Abdullah Al-Shaqawi, Raed Al-Assaf, Hamzah Bakhshab, and Fahad Al-Omar will compete in the 2026 Dakar Rally after impressing in the Saudi Next Gen Program, an effort by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation to develop the country’s up-and-coming racing prospects. Al-Shaqawi has Al-Assaf as his navigator, while Al-Omar calls the shots for Bakhshab.

The two crews were invited to Bisha for the program, which was held in tandem with the first two stages of the Dakar Rally. Fahad Al-Marmash and co-driver Hussam Al-Zahrani, Mirehan Al-Baz and Waleed Al-Shaqawi, and Fatimah Banaz were also part of the roster. The teams were selected at the Al-Qassim Rally, a round on the Saudi Toyota Championship.

They were then trained by former rally driver Edo Mossi before driving Yamaha YXZ1000Rs in the Prologue and Stages #1 and #2. W2RC regulars Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Yasir Seaidan were also involved in teaching them.

A similar program exists for the Rallye du Maroc, a fellow W2RC race. Known as the Africa Rallye Team, the lineup was also created after a training school and includes riders and SSV drivers from all African countries.

Featured image credit: Charly Lopez / ASO