city on Wednesday
Updated 06 July 2025
Reuters

Gonzalo Garcia rewarded his coach’s faith in him with the opening goal to help Real Madrid to a wild-ending 3-2 win against Borussia Dortmund in East Rutherford, N.J. on Saturday afternoon to advance to the semifinals of the Club World Cup.
Real Madrid will play Paris Saint-Germain in the same city on Wednesday.
With superstar Kylian Mbappe gradually recovering from an illness, coach Xabi Alonso elected to instead start the 21-year-old Garcia and he scored his fourth goal of the Club World Cup in the 10th minute.
Fran Garcia, no relation, made it 2-0 in the 20th.
Then it got crazy. Dortmund’s Max Beier cut the lead in half in the second minute of second-half stoppage time.
Mbappe, who entered in the 67th minute, made it 3-1 in 90+4 with a spectacular side-volley but Real Madrid defender Dean Huijsen was red-carded in 90+6 for a foul in the box and Serhou Guirassy converted the penalty kick in 90+8.
Dortmund had one final try and Thibaut Courtois made a great full-extension save on Marcel Sabitzer in 90+10.
The match looked fully in hand until a clearance bounced to Beier and he first-timed a strike that brushed Huijsen on the way in to make it 2-1.
Mbappe then did his thing from the left side of the 6-yard box off the second assist of the match for Guler.
Just as Real Madrid was ready to exhale, Huijsen prevented goal-scoring opportunity and Guirassy scored for the third time in two matches.
Huijsen is suspended for the semifinal.
It was left to Courtois with his diving stop at the left corner to finally seal the win.

Topics: FIFA Club World Cup 2025 FIFA Club World Cup real madrid Borussia Dortmund

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Shane van Gisbergen wins the pole for Cup Series race in downtown Chicago

Updated 06 July 2025
AP
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Shane van Gisbergen wins the pole for Cup Series race in downtown Chicago

  • Van Gisbergen has won the pole for Sunday’s Grant Park 165
Updated 06 July 2025
AP

CHICAGO: When it comes to NASCAR’s street course in downtown Chicago, there is Shane van Gisbergen, and then there is everyone else.
Van Gisbergen has won the pole for Sunday’s Grant Park 165. The 36-year-old New Zealander turned a lap at 88.338 mph on a tricky 2.2-mile course that was made more treacherous by temperatures in the 90s Fahrenheit on Saturday.
“Practice wasn’t that great for us, but when we went out for qualifying, the car felt really good,” van Gisbergen said. “We turned in two pretty good laps.”
The Trackhouse Racing driver will be joined on the front row by Michael McDowell, who grabbed the second slot at 87.879 mph. Carson Hocevar (87.824 mph), Tyler Reddick (87.779 mph) and Chase Briscoe (87.734 mph) rounded out the top five.
McDowell is one of three drivers who finished in the top 10 in the first two races in downtown Chicago.
“Our car’s in the game,” he said. “Tomorrow will be a mixed bag with potential weather in and out. So a lot of variables to go out there and navigate.”
Van Gisbergen, a three-time champion in Australia’s Supercars, also was on the pole for Saturday’s Xfinity Series race.
“I learned a lot in the Xfinity Series car this morning, and that just gives you a great leg up for the Cup car,” he said. “I think it’s great running both cars, it certainly helps.”
Just two years ago, van Gisbergen raced to a historic victory in a rainy first edition of NASCAR’s downtown Chicago experiment. Making the most of his extensive street racing experience, he became the first driver to win his Cup Series debut since Johnny Rutherford in the second qualifying race at Daytona in 1963.
He won Chicago’s Xfinity Series stop last year and the first stage in the Cup race before he was knocked out by a crash.
Katherine Legge became the first woman to qualify for the Cup race in downtown Chicago when she turned a lap of 85.744 mph, knocking Corey Heim out of the field.
“We would have been a lot faster, I think, had I not kept nicking the wall,” Legge said. “I’ve given my crew a lot of work to do from that, but we had to keep pushing to put it in the show. I’m really proud of this team, and I’m very much looking forward to tomorrow.”

Topics: NASCAR Xfinity race Shane van Gisbergen

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