The awards ceremony, which was held at Maghwat Park, was attended by Prince Abdullah bin Khaled, chairman of the executive committee for Hail Rally, Prince Sultan bin Bandar Al-Faisal, president of Saudi Arabian Motor Federation (SAMF) and other dignitaries.
Saudi driver Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Portuguese co-driver Filipe Palmeiro clinched an emphatic victory in the rally after the final 148.71 km special stage in the Al-Nafud desert on Friday.
Leading by an amended 15min 52.5sec when original results were re-examined at the overnight halt, Al-Rajhi managed to fulfill his goal of winning the Kingdom's premier off-road event for the third time in front of thousands of spectators who took to the desert route to witness the event draw to a conclusion on a Friday for the first time.
Frenchman Thierry Magnaldi and Spanish co-driver Lucas Cruz Senra finished second overall in a Toyota Team Saudi Arabia-run Toyota FJ Cruiser Proto.
Saudi Arabia's Mtair and Abdullah Al-Shammeri finished third in their Toyota, Safah and Mishaal Al-Saeedi crossed the finish line in fourth overall and Abdullah Saeed bin Hamden and Ali Hassan rounded off the top five. The UAE's Yayha Al-Helai slipped to an unofficial eighth position.
Prince Abdul Mohsen honored the rally's main sponsors Abdul Latif Jameel Company (ALJ), Saudi Aramco, SABIC, Saudi Industrialization Co., Rakaa Holding, MBC, Hail Cement, Almarai Company, and Saudi Research & Marketing Group by giving them mementos.
The governor also distributed prizes to the following winners in the T1 and T2 categories:
First, Yazeed Al-Rajhi (KSA)/Filipe Palmeiro (POR) Mini All 4 Racing 5h 35m 28.0s
Second, Thierry Magnaldi (FRA)/Lucas Cruz Senra (ESP) Toyota FJ Cruiser Proto  6h 00m 18.8s
and Third, Mtair Al-Shammeri (KSA)/Abdullah Al-Shammeri (KSA) Toyota   6h 21m 17.8s
First, Ahmed Al-Shaqawi (KSA)/Nooh Buhumaid (UAE).
Second, Rajih Al-Shammeri (KSA)/Mubarak Al-Shammeri (KSA)
Third, Yayha Al-Helai (UAE)/Khaled Al-Kendi (UAE)
Fourth, Tareq Al-Rimah/Rami Jaber.
Speaking to reporters after the ceremony, Prince Saud highlighted the tremendous progress achieved by Saudi Arabia over the past years. "We are now going through a golden era," he said about the rule of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.
"Hail has achieved great progress in various sectors thanks to the generous support of King Abdullah and Crown Prince Naif," the governor said.
Prince Saud emphasized the importance of Hail Rally as it energizes the province's people and encourages all its government departments to work together to make this international event a big success.
"The rally shows the Hail people's ability to organize such global events. It also reflects their creativity and organizing power," he pointed out.
Prince Saud congratulated the winners as well as all other participants who completed the event without any major accidents. He also commended the fair competition displayed by the contestants. He hoped that they would participate in the rally in the coming years.
He also thanked all companies that sponsored the event and for their contributions to make it a grand success. He praised the efforts of Deputy Gov. Prince Abdul Aziz bin Saad and Prince Abdullah bin Khaled.
Abdullatif Al-Shammari, representative of ALJ, thanked Prince Saud, Prince Abdul Aziz and Prince Khaled for their endeavors to develop Hail Rally and removing the obstacles facing sponsors. "As a result of this support Hail has become the capital of desert sports in the Kingdom," he pointed out.
Al-Shammari noted ALJ's close association with Hail Rally since it its inception. "Every year we await for this event in order to support it and make it successful." Supporting motor sport in the Kingdom is an ALJ strategy, he pointed out. He referred to Toyota Car Race that was organized by his company in 2008, drawing contestants from all over the Middle East.
The Hail Rally was organized by the Saudi Arabian Motor Federation (SAMF) under the presidency of Prince Sultan bin Bandar Al-Faisal and the patronage of Hail governor Prince Saud.
Al-Rajhi duly reached the finish amid thousands of spectators to begin celebrating his third victory in Hail in three different cars in the space of four years. The Saudi also announced that he would take part in the Sealine Cross-Country Rally in Qatar next month at the wheel of the Mini All4 Racing.
"I am delighted to win this rally for the third time," said Al-Rajhi, before jetting off to Portugal to take part in the SWRC category at the fourth round of the WRC. "I have now won five rallies out of five attempts at events in Saudi Arabia (three Hail and two Sharqia rallies). I enjoyed the stage today," he added.