The opening day of the first round of the 2026 Saudi Toyota Championship Hill Climb concluded Friday at Aqabat Al-Muhammadiyah in Al Shafa, Taif, with 43 drivers qualifying across 11 classes. The event is backed by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation and organized by Bakhashab Motorsport in partnership with Jameel Motorsport.
Qualifying and Competition Format
After administrative checks and vehicle scrutineering on Thursday, competitors attended an official briefing on Friday morning with race stewards and organizers, who outlined sporting, technical and safety regulations. Two official practice sessions allowed drivers to familiarize themselves with the challenging mountain course and fine-tune setups. The first qualifying run set the early benchmark.
Racing resumed Saturday with a second qualifying session before the top 20 drivers overall, plus the fastest from each class, advanced to two final runs. Overall results are determined by each driver's fastest time across those final runs.
Top Qualifiers
Mamoun Amr Alkabbani set the fastest time in the opening qualifying run with 1 minute, 45.190 seconds, narrowly ahead of Faisal Soufyan Alkabbani (1:45.955). Rabih Moayad Alawar was third in 1:48.656, followed by Ahmed Abdul Algaidi (1:52.140) and Sultan Hamdi (1:55.886). Mahmoud Ahmed Abed finished sixth in 1:59.592, Abdullah Ahmed Alamri seventh in 2:00.340, Abdullah Abdulaziz Khojah eighth in 2:00.705, Ibrahim A. AlSharidah ninth in 2:00.866, and Abdulaziz Maged Alfudhili completed the top 10 with 2:01.656.
Course and Safety
The Aqabat Al-Muhammadiyah course stretches 4.2 kilometers through the mountains of Al Shafa, climbing from approximately 1,900 to 2,150 meters above sea level, with 30 corners demanding precision and car control. The opening day featured 38 organizational, technical and field personnel for marshaling, inspections, maintenance and stewarding, plus medical, emergency, security and traffic services.
