Jordan Baja 25 Day One

Lockdown TV

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.

Transcript

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.

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