Saudi Dakar Rally Concludes 5th Edition with Participation of 778 Drivers, Co-drivers

The rally witnessed the participation of 778 drivers and co-drivers using 434 vehicles in six categories. SPA
The rally witnessed the participation of 778 drivers and co-drivers using 434 vehicles in six categories. SPA
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Saudi Dakar Rally Concludes 5th Edition with Participation of 778 Drivers, Co-drivers

The rally witnessed the participation of 778 drivers and co-drivers using 434 vehicles in six categories. SPA
The rally witnessed the participation of 778 drivers and co-drivers using 434 vehicles in six categories. SPA

The city of Yanbu witnessed on Friday evening the closing ceremony of Saudi Dakar Rally 2024 in its 5th edition, and the 46th in the history of the world rally, after an exciting competition for 14 days in 12 stages, with a distance exceeding the 7,500 km.

The rally witnessed the participation of 778 drivers and co-drivers using 434 vehicles in six categories: cars, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicle (ATV) or quads, desert Challenger vehicles, Side by Side (SxS) light commercial desert vehicles, and trucks.

Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal, Chairman of the Saudi Automobile & Motorcycle Federation (SAMF), and Saudi Motorsport Company (SMC), crowned the winners of this race.

Spain’s Carlos Sainz, driver of the team “Audi,” won the Saudi Dakar Rally 2024 title in the car category for the 4th time in its history, and for the second time in the Kingdom, becoming the first driver to win the rally using an electric car with four different manufacturers, in an hour, 20 minutes and 25 seconds.

Belgian rally driver Guillaume de Mévius came in second, while France’s Sébastien Loeb came in third, with a difference of one hour, 25 minutes and 12 seconds.



Sinner Gets April Date at Sports Court for Appeal Hearing in Doping Case

Jannik Sinner of Team Italy is pictured after beating Alex de Minaur of Team Australia during their semi-final singles match between Italy and Australia at the Davis Cup Finals at the Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena arena in Malaga, southern Spain, on November 23, 2024. (AFP)
Jannik Sinner of Team Italy is pictured after beating Alex de Minaur of Team Australia during their semi-final singles match between Italy and Australia at the Davis Cup Finals at the Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena arena in Malaga, southern Spain, on November 23, 2024. (AFP)
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Sinner Gets April Date at Sports Court for Appeal Hearing in Doping Case

Jannik Sinner of Team Italy is pictured after beating Alex de Minaur of Team Australia during their semi-final singles match between Italy and Australia at the Davis Cup Finals at the Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena arena in Malaga, southern Spain, on November 23, 2024. (AFP)
Jannik Sinner of Team Italy is pictured after beating Alex de Minaur of Team Australia during their semi-final singles match between Italy and Australia at the Davis Cup Finals at the Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena arena in Malaga, southern Spain, on November 23, 2024. (AFP)

Top-ranked tennis player Jannik Sinner will go to sport's highest court in April for the World Anti-Doping Agency's appeal that seeks to ban him from the sport for at least one year.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Friday it scheduled a closed-doors hearing on April 16-17 at its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.

CAS gave no timetable for a verdict, though the parties could request a fast-track decision before the French Open starts May 25.

WADA is challenging a decision last year by the International Tennis Integrity Agency not to suspend Sinner for what it judged was accidental contamination by a banned anabolic steroid last March. Sinner's explanation — that trace amounts of Clostebol in his doping sample was due to a massage from a trainer who used the substance after cutting his own finger — was accepted.

Sinner won the US Open in September after details of his case were revealed. It had been kept confidential since April because Sinner successfully appealed against being provisionally banned from playing.

The 23-year-old Italian has faced skepticism from other players, including Novak Djokovic, who have suggested he got preferential treatment from tennis authorities.

The repeated questioning about the case has followed Sinner to Melbourne this week where he is preparing to defend his Australian Open title.

WADA has asked CAS to ban Sinner for between one and two years.