LATEST NEWS Nissan Dominating the Podium at the Hail Nissan International Rally 2018
February 04, 2018
Nissan Cars Take over the Top 11 Rankings of the Hail Rally
Hail, Saudi Arabia, February 04 2018: the Hail Nissan International Rally 2018 has concluded its 13th round last week under the patronage of HRH Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Saad Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Governor of Hail. The rally has shown magnificent results, with Nissan dominating the podium, indicating the high trust of Hail Rally drivers in Nissan cars and the reliability of Nissan vehicles to take over the rally.
Essa AlDoussary, who is the Nissan Saudi Arabia official driver, was driving Nissan Navara car, gave an unforgettable performance, winning the podium at the most important motorsports event in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Moreover, the second stage of the rally has been the longest throughout the history of the Hail Rally since 2006, a 354km in length. Although AlDoussary faced some challenges, he exerted extraordinary efforts until the last minute, winning the podium by margin of 8 minutes and 42 seconds separating him from the second-place winner at the last stage of the rally whose distance reached 168.57km at the most popular and organized rally in the kingdom.
Nissan had also won other places: the second place by Sami AlShammari, who drove the Nissan Patrol Pickup, the third place by Ahmed AlShuahil, the fourth place by Muteb AlQnoon, the fifth place by Ahmed AlShaqawi, and the sixth place by Muneef AlSalmani who recorded 10 hours and 13 minutes, driving the Nissan Patrol Y62.
AlDossary said: “this is my first time participating in the Hail Rally and hoping it is just the beginning for more. It was such a great experience, being able to drive one of Nissan’s super cars the “Navara” made me very happy. It was a magnificent car, where I only gave maximum output at the final stage, during which I was challenged by the navigation systems which delayed me a bit.”
Additionally, Nissan has gained the trust of many drivers who participated in the rally, with Nissan’s cars dominating the top 11 rankings of the rally, proving the reliability of its cars. Nissan made history at the Hail Rally, competing with Nissan Patrol Safari, Nissan Patrol Pickup, Navara and Patrol Y62 cars, taking over the most prestigious motorsports events in the kingdom.
AlSalmani also commented on his winning: “the Hail Nissan Rally is a great opportunity for aspiring Saudi drivers who want to make history. I am very happy for being part of it, and I’m very impressed by the strong performance of the Nissan Y62, so I’d like to thank Nissan for supporting me and supporting the Hail drivers.”
The COO of Nissan Saudi Arabia, Mr. Bader AlHoussami concluded saying: “Hail Nissan Rally proved itself as a solid motorsport platform in KSA and we’re proud of being the title sponsor. Hail Rally is a great platform to create champions, improve tourism, and convey the safe driving message across the kingdom. We are very proud of this year’s results, proud of our drivers growing more skillful, and looking forward to improving more in the coming future.”
He added, “While Nissan objectives are to develop the motorsport industry in KSA to elevate the prestigious Rally to higher levels and be recognized internationally, it is always committed to sponsoring drivers with high levels of discipline and morals. We always tend to support all Nissan drivers with their cars and co-drivers by providing them with racing clothes, financial support and extensive training sessions on regulations, navigation and equipment utility. Additionally, we will keep on supporting Saudi drivers and the scene of Hail Festival and Hail Nissan Rally. We also look forward to including Hail Nissan Rally to the FIA cross-country rally championship calendar soon.”