“The greatest event in the World”
En bref
- The move of the Dakar to Saudi Arabia has attracted more and more local competitors. Four years after Mishal Al Ghuneim became the first Saudi to compete in the bike race (and finish it), Abdulhalim Almogheera followed his footsteps last January.
- After competing in all the rounds of the Saudi cross-country championship, the rider from Al Hassain the central part of Saudi Arabia decided to go for the Dakar. To add to the challenge, he registered in the Original by Motul class and reached the finish in 87th position.
- The second appearance of the 39-year-old who works for the government was far tougher. “Haleem” returned to the Dakar in the toughest of all categories with no assistance but a crash not only prevented him from finishing, it also kept him away from racing for 10 months.
- After a far shorter preparation due to his injuries, he was still able to take part in a few races of the Saudi championship. And once again he’ll have a big smile on his face on the start line of his third Dakar.
Ambition
A.A.: “My first rally was in Hail in 2021 and from that I developed a passion and decided to continue competing in rallies. I succeeded in finishing the 2024 Dakar doing it in the toughest category, Original by Motul. The stages were so challenging with lots of rocks added to the navigation. Honestly, I don’t know how I completed the stages. Every day, I thought it would be my last in the rally and I wouldn’t be able to continue. But at night I had that feeling that I needed to keep going. I tried to encourage myself every single day. Prince Khaled (president of Saudi Arabia Motor Federation) would come to see me daily, encouraging me and telling me I was a champion and that I could complete the rally.
It’s the third consecutive year that I’m participating in the greatest event in the world hosted in Saudi Arabia, the Dakar and I’ll have a new number that is also that of my sponsor (24.cafe).
I was able to compete again a few weeks ago, ten months after my crash on the Dakar and captured second spot at the Baja Quassim.”
