Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and French co-driver Matthieu Baumel romped to an emphatic 21m 41s victory in the 2008 Saudi Arabian Hail Baja to record their first victory with the BMW X-raid team on Thursday.

Qatar's Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and French co-driver Matthieu Baumel stormed into the overall lead after the second leg of the Saudi Arabian Hail Baja, which consisted of a punishing 298.85km selective section across classic Nafud desert terrain in the north-central region of the Kingdom, on Wednesday.

The Dutch crew of Tonni van Deijne and Wouter Rosegaar set the fastest time of 2m 10s in the opening two kilometre super special stage of the 2008 Saudi Arabian Hail Baja, round one of the FIA International Cup for Cross-Country Bajas, which began over a sandy track on the outskirts of Hail on Tuesday afternoon.

Qatar's former FIA P-WRC winner and defending FIA Middle East rally champion Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah has entered the Saudi Arabia Hail Baja in an official X-raid BMW X3CC, run by the Trebur-based AlgoDyne Green Racing Team.

SAUDI HAIL BAJA RECEIVES FINANCIAL BOOST FROM HRH SULTAN BIN FAHD. Czech, Hungarian, Russian and Dutch teams enter Saudi Arabian event Defending Hail Baja champion Rajeh Al-Shammeri set to return in 2008.