Transsyberia Rally 2007 with a regional driver lineup

Three cars driven by Saeed Al Hajri, Karim Al-Azhari, and Adel Hussain Abdulla representing Porsche Middle East, Porsche Centre Dubai, and Porsche Centre Qatar respectively. From the 2nd till 17th of August, they will be driving an ultra-sporting offroader, Cayenne S Transsyberia, across a very demanding route from Moscow all the way through Siberia to the finish line in Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia.

Deesch Papke, Managing Director of Porsche Middle East and Africa, underlined the important role this rally plays in highlighting the capabilities of the new Cayenne: 'Since motorsport is the prefect venue for demonstrating a sports car's true potential, our participation in the Transsyberia Rally holds utmost importance in showcasing the offroad superiority of our new generation Cayenne. It will be driven by a host of renowned rally drivers, most notable of which is Saeed Al Hajri. His extreme dedication to the brand in motorsport and the peerless success he achieved aboard Porsche cars, reflect Porsche's worldwide success in motorsport. We have been preparing extensively for this event, and are therefore extremely confident of a good result.'

Saeed Al Hajri, a renowned Qatari Middle East Rally championship driver and motorsport hero, is the only Arab Rally driver with an official Porsche history. He has twice won the FIA Middle East Rally Championship aboard a Porsche 911, and for 7 years has participated in numerous rallies in Porsche cars. Driving a Porsche 959, he managed to win the Rothmans Pharaohs Rally in 1985, and came 5th in the Bettaga Memorial Trophy Italia the following year. His co-pilot in the upcoming Transsyberia Rally will be Tim Trenker, Regional Operations Manager of Porsche Middle East and Africa, who has amassed vast experience and success in various rally events across the region.

The other two drivers are Karim Al-Azhari from Dubai, president of Porsche Club UAE, and Adel Hussain Abdulla from Qatar, both with 17 years of motorsport driving experience. Their co-pilots will be Blair Cole, who is also a member of Porsche Club UAE, and Steve Lancaster respectively. All three drivers and their co-pilots have already been through a rigorous training course in Leipzig during 14-17 May, 2007.

Former FIA Middle East Rally champion, Saeed Al-Hajri, expressed his enthusiasm for the upcoming rally: 'I am extremely thrilled to get back into the seat of a Porsche car; a brand that formed the cornerstone of my success in motorsport. During the training course held in Leipzig, I got to know the true potential and capabilities of the new Cayenne, and tested its performance to the absolute limit. Based on that, I confidently confirm my true optimism of a great result in the upcoming Transsyberia Rally.'