BRP

“I’m so happy because I’m leading the SSV category. It wasn’t easy for me to won in Dakar especially this year was the most difficult Dakar since been held in Saudi. My goal this year is to win the SSV category because I already won the Challenger and the Stock categories before. So I’ll focus and do my best to secure this goal.”

After several years competing in cars, Yasir Seaidan has now established himself in the T4 class in a very competitive Can Am prepared by South Racing. The Saudi has indeed lived quite a few different experiences since his first Dakar back in 2014 when the race was far from his homeland. Born in Riyadh, he would, as a child, spend most of his free time playing football or enjoying family weekends in the desert riding a quad. And that of course led to racing. Close to becoming a professional footballer he decided to focus on racing at the age of 21. And slowly switched from quads to cars. After winning the SSV FIA World Cup in 2013, he witnessed his first Dakar in 2014 behind the wheel of a Polaris. Sadly the first adventure of the now 46-year-old ended as soon as stage 5. After driving a RZR 900 through the deserts of South America, Seaidan returned to the Dakar in a completely different vehicle, a Toyota VDJ200 that he managed to take to 39th spot overall, finishing 3rd of the T2 class. The Dakar switch to Saudi Arabia gave this father of five (4 boys and one girl) new ambitions as he reappeared four years later in a Mini All4Racing prepared by the X-Raid team. Alongside Aleksei Kuzmich, Seaidan managed to sneak into the Top 10, a fine 9th spot. After learning from the best (Sainz, Peterhansel), the businessman in real estate decided to try a new experience within the SRT Racing Team in a Century CR6 buggy. Despite finishing three stages in the top 10 (including 4th spot on day 3), Seaidan had to settle for a disappointing 39th position overall at the finish in Jeddah. After this short experience, the Saudi driver returned to a good old Mini JCW Racing but he’ll want to forget about that Dakar that ended on day 7. For his sixth participation, Seaidan returned to the T4 class finishing 23rd. he’ll have far bigger ambitions for 2024 especially with a few top guns switching to T3. At his side, Seaidan has decided to pair up with Frenchman Adrien Metge. After five Dakar rallies on a bike including two finishes in the Top 15, Metge moved to the co-driver’s seat last year helping Santiago Navarro to capture an excellent 9th position on the last Dakar. The 37-year-old hasn’t totally given up on two-wheels, he even won the Rally Dos Sertoes in Brazil back in August. His navigational skills will be precious for his new Saudi driver.